There is no entrance ticket to Mount Rushmore. Here is what you
actually pay for, how to plan
the visit, and the guided Black Hills tours worth booking.
No ticket neededEntry is free; the tours sell the ride and the guide
Checked with the NPSHours, parking and rules from official sources
Free cancellationUp to 24 hours before on the tours we list
Secure checkoutBooked on GetYourGuide, instant confirmation
Guided tours
Choose your Mount Rushmore tour
In the centre, the full Black Hills day with hotel pickup across the region.
On the left, the half
day that goes to Mount Rushmore and back. On the right, Rushmore and Crazy Horse with the
bison of the Wildlife Loop.
The shortest guided option: about four hours from Rapid City to the memorial and
back, with time on the terrace and the trail. The listing includes the parking
fee and bottled water.
What's included
Pickup at your hotel or Airbnb in Rapid City
The Mount Rushmore parking fee
Tour guide and cold bottled water
Food and tips are not included
The listing says it is not suitable for wheelchair users; free
cancellation up to 24 hours before
An eight-hour small-group loop that the listing says covers Mount Rushmore, Crazy
Horse, the Custer State Park wildlife, Needles Highway and Sylvan Lake.
Admission to the stops is listed as included.
What's included
Pickup and drop-off in Rapid City, Keystone, Hill City, Deadwood,
Lead or Sturgis (per the listing)
Admission to all attractions on the route, as stated on the listing
A fully narrated tour in a small group of up to 14
Buffet lunch at the State Game Lodge is paid on the day
About two hours each at Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, then the Wildlife Loop
Road in Custer State Park, where bison roam. The listing includes the parking
fee, park fees and guide tips.
What's included
Pickup and drop-off at your hotel or Airbnb in Rapid City
Mount Rushmore parking fee and state park admission (per the
listing)
Crazy Horse Memorial admission is listed among the admission fees
Guide gratuities and cold bottled water; lunch is not included
Small group of up to 12; free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Every tour below starts from Rapid City or Keystone, not at the memorial. The
real differences are how
much of the Black Hills you see, whether you get your own guide, and what the listing
includes.
Tour
Starts from
Stops
Rushmore parking
Length
Best for
Black Hills & Monuments Small-Group Day
Hotel pickup in Rapid City, Keystone, Hill City,
Deadwood or Sturgis
Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park, Needles Highway,
Sylvan Lake
The tours listed here cancel free up to 24 hours before. Driving yourself?
Entry to the
memorial is free and a parking fee applies.
The ticket question
There is no Mount Rushmore ticket: there is a parking fee and a drive.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial does not charge an entrance fee, and the
National Park Service says no
reservation is needed for a visit or for any program, including the Evening
Lighting. Anyone selling you a
"Mount Rushmore ticket" is selling something else: transport, a guide, or a day in
the Black Hills.
What you do pay is parking. The parking structure is run by a concessioner under
contract with the NPS, so
America the Beautiful passes do not cover it, and the ticket is valid for a year
from the day you buy it. The
memorial is also a 23-mile drive from Rapid City with no public transport, which is
why the guided tours
exist: most of them pick you up at your hotel and put Rushmore inside a bigger loop.
1927-1941
Fourteen years of carving, about 400 workers and no deaths
on the job. Around two million people visit each year, most of them in June,
July and August.
No entrance feeNo reservationParking
feeOpen all year
The Presidential Trail: 422 stairs and the closest view of the faces.
01
Do I need to book?
No. There is no timed entry, no ticket and no reservation for the lighting program.
02
Does my park pass work?
Not for parking: it is a concession fee, and passes do not cover concession fees.
03
Why book a tour, then?
For the ride from Rapid City, a guide's stories, and Crazy Horse, Custer State Park and
the scenic roads in one day.
04
Who can skip a tour?
Anyone with a car staying in Keystone: the memorial is about two miles up the road.
On the ground
Your visit, step by step
The memorial is compact. This is the route most visitors walk, and what the
guided tours cover in
their time on site.
01
Avenue of Flags
From the parking structure you walk under 56 flags for the states, district,
territories and commonwealths.
A few minutes
02
Grand View Terrace
The classic view of the four faces, with the Lincoln Borglum Visitor Center and its
museum below.
