If the weather is good we go to Mt. Rushmore first for 1½ hours. There is a 14 minute video about the carving, the sculptor Gutzon Borglum, and workers. The Lincoln Borglum Museum has some great displays about Borglum, his family and his works, the mountain and machinery and the workers. The Presidential Trail is a gradually inclining walk that goes under the faces in the rock rubble with great spots for pictures of the individual faces. If you go further there is a strenuous walk down to the Sculptor’s Studio (open only in the summer months) then back up to the viewing terrace. The Avenue of Flags represents all 50 states and the territories, and their respective dates of admission to the Union. There is also a new Youth Exploration area recently opened. The large gift shop has many items. The Carvers’ Café and an ice cream shop are available for refreshments. As we leave we stop for a picture at the side profile of George Washington.
From Mt. Rushmore we drive 30 minutes to Crazy Horse Memorial. We allow 1½ hours here, or more if we eat lunch in the Laughing Water Restaurant. This is a 3 sided sculpture which will be the largest in the world when completed. There is a 20 minute video about the carving and the sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and his family that are doing the work. The North American Indian Museum has items from many different Indian tribes, with 90% of the items being donated. The gift shop has many Native made items for sale. Ziolkowski’s workshop and the log home he built, filled with antiques, are available to walk through. There is a Native American Cultural Center where you can watch Natives making items for sale, as well as display items to see and touch. There is a brass Nature Gate and a huge statue of Fighting Stallions.
After leaving Crazy Horse we drive through the city of Custer which is the oldest town in the Black Hills, and down into Custer State Park where we drive the 18 mile Wildlife Loop Road. In the spring there are around 1300 buffalo including newborn calves in the park. There are also antelope, deer, prairie dogs, begging burros and breath-taking scenery. We make a comfort stop by the State Game Lodge area at Coolidge Inn Store or Custer State Park Visitor Center, then we drive back to Rapid City.
Nick was a fantastic tour guide. We appreciated the knowledge he shared as well as the casual conversation. It was the perfect blend of together and time alone.
We were picked up in a well-stocked, clean mini van by Nick Spano. His instructions as to time and place were clear. He was very friendly, knowledgeable and professional while making us feel like we had been friends for years! The tour was perfect! We began at Custer State Park wildlife loop and Nick had treats for the donkeys that we hand fed them! He knew all about the wildlife and made every effort to point out so many important details! The onto Crazy Horse monument that IMO is a must see! The timing in each stop was just enough with a late lunch that the 3 of us decided upon that was very tasty, followed by ice cream, which was Thomas Jefferson's, own vanilla recipe! That took place at Mt. Rushmore! So cool! We thoroughly enjoyed Nick and all the knowledge and graciousness he imparted on us! A trip to remember! Thanks, NIck!
This was great time. Bruce was very knowledgeable about the various areas we went to. Mount Rushmore & Crazy Horse was amazing.
Our guide Gerry was very knowledgeable and informative about the history along the way to the various stops. Took us into the visitor centers and gave us the general run down of where things were. We stopped at the Blue Bell Restaurant for a great lunch! He also offered to take pictures of us at Mt Rushmore. He truly showed us everything we wanted to see and made our day a pleasurable experience. Definitely recommend this tour with Affordable Adventures
Brilliant day trip, Nick was so informative not only about where we visited but about all of South Dakota’s history, he even had some hidden tricks to maximise the wildlife viewing in Custer state park
Nick was a great guide. Enjoyed!
Ann was a magnificent guide! She knew SO much about the area, and was so very kind and accommodating! The landscape was absolutely breathtaking. This was a trip of a lifetime!!
My sisters and I really enjoyed our trip with Affordable Adventures. Nick was a knowledgeable guide and provided plenty of information about the state and the area as well as all the places we visited. Lunch was very good. If we were to make one change it would be to shorten the day a bit by eliminating the Crazy Horse stop.
Our guide, Nick, was outstanding. He was knowledgeable and took the extra steps to make sure our tour was exceptional. I would highly recommend this tour.
Amazing experience! Mt Rushmore is a sight to see. Custer state park was beautiful. Our tour guide Nick was very knowledgeable, personal, and informative. He made it a great experience!
We got to see Bison. The roads were fun to experience and the tunnels awesome. The length of each was stop was quite sufficient.
Very informative and Russ was a perfect guide.
The tour guide, Nick, was absolutely great. Very informative. Great personality. Very pleasant to deal with. Highly recommend
Our tour guide, Cindy, was extremely knowledgeable and pleasant and shared a lot of information relative to SD but unfortunately also shared way too much personal information.
