Mount Rushmore National Memorial

This can be a monument and an inspiration for the continuance of

the democratic-republican form of government, not only in our own

beloved country, but, we hope, throughout the world.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936

You can view Mount Rushmore from the roadside. It is best viewed and photographed in the morning light. After visiting the information center, follow the 0.6-mile Presidential Trail that begins at the Grand Terrace, with access to viewing sites near the rocky slopes below the faces.

The Evening Lighting Ceremony is held in the outdoor amphitheater nightly in the summer. The rest of the year the sculpture is illuminated at sunset for a couple of hours.