Mount Rushmore Helicopter Flight: Is It Worth the Cost for Families?

If you’re considering a Mount Rushmore helicopter flight with kids and wondering whether it’s actually worth the cost, this guide is for families trying to decide if it’s a memorable highlight — or an expensive extra you can skip.

A helicopter flight over Mount Rushmore is very different from visiting the monument from the ground. It’s one of the few ways to see both the sculpture and the wider Black Hills landscape together, which is why it’s often described as one of the most unique things to do around Mount Rushmore.

This guide is for families looking for a clear, practical answer to:

• is a Mount Rushmore helicopter tour worth it for families

• what the experience is like with kids

• how it fits into a Mount Rushmore itinerary

• and whether it justifies the cost compared to other activities in the area

Quick Answer: Is a Mount Rushmore Helicopter Flight Worth It with Kids?

Yes — a Mount Rushmore helicopter flight is worth it for families, particularly with school-aged children, but it works best as a one-off highlight rather than an essential activity.

From our experience, the view from the air gives a completely different perspective of Mount Rushmore. It feels far more immersive than the viewing terrace, and for kids, the excitement of the flight itself often becomes just as memorable as the monument.

That said, it’s a premium experience, so it’s not something every family needs to include — it depends on your budget and how you want to balance your trip.

From our trip, this was one of the standout moments — not because we planned around it, but because it added something completely different to the experience. It’s the kind of activity that turns a sightseeing stop into something much more memorable.

If you want to understand how this fits into a wider trip, our guide
7‑Day Family Road Trip Itinerary from Denver to Mount Rushmore (Colorado Rockies) shows how families typically combine it with other activities in the region.

Where relevant, we’ve included the exact tours and options we booked or considered. Some of these are affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you book through them — at no extra cost to you. We only recommend experiences we’ve personally used and genuinely enjoyed, with the aim of helping you plan a trip that feels smooth, manageable, and worth the money.

Who We Flew With

We flew with Black Hills Helicopter Tours, one of the main operators based close to Mount Rushmore. One thing we liked was how straightforward the process was.

We didn’t pre-book the flight. Instead, we simply turned up at the airfield and were able to get on a flight almost immediately. During busy periods you may want to book ahead, but during our visit the turnaround was very quick.

If you're planning your visit to the monument itself, our guide Mount Rushmore with Kids: Planning a Family Road Trip from Denver explains how the monument fits into a wider family road trip.

How Much Does the Helicopter Flight Cost?

At the time of writing, Black Hills Helicopter Tours offer two main flight options:

• $80 per person – 10 minute flight (15 mile loop)

• $130 per person – 15 minute flight (360° Mount Rushmore loop)

We chose the shorter $80 flight, which lasted around ten minutes in the air. For families who simply want to experience flying over the monument and the surrounding landscape, this option felt more than enough. Compared with many other US attractions, it’s actually a fairly reasonable price for a helicopter experience.

What the Flight Route Looks Like

Even the shorter flight covers quite a lot of scenery. Our route followed Buckeye Gulch down toward the historic mining town of Keystone, before passing old mining areas and heading toward Iron Mountain Road, famous for its dramatic curves and “pigtail bridges”.

From there the helicopter flies past Mount Rushmore itself, giving you an incredible aerial view of the monument before looping back toward the airfield. Seeing the monument from above makes you appreciate the scale of the sculpture and the surrounding Black Hills landscape in a way that’s impossible from the ground.

Safety and Briefing

Before boarding the helicopter, we received a full safety briefing from the pilot.

This included:

• how to approach the aircraft safely

• where to sit and how the seatbelts worked

• how to use the headset and microphone

Each passenger is given headphones with a microphone, which allows you to hear the pilot and speak to them during the flight.

Age Suitability for Kids

A child under 24 months of age can sit on an adults lap at no additional charge. Children 24 months and older require an individual full-fare seat.

From our experience, helicopter flights like this are best suited for school-aged children. Kids at this age usually find the experience exciting and memorable, particularly if it’s their first time flying in a helicopter.

Our son Joshua absolutely loved it. He spent most of the flight chatting to the pilot and asking questions about how the helicopter worked. Because everyone wears headsets, we could hear the conversation through the headphones, which made it quite fun.

If you’re planning a wider family trip through the region, our guide What to do in South Dakota with kids beyond Mt Rushmore covers other activities nearby that work well with children.

How Long the Flight Actually Feels

Although the shorter flight only lasts around 10 minutes in the air, it feels longer once you're taking in the views.

That said, helicopters move differently from planes. By the end of the flight we could start to feel a slight motion sickness feeling, particularly with the turns and changes in direction.

It wasn’t severe and we never felt like we would actually be sick, but we were definitely happy to be back on the ground by the end. The boys were starting to feel it slightly as well, which made us feel the shorter flight was probably the right choice.

Is the Mount Rushmore Helicopter Flight Worth It?

For us, the answer was yes.

The flight only takes around ten minutes, but it offers a completely different perspective on Mount Rushmore and the surrounding Black Hills. For children, the excitement of flying in a helicopter often becomes just as memorable as the monument itself.

If you’re already visiting Mount Rushmore and want to add something a little more adventurous to the day, a helicopter flight can be a great experience for families.

plan your family road trip

If you’re planning a Mt Rushmore family road trip (and perhaps considering Colorado), these guides will help you pull everything together:

About Plan Family Escapes

We’re a UK-based family sharing real, experience-led travel guides based on trips we’ve taken with our school-age son Joshua across destinations like Lapland, Turkey and India.

Everything we share is based on what we’ve personally experienced — with honest advice on what actually works when travelling with kids, focusing on making family travel easier, more comfortable and genuinely enjoyable.