Things to Do Around Mount Rushmore with Kids (Why Keystone Works So Well)

If you’re looking for things to do around Mount Rushmore with kids, Keystone is where most families naturally end up — and from our experience, it’s what makes the whole area feel more complete.

For many visitors, South Dakota appears on the map for one reason: Mount Rushmore. But one of the biggest surprises from our trip was how much more there is to the region — especially for families travelling with children.

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

• the best things to do around Mount Rushmore with kids

• whether Mount Rushmore and the Keystone area are suitable for young children

• what the wider Black Hills region is like for families

• and how to turn a short stop into a genuinely worthwhile South Dakota road trip with kids

Quick Answer: Is South Dakota Worth Visiting With Kids?

Yes — South Dakota is absolutely worth visiting with kids, particularly as part of a road trip.

While Mount Rushmore is the headline attraction, the real value comes from everything around it. The Black Hills region offers a mix of wildlife, outdoor space, scenic drives and low-key family attractions that work especially well for school-aged children.

From our experience, what we expected to be a short stop ended up becoming one of the most enjoyable parts of our wider US trip — largely because of how relaxed, varied, and easy it felt with kids.

If you’re specifically visiting the monument itself, our guide Is Mount Rushmore Worth Visiting with Kids? explains what to expect and whether it’s enough on its own.

Where relevant, we’ve included the places we visited, stops we combined, and activities we either booked or seriously considered when planning this part of our trip. 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 ever recommend experiences that we genuinely believe work well for families and help turn South Dakota into a trip that feels manageable, varied and genuinely worthwhile rather than just a tick-box stop.

Why South Dakota Surprised Us as a Family Destination

Before visiting, we assumed South Dakota would mainly revolve around Mount Rushmore.

In reality, the Black Hills with kids felt like a destination in their own right.

What surprised us most was how much variety there was in a relatively compact area. Within a fairly short drive, we found:

• scenic mountain roads

• family-friendly towns

• outdoor attractions

• historic and cultural sites

• and simple stops that worked well with children

That mattered more than we expected. With school-aged children, variety is often what keeps a trip working. Instead of asking them to stay interested in one attraction for hours, you can build the day around shorter experiences and movement between places.

That was one of the biggest strengths of South Dakota for us. It felt naturally suited to how families actually travel.

If you’re visiting from the UK, our guide Why Visit Mount Rushmore from the UK? A Real Family Perspective explains why the wider journey ended up being more rewarding than we first expected.

Best Things to Do Around Mount Rushmore With Kids

If you’re searching for the best things to do around Mount Rushmore, the good news is that there is far more nearby than many families realise. Mount Rushmore is the obvious starting point, but the wider area adds the variety that makes this region feel worthwhile with children.

From our experience, the best family-friendly additions were:

• Rushmore Tramway Adventures in Keystone, with the option of zip lining

• Crazy Horse Memorial

• scenic drives through the Black Hills

• simple exploring in Keystone (including ice cream stops)

• staying in a mountain lodge-style property

• optional experiences like a helicopter flight over Mount Rushmore

That said, one thing we quickly realised is that there’s far more to do in the area than you can realistically fit in, especially if you’re travelling with kids and trying to keep the pace relaxed.

Some other family-friendly activities we came across (but didn’t personally fit into our itinerary) include:

More Things to Do Around Mount Rushmore with Kids

• Big Thunder Gold Mine (Keystone)
  A hands-on, interactive mine experience where kids can learn about gold mining — particularly popular with younger children.

• Bear Country USA (Rapid City)
  A drive-through wildlife park where you can see bears and other animals from your car, followed by a walking area — often recommended for families.

• Reptile Gardens (Rapid City)
  A well-known attraction with reptiles, birds and animal shows — more structured and “zoo-like” for kids who enjoy that style of day.

• Custer State Park
  One of the highlights of the Black Hills, with wildlife, scenic drives and open landscapes — ideal if your family enjoys being outdoors.

• Mount Rushmore Evening Lighting Ceremony
  A different way to experience the monument, especially for school-aged children who can engage with the presentation.

• 1880 Train (Keystone to Hill City)
  A historic steam train ride that works well for younger children or anyone who enjoys a slower-paced, scenic experience.

• Jewel Cave or Wind Cave National Park
  More adventurous underground cave tours — better suited to older children depending on confidence and time.

Rushmore Tramway Adventures: The Best Family Activity in Keystone

If you’re looking for one activity that goes beyond simply viewing Mount Rushmore, Rushmore Tramway Adventures is easily one of the best things to do around Mount Rushmore with kids.

What works so well is how close it is — just a couple of miles from the monument — and how it adds something completely different to the day. After the relatively short visit at Mount Rushmore, this gives kids a chance to be active and have some fun without needing to travel far.

