Mt. Rushmore and Wind Cave National Park: Memorable Family Visit

South Dakota is one underrated state! After a spectacular visit to the Badlands the day before, we spent the night in Rapid City. The next morning, we did what 99% of families visiting this area do–we headed straight over to pay our respects to the images of four great, though highly imperfect, Presidents of yesteryear carved into a mountain in the Black Hills. After a memorable visit to Mt. Rushmore, we finished up our day with some pleasant hiking through Wind Cave National Park.

Read Before Visiting Mt. Rushmore/Wind Cave National Park

We had been eagerly anticipating our family visit to Mt. Rushmore. A month before I stumbled on this find in our local library:

Our Morning at Mt. Rushmore

We Actually Didn’t Visit at the Most Ideal Time

Disappointingly, we visited during a large remodeling project. The park had closed the Avenue of Flags for construction, as well as the trail to the left of the monument. One trail was open, though, which we took advantage of. It led us to the Sculptor’s Studio where Gutzon’s model of Rushmore is housed. His plans included carving the full busts of the four Presidents, not just their heads. However, his death and lack of funding necessitated the tapering down of the original vision. World War II had hit by then. As amazing as the project was sizing up to be, the country needed its funds for more practical purposes than esthetic artwork.

Yay for Gluten-Free Options!

We worked up an appetite hiking the trail and stopped in at the café for some lunch. The restaurant pleasantly surprised us by offering a few decent gluten-free options for our son (who needs to completely avoid both gluten and dairy). Eating out is often a significant challenge in our family. We usually don’t expect much from the fare at the typically overpriced and underwhelming restaurants at major tourist attractions. This restaurant, though, gave us a better than average experience while offering a terrific view of the carvings to boot. Plus we were REALLY hungry so the food tasted extra good.

Wind Cave National Park

Another Not Ideal Time to Visit

Our final stop for the day was the nearby Wind Cave National Park. As its name suggests, this park’s biggest attractions are usually cave tours. However, the day we were there, the park was not offering any tours due to major elevator repairs. The park was still open, however, for viewing the wildlife and hiking. Also, if you missed experiencing a prairie dog town at Badlands National Park, Wind Cave will give you another chance.

Hiking at Wind Cave National Park

We went partway on a few trails at Wind Cave, which had the distinction of being the only trails where we’ve ever had to dodge a substantial amount of bison dung. Call it just one of the park hazards you’ll have to navigate here, one my kids especially got a kick out of.

Bottom line: we thoroughly enjoyed this memorable family day at Mt. Rushmore and Wind Cave. But as this visit was only a stopover while moving from Virginia Beach to Idaho, we would really like to go back at some point for more. For one, we were also eyeing up other excellent-looking attractions in the area, such as Bear Country USA. (One park worker told us this attraction was well worth doing.) The Keystone, South Dakota, area could easily be a stand-alone family vacation instead of one stop on a longer trip. Still, we were happy for even the one day we had and know South Dakota will be waiting for us when we can return.

If you’ve traveled to South Dakota, what did you love best about this amazing state? Comment below! And please share/pin this post.