About an hour with the museum
03
Presidential Trail
A 0.6-mile loop with 422 stairs to the base of the carving; the first 0.2 miles are
paved and accessible.
The closest view
04
Sculptor's Studio
Gutzon Borglum's studio holds the plaster model at 1/12 scale, with ranger talks in
summer.
Late May to 30 September
Plan your visit
Plan your Mount Rushmore day
Getting there, what the fees cover, timing and what to bring.
By car: from I-90 at Rapid City take US 16 to Keystone, then Highway 244
to the memorial; from the south, US 385 north to Highway 244.
Distances: Keystone is about 2 miles away, Rapid City 23 miles (around 30
minutes), Rapid City Regional Airport 35 miles.
No public transport runs to the memorial: it is a rental car, a taxi or a
guided tour.
Guided tours collect you at hotels in Rapid City, and some also in
Keystone, Hill City, Deadwood or Sturgis.
No overnight parking and no lodging or camping inside the memorial.
Entrance: free. There is no ticket and no timed entry.
Parking: a fee per vehicle, run by a concessioner, valid for a year from
purchase; seniors 62 and over pay a reduced rate and active-duty military park
free.
National park passes do not cover the parking fee, because it is a
concession fee.
International visitors: the 2026 nonresident fees apply at eleven named
parks; Mount Rushmore is not one of them.
Guided tours: the listings for most tours here include the Rushmore
parking fee; check each one's inclusions.
Morning light: the faces look southeast and are sunlit early; afternoon
light leaves them in shade.
Crowds: June to August are busiest; the NPS suggests arriving before 9
a.m. or after 3:30 p.m.
Quieter months: May, September and October, according to the NPS.
Evening Lighting: nightly from late May to 30 September, at 9 p.m. until
about 9 August and 8 p.m. after that.
Closed: the buildings close on 25 December; everything else is open all
year.
Comfortable shoes for the 422 stairs of the Presidential Trail.
A layer for the evening program: nights in the Black Hills cool quickly.
Sun protection: the terrace and trail are open to the sky.
No drone: flying one inside the memorial is prohibited.
Pets stay in the garages, the pet exercise area or on the Blackberry Trail, not
on the terrace or main trail.
FreeEntry to the memorialNo ticket,
no timed slot and no reservation for any program.
1 yearParking ticket validityA
parking ticket covers unlimited entries for a year from purchase.
422Presidential Trail stairs262 down
to the Sculptor's Studio and 160 back up, on a 0.6-mile loop.
45 minEvening Lighting ProgramRanger
talk, film and lighting in the amphitheater, late May to 30 September.
17 milesTo Crazy HorseThe other
mountain carving lies southwest, near Custer.
60 ftEach faceThe height of each
president's face, carved almost entirely with dynamite.
Where it is
Finding Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
13000 Highway 244, Keystone, SD 57751
The memorial sits on a granite mountain in the Black Hills of western South Dakota,
above the small town of
Keystone. Rapid City, the region's hub, is 23 miles to the northeast; Hill City and
Custer lie to the west and
south, and Crazy Horse Memorial is 17 miles southwest. Guided tours start from Rapid
City or from hotels
around the Black Hills rather than at the memorial.
Visitor facilities open every day except 25 December
Times follow Mountain Time and change by season
Carvers' Cafe and a gift shop on site, ice cream in season
Around your visit
Everything else worth knowing
When to go, small tips, what is nearby and the fine print.
Late May to September: the full program, with ranger talks, the
Sculptor's Studio and the Evening Lighting.
September and October: fewer people and cooler days, with the lighting
program until 30 September.
Winter: the memorial stays open, but some scenic roads such as Needles
Highway close with the first snow.
Early morning: the best light on the faces and the quietest terrace, all
year.
Start the Presidential Trail on its paved section from the terrace: you take the
262 stairs down first and 160 back up.
Stop at the Profile View on Highway 244 for Washington's side profile, with its
own small parking area.
Try the vanilla ice cream, described as inspired by Thomas Jefferson's own
recipe.
Keep the parking ticket: it covers a return visit for the lighting program the
same evening.