The standout for us was the scenic chairlift. It’s a simple activity, but really effective for families. You ride up above Keystone and the surrounding Black Hills, with great views without needing to commit to a longer hike. At the top, there’s space to explore, take photos, and pause before heading back down.

What we liked is that you can keep it very relaxed — just do the chairlift — or build it into something more active depending on your energy levels.

For families with older or more adventurous kids, there’s quite a bit more going on around it. The site has a mix of outdoor, adrenaline-style activities including alpine slides, tubing runs, zip rides, and climbing elements. They also offer a more comprehensive pass that bundles several of these together into a longer experience, which can take up a good part of the afternoon.

Easy Win for Families Visiting Mount Rushmore

If you’re only adding one extra activity near Mount Rushmore, make it the Rushmore Tramway Adventures scenic chairlift.

It’s:

• just a few minutes from the monument

• easy to fit into your day

• and one of the simplest ways to add something fun and memorable for kids of all ages

You can keep it relaxed with just the chairlift, or upgrade to include alpine slides, zip rides, and other activities if your kids want something more active.

Check availability and ticket options for Rushmore Tramway Adventures here

A Next-Level Option: Ziplining Over Mount Rushmore

If your family enjoys something a bit more adventurous, there’s one experience here that really stands out — and it’s genuinely different from anything else in the region. This is the only zipline experience in the world where you can see Mount Rushmore from the air.

The experience itself is a guided 2-hour zipline tour through the Black Hills, and it starts in a way that already feels familiar if you’ve visited Keystone — with a chairlift ride up to the summit. From there, you make your way down a series of five side-by-side ziplines, which means families can ride together rather than splitting up.

What makes it special is the setting. You’re not just ziplining through trees — you’re moving across open space, with views across the Black Hills, and on several sections, you can actually see Mount Rushmore in the distance while you zip. It gives you a completely different perspective on the monument and the surrounding landscape.

From a family perspective, it hits a really good balance:

• fast enough to feel exciting (reaching speeds up to around 40 mph)

• high enough to feel like an adventure (up to 400 ft above the ground in places)

• but structured and guided enough to feel safe and manageable

It’s the kind of experience that older kids particularly connect with, especially if they’re starting to outgrow simpler attractions. Instead of just “seeing” Mount Rushmore, they’re doing something memorable around it — and that’s often what sticks.

What stood out to us is how different this feels compared to the rest of the area. Mount Rushmore itself is quite a short, calm experience. This adds something much more active and energetic, which helps balance the day.

If your family wants to go beyond the typical sightseeing stop, this is one of the most unique ways to experience the area — and easily one of the most memorable.

If you’re looking to add one standout activity to your time in the Black Hills, this is definitely worth a look — you can see the current tour options here.

Mount Rushmore Helicopter Flights

One of the highlights of our trip was taking a helicopter flight over Mount Rushmore.

Seeing the monument from the air gives a completely different perspective on the sculpture and the surrounding landscape. For kids, this can be an exciting and memorable experience, especially if it’s their first helicopter ride.

If you’re considering it, our guide Mount Rushmore Helicopter Flight: Is It Worth the Cost for Families? explains what the experience is like.

Crazy Horse Memorial and Other Stops Families Shouldn’t Miss

Another stop that helps make this area feel more worthwhile is Crazy Horse Memorial.

I wouldn’t go too deep into it here because you already have a separate article on that, but within the context of a South Dakota with kids road trip, it’s one of the most useful additions to a Mount Rushmore day.

It offers:

• a very different historical perspective

• more context on the region

• and another stop that adds variety to the itinerary

From a family perspective, it helps the day feel more complete.

For more detail, see Crazy Horse Memorial: Is It Worth Visiting with Kids?

Scenic Drives in the Black Hills Are Part of the Experience

One of the best things about South Dakota with kids is that even the driving becomes part of the trip.

The Black Hills scenic drives were not just transport between attractions — they were one of the reasons the region felt memorable.

You get:

• winding roads through forested hills

• changing views that feel very different from Europe

• regular opportunities to stop

• and the sense that the journey itself is part of the holiday

For our family, this was a big part of why South Dakota worked so well as a road trip stop. The area felt naturally paced for families. You could move between places without every journey feeling like a chore, and the scenery kept it interesting.

If you’re planning this as part of a broader road trip, having your own car makes a huge difference. For UK families, we generally use Trip.com to compare car hire options, because it’s one of the easiest ways to look at providers and pricing before you travel.

And if you want practical driving insight, our guide Driving in the USA: What European Families Should Know Before a Road Trip explains what to expect.

Is the Mount Rushmore Area Suitable for Young Children?

This question comes up a lot, and the honest answer is yes — but with realistic expectations.

Mount Rushmore is suitable for young children, in the sense that it is easy to access, not too physically demanding, and simple to visit as a family.

