Mt Rushmore For Retirees



Mt Rushmore is about 30 minutes from the nearest town of Keystone. So make sure to stop beforehand if you have the need. Along the way you can see all kinds of unique animals like Buffalo and other smaller animals.  Once you arrive at Mt Rushmore entrance is free to the park but parking costs. Parking for seniors is half price at $5 for 62 and older. National Park passes are not valid for Mt. Rushmore. After all you are not paying to visit but to park.

The parking lot is huge. If you have handicap parking it won't be a problem. If you do not have handicap parking but have difficulty with long walks make sure to get to the park early so you do not have a long walk. If you get to the park late you will have a long walk ahead of you.

The ground floor has stores on both sides, information center, restaurant, and restrooms. The restaurant may look familiar as it is where the famous scene in North By Northwest was filmed. The restaurant has inside seating with large windows so you have a view of the mountain. The food is decent and a little more expensive then it should be but it is reasonable for where you are at.

 While you do have a bit of walking to get to the viewing platform it is mostly flat and is a brick path. After walking along way to the end toward the mountain you will find an elevator that takes you to the visitor center. You can take your photo in front of the mountain before heading to the visitor center. This is as close as you get to the mountain.

The visitor center has no stores. The visitor center has information about the construction and history of Mount Rushmore. The visitor center has a movie that is about roughly 30 minutes long. There are also photos and other things to see. There are also restrooms in the visitor center.

It was a great experience. Everyone should go at least once in their life. It is out of the way which makes it more difficult to reach for retired visitors. Even with my difficulties traveling my husband and I were able to make it though. There are lots of restrooms if that is a concern for you like it is for me. I regret not going when I was younger. Had I gone then I would still go back but now that I am older and have so many places I want to see it is unlikely I will return but I will treasure my experience.

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