Mt. Rushmore, Custer SP etc.

We worked two summers in CSP as hosts. Host sites was great. As a guest we would stay outside the park. There is electric at most sites, but no water. There is water at central locations for most of the CGs but sewer is non-existent at Stockade North and South, Coolidge and Legion Lake. Not even a dump station.
Ask questions before you book for a long stay.

Probably correct. We did go through the tunnels in the morning.

CharlesinGA wrote:

Atlee wrote:
And you need to south to north on Iron Mountain parkway. Two of the three tunnels were made to frame Mt Rushmore as you drive through.

And if I recall correctly, Rushmore faces southeast and you need the morning sun on the faces for the best effect. I drove the highway in the afternoon and the glare of the sun was such that I could not see anything when I went thru the tunnels, and I had see videos and knew what it was supposed to look like. Time of day is critical.

Charles

Atlee wrote:
And you need to south to north on Iron Mountain parkway. Two of the three tunnels were made to frame Mt Rushmore as you drive through.

And if I recall correctly, Rushmore faces southeast and you need the morning sun on the faces for the best effect. I drove the highway in the afternoon and the glare of the sun was such that I could not see anything when I went thru the tunnels, and I had see videos and knew what it was supposed to look like. Time of day is critical.

Charles

We just came back from Custer State Park and the Black Hills. We stayed at Game Lodge campground. It was convenient to Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Deadwood, Wind Cave, etc, plus Iron Mountain Scenic parkway as well as Needles Scenic parkway.

And you need to south to north on Iron Mountain parkway. Two of the three tunnels were made to frame Mt Rushmore as you drive through.

I stayed up at Spearfish and rented a car. Worked fairly well for me and I got to see more commuting back and forth down into the hills. Very easy to get to Devils Tower from Spearfish and of course the canyon drive is wonderful, and should not be missed.

My trip report thread on My Black Hills, Badlands, and eclipse trip of August 2017.

Bike week at Sturgis is roughly the first two weeks of August. For 2018 it is going on now, and will end on Sunday the 12th. It clears out within a day or two after the end, but the last two weeks of july are supposedly fairly active before the official start of Bike Week. You really don't want to try sightseeing with a zillion bikers cruising around sightseeing also.

Charles

Dennis12 wrote:
Crazy Horse is a joke. 1 family carving it and only 2 of the family working on week ends. Wait 150 years and then go. Tried to charge us 30 dollars to go in and spend money in their shops and look at a incomplete carving. (barely started on the carving) They said if we wanted to just drive in and look at crazy horse and come right back out there was no charge. This was 7-4-2018. Definitely pencil in the Badlands, a must see.

I thoroughly enjoyed Crazy Horse. The Museum is very nice, LOTS of stuff. The carving, when finished, will be immense, several times the size of Rushmore. Its just icing on the cake. Admission fees? well heavy equipment and dynamite is expensive. I paid $11 to get in (by myself) and it was worth it to me.

They never finished Rushmore. It was supposed to be waist up full busts of the presidents. They ran out of money and realized there was a war on the horizon, and called it quits.

Charles

The parking fee is used to pay for the construction and maintenance of the parking facility. I believe that the current charge is $11. I am more than willing to pay a relatively small fee to stop and admire this fantastic monument. Considering what it cost to stop at any commercial property, $11 is pretty cheap for the whole family.

Dennis12 wrote:
Crazy Horse is a joke. 1 family carving it and only 2 of the family working on week ends. Wait 150 years and then go. Tried to charge us 30 dollars to go in and spend money in their shops and look at a incomplete carving. (barely started on the carving) They said if we wanted to just drive in and look at crazy horse and come right back out there was no charge. This was 7-4-2018. Definitely pencil in the Badlands, a must see.

Yes, but you didn’t mind paying to park at Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore was paid for and is still receiving tax payers dollars to operate!

We made reservations for Rafter J Bar, for September. This will be our 1st trip in this area, and we will be going to the Round-up of the Buffalo. I am looking forward to this trip...

RVman / John

We stayed at Happy Holiday RV Park near Rapid City.

Nice people, well run. Rapid City is close enough so that you have choices for restaurants, shopping, groceries, etc yet still close to everything.

They had a really good scenic driving map.

Be sure to drive each scenic loop both directions; you’ll see twice as much.

Don’t forget about bike week.