But in reality, the wider area is what makes it work better.

For younger children, the monument itself may feel like a short stop. What helps is combining it with:

• somewhere like Keystone

• something scenic like the chairlift

• simple exploring

• and shorter driving stages rather than one long, attraction-heavy day

From our experience, children over 6 years old are probably the sweet spot for this region, but younger children can still enjoy it if you keep the pace realistic and treat the trip as more than just seeing one monument.

We also noticed there are a few other popular family attractions in the area that we didn’t fit in but are frequently recommended — particularly Big Thunder Gold Mine. This is a more hands-on, interactive experience where kids can explore a historic mine and learn about gold mining in the Black Hills.

From what we saw, it tends to appeal especially well to younger children, or families looking for something more structured and educational alongside the more scenic and outdoor-focused activities.

What Keystone Is Like for Families Visiting Mount Rushmore

One of the things that surprised us most was how much Keystone felt like part of the overall experience, rather than just somewhere to pass through after visiting Mount Rushmore.

It’s a small town, but clearly designed around visitors, which makes it work really well for families. Along the main street you’ll find ice cream parlours, souvenir shops, casual restaurants and small attractions, all set within a relaxed, slightly old‑west atmosphere that children tend to enjoy. That alone made the stop feel more like a holiday base than a quick photo opportunity.

What really added to that for us, though, was where we stayed. We chose Powder House Lodge, and it completely changed how this part of the trip felt. Instead of a standard hotel, it’s set up more like a mountain lodge with individual cabins, surrounded by trees, which gave everything a much more relaxed, outdoors feel.

Having access to a shared pool meant Joshua could unwind after the day, and being able to BBQ in the evenings made it feel slower and more like a proper family break rather than constantly eating out or moving on. With an on-site restaurant as well, it was easy to balance convenience with flexibility.

Those small details made a big difference. It didn’t feel like we were just visiting Mount Rushmore — it felt like we were actually staying in the area and enjoying it properly. That, combined with simple activities like wandering Keystone, stopping for ice cream, or heading up to Rushmore Tramway Adventures, gave the whole trip a much more natural rhythm.

From a family perspective, this is what makes the area work so well. Mount Rushmore itself is a fairly short visit, but when you combine it with Keystone, where you stay, and one or two easy activities nearby, it becomes a much more complete experience. That’s an important part of the answer when parents ask is Mount Rushmore suitable for young children — on its own it’s brief, but the surrounding area turns it into a far more enjoyable and manageable family stop.

How Long Should Families Spend in South Dakota?

Many people treat Mount Rushmore as a quick stop, but from our experience, two to three days in the Black Hills works much better for families.

That gives you enough time to experience the area without rushing, and more importantly, it allows the region to feel like part of the holiday rather than just a detour.

A simple family pacing might look like this:

Day 1

• arrive in the Black Hills

• do something easy like the scenic chairlift or relax at your accommodation (we had a lodge and an on site pool - that meant we relax by the pool and BBQ ourselves for dinner which we loved!)

Day 2

• Morning: visit Mount Rushmore early, walk the viewpoints or trail

• combine it with Crazy Horse Memorial

• Afternoon: Rushmore tramway adventures

Day 3 (Optional)

• Leave flexible to explore the wider Black Hills area or rapid city

That slower pace works much better with children. It gives everyone time to enjoy the setting without trying to cram too much in.

Our guide Mount Rushmore with Kids: Planning a Family Road Trip from Denver explains how families often build this into a longer US self-drive itinerary.

Why South Dakota Works So Well for a Family Road Trip

One of the biggest reasons this region works so well is that it fits naturally into a wider American road trip with kids.

Our own trip combined:

• a flight from the UK to Denver

• a drive north to Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills

• a few days exploring South Dakota

• and then time back in Colorado for hiking, rafting and mountain activities

That mix made the whole itinerary much stronger.

For families, this matters because children often respond better to variety than repetition. Combining a landmark like Mount Rushmore with scenic driving, outdoor space, and easy family attractions stops the trip from feeling too one-dimensional.

From our experience, South Dakota is not at its best as a one-stop destination. It is at its best as part of a wider family road trip through the American West.

If you’re budgeting for a similar route, our guide How Much Does It Cost to Visit Mount Rushmore from the UK? breaks down some of the typical costs involved.

Final Verdict: Is South Dakota Worth Visiting With Kids?

What stood out most for us was that South Dakota is about much more than Mount Rushmore.

The combination of scenic drives, time in Keystone enjoying the child friendly adventure activities, the Black Hills setting, the outdoors lodge experience and the mix of simple, family-friendly stops made the whole experience feel varied and easy to enjoy with kids.

From our experience, it works best when treated as part of a wider road trip rather than a single destination. With that approach, it becomes a really rewarding and memorable part of a family itinerary.

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.