Booking choice: The Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Wildlife Loop day, 8 hours. Book this Compare the options below
Crazy Horse Memorial lies about 17 miles southwest of Mount Rushmore, between Hill City and Custer on US 16/385, around half an hour's drive away. Both open all year.
This guide covers the drive between them, how admission differs, how long each takes, what changed at Crazy Horse in recent years, and the guided tours that visit both.
The quick answer
Yes, you can see both in one day: they are about 17 miles apart and each takes one to three hours. Mount Rushmore is free to enter with a parking fee; Crazy Horse Memorial charges admission per vehicle or per person. Several guided tours from Rapid City visit both, some adding Custer State Park.
Can you see Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse in one day?
Yes. They are about 17 miles apart, around 30 minutes by car, and both are open all year.
A common plan is Mount Rushmore in the morning, when the faces are sunlit, then Crazy Horse in the afternoon, with lunch in Hill City, Keystone or at the memorial's restaurant. With a car you can add Iron Mountain Road or Needles Highway in between. Without one, a guided tour from Rapid City is the practical way to do both.
How far apart are Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore?
About 17 miles: Crazy Horse is southwest of Mount Rushmore, 9 miles south of Hill City and 4 miles north of Custer.
The direct route runs through Hill City on US 16/385. A slower, more scenic alternative goes through Custer State Park via Iron Mountain Road and Needles Highway, which several of the full-day tours take.
How does admission work at each memorial?
Mount Rushmore has no entrance fee, only parking; Crazy Horse Memorial charges admission per vehicle, or per person if you arrive on foot, by motorcycle or by bike.
Crazy Horse Memorial is a private, nonprofit project, not a national park, and its admission includes the museums, the orientation film and the viewing veranda. Native Americans, children aged 6 and under and active military are admitted free, according to the memorial. A bus to the base of the mountain is an optional extra. The full picture for Mount Rushmore is in what a Mount Rushmore visit costs.
What is Crazy Horse Memorial?
The world's largest mountain carving in progress, begun in 1948 by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski; the face was completed in 1998.
The carving honours the Lakota leader Crazy Horse and is a private nonprofit project. Admission covers three museums, an orientation film, cultural programs and a viewing veranda facing the mountain. The memorial describes itself as open daily, all year.
Is the Crazy Horse laser light show still running?
No. The Legends in Light laser show ended on 30 September 2023 after 19 years and has not returned.
Older guides still mention it, so check any plan built around an evening at Crazy Horse. In the evening, the Mount Rushmore lighting program (late May to 30 September) is the event to aim for. Crazy Horse also holds occasional events such as its spring and autumn Volksmarch hikes to the carving.
Which tours visit both Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse?
Several: from a six-hour tour of the two memorials to full days that add Custer State Park, and a private option.
What the listings on this site include:
| Tour | Also visits | Length | Pickup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rushmore and Crazy Horse | Nothing else | 6 hours | Rapid City |
| Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Wildlife Loop | Wildlife Loop Road | 8 hours | Rapid City |
| Black Hills small-group day | Custer State Park, Needles Highway, Sylvan Lake | 8 hours | Rapid City, Keystone, Hill City, Deadwood, Sturgis |
| Black Hills day with meals and show | Iron Mountain Road, Needles Highway, Sylvan Lake, supper show | 8 hours | Fort Hays, Rapid City |
| Private day | Custer State Park | 8 hours | Hotel pickup |
Both carvings in about six hours from Rapid City, with the Rushmore parking fee and admissions listed as included.
Book thisShould you add Custer State Park?
If you have the full day, yes: the Wildlife Loop Road and Needles Highway sit between the two memorials.
The 18-mile Wildlife Loop Road is home to around 1,350 free-roaming bison, as well as elk, deer, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs and feral burros. Needles Highway squeezes through narrow granite tunnels among tall spires; it closes with the first snow. A state park entrance licence is required for vehicles, except when driving straight through on US 16A. The full-day tours include the park in their route.
Both carvings and the bison of the Wildlife Loop, with pickup in Rapid City.
Book thisFrequently asked questions
Which should you visit first, Mount Rushmore or Crazy Horse?
Mount Rushmore in the morning, for the sunlit faces and smaller crowds, then Crazy Horse in the afternoon.
Is Crazy Horse Memorial worth it?
For most visitors yes, for the scale of the carving and the museums; the carving is seen from the visitor complex unless you take the optional bus to the base.
Can you hike to Crazy Horse?
Only on the Volksmarch days the memorial organises in spring and autumn; otherwise the carving is seen from the visitor complex.
Is Crazy Horse part of the national park pass?
No. It is a private nonprofit memorial with its own admission.
Ready to book
Choose your tour
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on each of these tours. Entry to Mount Rushmore itself is free.
Mount Rushmore & Crazy Horse Tour
Both mountain carvings without the full-day loop
Rushmore, Crazy Horse & Wildlife Loop Day
- Pickup and drop-off at your hotel or Airbnb in Rapid City
- Mount Rushmore parking fee and state park admission (per the listing)
- Crazy Horse Memorial admission is listed among the admission fees
Black Hills & Monuments Small-Group Day
- Pickup and drop-off in Rapid City, Keystone, Hill City, Deadwood, Lead or Sturgis (per the listing)
- Admission to all attractions on the route, as stated on the listing
- A fully narrated tour in a small group of up to 14
