Mount Rushmore National Monument and Needles Highway

Our last destination on our trip was actually to 7 places that are very close together.  We based our camp in Custer State Park at the Game Lodge Campground.  From there, we first visited Mount Rushmore.

We were last at Mount Rushmore in 1987.  We arrived during a fog that was expected to last for days, so we didn't get to see it on that trip.  So we returned to see if we could see it this time.  And we did.  Of course, all was not perfect.  The visitor center was under construction, so we couldn't get as close to the monument as we expected.  But it is so BIG that this was a minor complaint.

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We drove from our campground to Mount Rushmore by taking the Iron Mountain Road.  It winds from Custer State Park to Mount Rushmore, and as it goes through several tunnels, you see Mount Rushmore framed in the exit of the tunnel.

After Mount Rushmore, we returned to Custer along the Needles Highway.  The rocks along the highway are pointed granite rocks which resemble giant needles.  At one point, the road goes through a tunnel that is barely larger than a vehicle.  Don't take anything larger than a Class B RV or you will get stuck.