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Mount Rushmore National Memorial
South Dakota
Mount Rushmore stands at the gateway to the West and was built to embody the spirit of the foundation, preservation, and expansion of the United States. There is no greater monument to American expansionists' efforts to tame the wild and rugged terrain of the West. It took 14 years for sculptor Gutzon Borglum and his crew to carve 60-foot-tall faces of four U.S. presidents — George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln — into a wall of exposed granite. The faces tower over a setting of pine, spruce, birch, and aspen on 5,725-foot Mount Rushmore.
Mt. Rushmore: A presidential sightThere are some quick and worthwhile activities right near the monument: Hike the Presidential Trail for an up-close view, visit Sculptor's Studio to learn about the construction of the monument, pick up a commemorative spoon at the gift shop. But GORP suggests that you get these out of the way and take to the hills — the Black Hills, that is. Spending some time in the area surrounding Mount Rushmore is a great way to experience the West. The rugged rock formations, canyons and gulches, open grassland parks, tumbling streams, deep lakes, and caves of the Black Hills National Forest typify the majestic landscape that inspired Gutzon Borglum to build Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
How to get to Mount Rushmore:
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is 25 miles southwest of Rapid City, South Dakota, via U.S. 16 and three miles from Keystone via U.S. 16A and S. Dak. 244. Major airlines and bus routes serve Rapid City. Mount Rushmore is surrounded by a network of public lands, including the Black Hills National Forest, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, and Black Elk Wilderness.
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