Chiseled in granite high on a pine-clad cliff in South Dakota's fabled Black Hills are the portraits of four of America's greatest leaders. Since 1941, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt have gazed quietly across the Great Plains and a land they did so much to mold.
Most of the 2.7 million people who visit each year spend but a short hour or two at the memorial, maybe eating a sandwich, then moving on to Yellowstone National Park or some other "major" destination. But those with the time and inclination will find much to enjoy at Mount Rushmore and the other attractions of the Black Hills. Within an hour's drive of Mount Rushmore, you will find not only Wind Cave National Park and Jewel Cave National Monument, but also Custer State Park and the Crazy Horse Memorial--a work in progress that will be far larger than Mount Rushmore. And if you are willing to get off the beaten path--something that relatively few visitors do--you will find a backcountry dotted with trails through the region's pine forests, a virtually untrammeled wilderness where you can escape the crowds for days, or perhaps just an hour.
Geologists predict the presidents will continue their earthly vigil at Mount Rushmore National Memorial for many centuries, eroding less than 1 inch every 5,000 years. But although major changes aren't predicted for the giant faces anytime soon, return visitors to the base of the mountain will discover greatly improved facilities.
Thanks to the Mount Rushmore Preservation Fund--one of the most successful public-private fundraising partnerships for the National Park Service to date--$56 million in improvements await travelers at the base of the sculpture, including new theaters, viewing terraces, interpretive exhibits, walking trails, and concession facilities.
As the "crown jewel" of South Dakota's state park system, Custer State Park offers 73,000 acres of prime Black Hills real estate, the largest and most diverse population of wildlife, the best accommodations and facilities, and the most memorable natural resources of any park in the state.
Located east of the town of Custer, the park is home to four resorts, four fishing lakes, wildlife loops, campgrounds, scenic drives, and granite spires so impressive that they make you want to get out of the car and walk the forest floor. Alternating between rolling meadows and foothills, pine forests, and the giant fingerlike granite spires of the Needles, Custer State Park is a must on any Black Hills itinerary.
Even after more than 100 years since the establishment of the park, there is still something to discover in the darkened depths of Wind Cave National Park. Although the cave formations here are generally not as ornate as those in some of the West's other caves, such as Carlsbad Caverns, Wind Cave has its share of fairyland-style decorations, including popcorn, shimmering needle-shaped crystals, and an abundance of formations called box work, which sometimes looks like fine lace. With 83 miles of mapped passageway, Wind Cave is one of the longest caves in the world. And, with each succeeding expedition, the interconnecting network of known passages continues to grow, sometimes by a few paces, other times by several hundred feet. Barometric wind studies conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey estimate that approximately 5% of the total cave has been discovered.
But there's a great deal more to Wind Cave than just its underground geological wonders. Aboveground, 28,295 acres of rolling prairie and ponderosa pine forests are ablaze with wildflowers and teeming with wildlife. Bison and antelope graze on the park's lush grasslands while prairie dogs watch from the relative safety of their "towns." In the fall, elk can be heard "bugling" throughout the confines of the park, and overhead, watch for hawks, eagles, and vultures that float on the thermal currents that rise from the rocky ridges of the Black Hills.
In the limestone labyrinth that rests below the Black Hills, Jewel Cave National Monument offers a mysterious, mazelike network of caverns and passageways, filled with rare specimens and beautiful jewel-like crystals, that have yet to be fully explored.
