Mount Rushmore National Memorial
As far as we can tell, there are no caves or tunnels in the eyes of the figures carved on Mount Rushmore. For more information, you can contact the National Park Service at Mount Rushmore.
To read a first-hand account of someone who got a behind-the-scenes tour at the memorial, check out this story from Smithsonian Magazine.
Please refer to the National Park Service's website for specific details about visiting national parks with your pets. More information can be found by searching for individual parks on nps.gov.
By Heather Crowley
Looking to soak up some American History this Presidents Day weekend? Look no further. We've developed a list of national historic sites related to American Presidents.
The first of the 2013 America the Beautiful Quarters was released into circulation on J
The visitor facilities at Mount Rushmore National Memorial are open all year, seven days a week, with the exception of December 25th. For operating hours visit http://www.nps.gov/moru/planyourvisit/hours.htm.
No camping, lodging or overnight rv facilities are available within Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
Visit the following links for visitor services information such as camping, dining and lodging available in the Black Hills of South Dakota:
South Dakota State Department of Tourism
Rapid City Convention & Visitors Bureau
Keystone Chamber of Commerce
Custer Chamber of Commerce
Black Hills National Forest
South Dakota State Parks
The Avenue of Flags at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota is comprised of 56 flags in total, three of which are U.S. Territories. Each flagpole is marked with the date that statehood was attained. The flags line a pedestrian walkway leading to the monument. The 56 flags represent the following:
50 flags each representing one the 50 states that comprise the United States.
The other six flags represent other U.S. Districts, Commonwealths, and Territories:
The District of Columbia
Guam, a Territory
Puerto Rico, a Commonwealth
American Samoa, a Territory
The Virgin Islands, a Territory
The Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth
For more information on the Avenue of Flags and Mount Rushmore, please visit the official NPS website, or download the NPS pdf file listing all of the states, territories, commonwealths, and districts with the dates they were acquired.
The Mt Rushmore memorial was created by master sculpture Gutzon Borlgum. He created Mount Rushmore to commemorate America’s first 150 years as a free country. In his own words, Gutzon Borlgum states that the four Mount Rushmore presidents were chosen to “commemorate the founding, growth, preservation, and development to the United States of America.” Regardless of election results, President Roosevelt was a personal choice of Borglum’s and was chosen because of his contributions to business, conservation and the creation of the Panama Canal. He was a champion of world affairs and of rights for the common man.
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln were selected to be carved at Mt. Rushmore because of their roles in preserving the Republic and expanding its territory.
The Avenue of Flags was added to the grounds of Mount Rushmore as part of the celebration of the United States’ Bicentennial in 1976. If we added another state or territory, another flag would be added and the date of its addition would be written on its flagpole.
