Mt.
Rushmore, Keystone & Hill City
Mount
Rushmore
Completed in 1941, Mount Rushmore
is one of the Nation’s top landmarks and along with
the Statue of Liberty, one of America’s most
inspiring symbols of democracy. A granite memorial
commemorating four Presidents each five stories high. The
three dimensional faces of Presidents Washington,
Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln appear fluid in the
early morning or late afternoon light as they gaze across
the Black Hills from their mountaintop home. The memorial
which took 14 years to complete, was literally cut out of
the Mountain by Gutzon Borglum and finished just before
his death in 1941.
A $56 Million dollar
redevelopment of the site has just been completed and
incorporates a new 2,000 seat amphitheater, new visitors
center and gift shop and greatly enlarged car park. The
new Presidential Trail, a concrete and plank walkway
which takes visitors to the base of the monument should
also be completed by summer, opening up an area never
before accessible to the public. For more information
click HERE.
KEYSTONE
The little town of Keystone lies
at the foot of Mount Rushmore. An old reconstructed
mining town, it now caters primarily to passing tourists
with a plethora of unique gift shops and museums. Tour
the nineteenth century style town or escape from the sun
on an underground tour the Big Thunder Gold Mine
and experience the Gold Rush of the 1880s.
Rushmore Borglum Story
One of Keystone's more interesting
places to visit, is the Rushmore Borglum Story
- a museum dedicated to the sculptor who created the now
famous mountain.
Parade of the
Presidents
This unique museum features
incredibly realistic, life-size wax images of every
President of the United States. Get the family photograph taken standing next to
someone that'll impress the neighbors!
Rushmore Cave
Six miles east of Keystone lies
Rushmore Cave complete with its ‘Big Room’ and
enormously large collection of stalactites hanging from
it’s ceilings. For more information click HERE.
1880 Train 
The Black Hills Central Railroad or
'1880 Train ' as it’s know hereabouts, is a fully
working steam hauled railway that travels the rails
through the Black Hills, in much the same way as the
early pioneers did 120 years ago. Antique steam
locomotives and vintage railroad cars expertly restored
and maintained, wind their way through the forested hills
on a two hour leisurely journey between Keystone and Hill
City. Board at either town but advance reservations are
advisable in peak months. For more information click HERE.
See also the first steam locomotive
in the Black Hills.
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