Drive Iron Mountain Road slowly: three of its tunnels frame the carving in the
distance.
Crazy Horse Memorial: the mountain carving in progress since 1948, 17
miles away.
Custer State Park: the Wildlife Loop Road with free-roaming bison, and
Needles Highway.
Keystone: the closest town, with Rush Mountain Adventure Park and
Rushmore Cave five miles east.
Badlands National Park: about 75 miles east of Rapid City, open 24 hours
a day.
Wind Cave and Jewel Cave: no entrance fee; the cave tours are charged and
book ahead in season.
The tours listed here cancel free up to 24 hours before on GetYourGuide.
Several listings state they are not suitable for wheelchair users; check before
you book.
Lunch is often paid on the day; each card shows what the listing includes.
The memorial may close sections for special events, as it did for the ticketed
fireworks on 3 July 2026.
The Black Hills
Four faces, one granite mountain, a whole region around it.
Guided days from Rapid City and Keystone, with free cancellation.
In their own words, from guests on the tours listed here.
It couldn't have been better planned, and Bonnie provided pertinent background
information.
Bill was a riot! Plenty of stops and an endless supply of stories. The meals were great
and lots of fun with the band!
Our tour guide James was amazing. He was very knowledgeable and able to ensure we saw
everything.
Our tour guide Flo was the best... very friendly, knowledgeable, and very
accommodating.
Great tour with Amy... very nice and friendly. Lots of history during the drive.
She showed us the highlights of the Black Hills. She brought us right to the buffalo.
Fantastic! Our guide, Kelli, was very knowledgeable about the area and sites.
Our guide Bruce was fabulous. We really enjoyed him sharing knowledge.
Scott was a terrific guide, being from the area he was so knowledgeable. Badlands
National Park was def the highlight.
A second day?
Add the Badlands
Badlands National Park lies about 75 miles east of Rapid City, so it is a day of
its own rather than
an add-on to Mount Rushmore.
Badlands & Wall Drug Day from Rapid City
7 hours · Hotel or Airbnb pickup in Rapid City
The Badlands are the other big day out from Rapid City, and no single tour on
GetYourGuide combines them with Mount Rushmore. This small-group day drives the
Badlands Loop Road with a stop at the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, an optional look at
the Minuteman Missile visitor center and lunch time at Wall Drug. The listing
includes park admission and guide tips.
Mount Rushmore is one of the most recognisable places in the United States, and
one of the simplest
to visit: no ticket, no timed entry, no queue for admission. The planning is everything
around it: how you get
there, when you go, and what else you fit into the day.
Why the four presidents
South Dakota's state historian Doane Robinson proposed a Black Hills sculpture in 1923, and
sculptor
Gutzon Borglum took on the work. The NPS explains the four faces as the nation's birth
(George
Washington), growth (Thomas Jefferson), development (Theodore Roosevelt) and preservation
(Abraham Lincoln).
Drilling began in 1927 with President Coolidge present; Borglum died in March 1941 and his
son Lincoln Borglum
finished the work that October. The Lakota knew the mountain as the Six Grandfathers, in
Black Hills that the 1868
Treaty of Fort Laramie had recognised as Lakota land, and the NPS notes that many tribes
regard the carving as a
desecration. The Lakota, Nakota and Dakota Heritage Village along the trail hosts programs
on Native culture in summer.
Early morning: the faces catch the first sun, and the terrace is at its
quietest.
What the tours really sell
Because entry is free, a guided tour is never a ticket. It is a driver, a guide and a route.
The half-day tour
from Rapid City is the closest thing to "just Mount Rushmore". The full days add Crazy
Horse Memorial, Custer
State Park's Wildlife Loop, Needles Highway or Sylvan Lake, and differ mainly in pickup
area, group size and
whether lunch or an evening show is part of it. The private tours give you a guide of your
own.
Worth knowing: if you have a car and are staying in Keystone, Hill City
or Custer, you do not
need a tour to see Mount Rushmore itself. A tour earns its place when you have no car,
want the whole Black Hills
loop in one day, or want someone to tell the story as you drive.
Driving yourself or joining a tour?
