South Dakota Travel Guide

Crazy Horse Memorial is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, a giant mountain carving honoring the Native American hero Chief Crazy Horse, and the world's largest mountain sculpture. The project was started in 1948 by Polish-American sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, depicting Chief Crazy Horse on horseback pointing forward. When complete, the sculpture will be 563 feet high and 641 feet long, far exceeding the Mount Rushmore presidents. The project continues today, funded by private donations and admission revenue, refusing government funds. The visitor center includes a Native American museum and cultural center showcasing the history, art and life of North American native peoples. Crazy Horse Memorial is not only a sculptural marvel but also carries the spirit of Native American cultural revitalization and remembrance.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is world-famous for the colossal faces of four U.S. presidents — Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Lincoln — carved into a granite cliff in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum led the work from 1927 to 1941, using dynamite and chisels to transform the mountain into an enduring emblem of the nation's founding, democracy and expansion. Each head rises about 18 metres, a monument to national memory. The on-site Presidential Trail brings visitors close beneath the carvings, while the visitor center uses archives and film to recount the project's grit and ambition. Among America's most recognizable landmarks, it is both an echo of history and a meeting of nature and human vision.

Wind Cave National Park is one of America's oldest and has one of the world's longest cave systems. In South Dakota's Black Hills, it features a vast cave system (explored 240+ km, world's 6th longest), rare "boxwork" formations (~95% of all boxwork worldwide) and pristine grassland above with bison and elk. Named for wind pressure at the cave entrance (up to 110 km/h). Boxwork — rare honeycomb calcite sheets — is the cave's unique feature. Free NPS-guided tours of various lengths. Prairie above has bison, elk and prairie dogs. Visiting to explore the world's rarest cave formations is a unique South Dakota experience.