Located in the beautiful, and sacred Black Hills National Forest is Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The site is just north of Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, and Custer State Park, as well as west of the Badlands, making it a great stopping point for those who are doing a trip out in the South Dakota region. Mount Rushmore National Memorial features a massive sculpture on side of the mountain referred to by the Lakota Sioux as the Six Grandfathers Mountain or Cougar Mountain. The park was constructed in the 1920s and the 1930s utilizing the granite inside the mountain and features Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. Besides the sculpture, Mount Rushmore features trails, a studio that informs you about the process to build Mount Rushmore, interpretive programs, a visitor center for a film on the project, and tours. We have visited a couple of times, and have found not only the craftsmanship of the sculpture impressive, but the Black Hills are beautiful. The smaller mountains, the granite outcrops, and the woods are absolutely breathtaking.

Side Note: We do want to acknowledge the fact that the Black Hills are a sacred space to the Lakota Sioux and that although the craftsmanship of the sculpture is impressive, the project harmed a sacred space.