Driving gives you the early-morning light and the evening lighting program on the same
parking ticket, and the
freedom to take Iron Mountain Road, whose tunnels frame the carving. A tour saves you the
planning and the
parking, and most of those listed here include the Rushmore parking fee. It also adds
context: guests on these
tours often mention the guide's stories as the highlight of the day.
The Wildlife Loop Road in Custer State Park is part of several full-day tours.
Making the most of it
Arrive early in summer, walk the Presidential Trail for the closest view, and step into the
Sculptor's Studio
to see Borglum's plaster model. If you stay for the Evening Lighting, bring a layer and
arrive about 15 minutes
early for a seat. And leave time for the road: the Black Hills are best seen slowly.
Needles Highway, one of the scenic drives that the full-day tours include.
Straight answers to what visitors ask most about Mount Rushmore tickets, parking
and tours.
How much does it cost to go into Mount Rushmore?
Nothing: Mount Rushmore National Memorial does not charge an entrance fee. What
you pay for is parking in the memorial's parking structure, which is run by a
concessioner under contract with the National Park Service, and the parking
ticket stays valid for one year from purchase. Details in what a Mount Rushmore visit really
costs.
Do I need a reservation or a ticket for Mount Rushmore?
No. The National Park Service states that no reservation is needed to visit or
for any program, including the Evening Lighting Program. The only thing sold
online under "Mount Rushmore tickets" is a guided tour that brings you there,
like the tours on this page.
Does the America the Beautiful pass cover Mount Rushmore parking?
No. The NPS says the annual, senior, military, access and Every Kid Outdoors
passes do not cover concession fees such as parking. The 2026 nonresident fees
for international visitors apply at eleven named national parks, and Mount
Rushmore is not one of them.
What days is Mount Rushmore closed?
The visitor facilities are open every day of the year except 25 December. On
Christmas Day, weather permitting, the parking structure and grounds stay open
while the buildings close. Check the NPS hours page for the current seasonal
times.
How much time do you need at Mount Rushmore?
Most people spend one to three hours: the Avenue of Flags, the Grand View Terrace
and the museum take about an hour, and the Presidential Trail adds more.
Several guided tours on this page plan about two hours at the memorial. See how long to spend at Mount
Rushmore.
What is the best time of day to visit Mount Rushmore?
Morning. The faces look southeast, so they catch the sun early and fall into
shade later in the day. In June, July and August the NPS suggests arriving
before 9 a.m. or after 3:30 p.m. to avoid the busiest hours.
What time does Mount Rushmore light up?
From late May to about 9 August the Evening Lighting Program starts at 9 p.m.,
and from about 10 August to 30 September at 8 p.m. It lasts about 45 minutes
and needs no reservation. Outside that season the sculpture is still lit at
night, without the program. More in the lighting ceremony
guide.
How many stairs are on the Presidential Trail?
The NPS counts 422 stairs on the 0.6-mile loop: 262 down to the Sculptor's Studio
and 160 back up. The first 0.2 miles from the Grand View Terrace are paved and
wheelchair accessible.
Can you see Mount Rushmore without going into the memorial?
Yes. The Profile View pull-off on Highway 244, just past the parking area, frames
George Washington's profile and has its own parking. The tunnels on Iron
Mountain Road frame the whole carving from a distance.
Can you see Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse in one day?
Yes: Crazy Horse Memorial is about 17 miles southwest of Mount Rushmore, and
several guided tours visit both, with about two hours at each. See Mount Rushmore and Crazy
Horse in one day.
Why is Abraham Lincoln on Mount Rushmore?
The NPS explains that the four presidents stand for the nation's birth
(Washington), growth (Jefferson), development (Theodore Roosevelt) and
preservation (Lincoln, who held the Union together through the Civil War).
Lincoln was also sculptor Gutzon Borglum's favourite president; he named his
son after him.
Which town is best to stay in near Mount Rushmore?
Keystone is the closest, about 2 miles away. Hill City and Custer suit a quieter
base, and Rapid City, 23 miles away, has the most hotels and the airport.
Compare them in where to
stay near Mount Rushmore.
Ready to go
Find the Black Hills day that fits your trip.
Instant confirmation and free cancellation up to 24 hours before on the tours below.
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