An amazing tour with our Tour Guide Scott. All the stops on the tour, you could certainly do yourself, but you would be missing the inside information in regards to history and facts that you will not find on your own. It was a full day of touring and Scott presented all the high spots. Well worth our time to do it right. Would highly recommend Scott as well as Affordable Adventures.
Russ was great. Gave us info about downtown Rapid City as well as a terrific tour of Mt. Rushmore and Crazy House. Also, lots of history about the area and people.
Our guide Scott was fantastic! By the end of the day he was part of the family!
Trip was fantastic. Well narrated, very relaxed and full of enjoyment from start to finish, Our guide was Scott. He was phenomenal. Really knew his stuff. He was not only knowledgeable but a great personality. He added so much to the trip and made sure all our questions were answered and really made sure each of us was having a good time. Scott really worked to get us to some buffalo in Custer State Park and he came through. A huge herd for us to watch and photograph. He really helped make the trip. I would highly recommend the trip and certainly with Scott as the guide.
Bruce was incredible and very knowledgeable. He took us to places we never would have known existed as a “surprise”. Very enjoyable day!
What an amazing tour from start to finish. The sights we saw from the main attractions to the unexpected suprises were wonderful and it was all possible because of our guide Jerry. Jerry's knowledge af the area, his preperation, personality, and professionalism made this one of the best private tours we have taken. What a delightful adventure my wife and I had today. We both recommend this tour and highly reccomend Jerry as your guide
What a fabulous company! So helpful, on time. Our tour guide Scott was fantastic. A history buff himself added so much to the details and depth of our trip. Eating at the Blue Bell Lodge was historic and the food great. And seeing the Buffalo up close was quite the experience. Highly recommend this company!
Scott was pleasurable knowledgeable and thorough could not have done without him highly recommend
Our tour was much more than what we would have hoped for. Our tour guide Bruce was knowledgeable, professional, and very friendly. We were so excited to have had the chance to see the buffaloes roaming the hills. Every question we had, he answered right away. He even encouraged us to ask him anything that would increase our knowledge of the places we toured. We would recommend this tour to anyone that has never visited these areas.
We had a great tour with Scott. He’s very knowledgeable and a great conversationalist. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse and hearing the history behind these monumental sculptures. The lunch and ride through Custer State Park was amazing as well. I highly recommend this tour.
Great guide. Wonderful experience.
Great tour guide. Saw lots of interesting sights. We had good weather. A bit pricey but created a great memory.
Bruce was a great tour guide. He was knowledgeable, thoughtful and fun to be with. The sights were spectacular and exceeded our expectations.
Scott was our guide. He knew quite a bit of facts, history, and current activites with the Mount Rushmore/Crazy Horse/Cluster Park. He was very interactive. I would recommend this tour, every enjoyable!
Scott was pleasant, well spoken and the pace of the tour was excellent. Information about the tour and the history of the area was excellent.
Our Tour Guide, Scott with Affordable Tours gave us the "Royal Treatment"! He picked us as scheduled in downtown Rapid City in an extremely comfortable and roomy tour van. What's great about going on these private/semi-private tours is the guide is knowledgeable and knows the history about Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse sites. Scott was very good at guiding us to best spots to see and made sure we got to them before the crowds did! He knew the spots to park to get us close, kept the tour moving in a timely manner to the 4 stops we made. And even made sure we had reservations at the Blue Belle Lodge to enjoy a fantastic lunch! When we got to the Wildlife Loop we so fortunate to see so many of the wildlife animals out on the prairie; antelope, 2 herds of bison in different spots, prairie dogs. We even got out to feed the wild donkeys with little biscuits he had especially packed. Overall, an amazing and enjoyable tour to see some of the key sites in the Black Hills! Would do it again!
We had a brilliant day. We learned so much from Scott about Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Custer Park. We felt we got so much out of all three destinations. Tbe Buffalo in Custer were amazing. Thank you Scott for a brilliant day
Our guide was a great guy and incredibly knowledgeable about Mount Rushmore, Crazyhorse, and Custer State Park. it was a great day!
Ann was such a lovely tour guide. You can tell she loves what she does. She provided us with wonderful information and made sure we were comfortable with lots of air conditioning (it was 106 degrees), cold water and snacks. This was a lovely excursion.
We had never been to the Badlands, Custer State Park, or the Black Hills, so we decided we wanted to visit them with a guide/tour. I researched and found Affordable Adventures to be the most affordable with hotel pickup. After I emailed my tour choices, Ann (the owner) reached out to me to discuss details. She gave me her phone number and she was so hospitable and accommodating. I scheduled four tour packages (June 11-13) and each and every one was amazing! We were the only passengers on our daytime tours and Scott was our driver and guide for all of them. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and so personable. We were so lucky to have him! We were picked up (on time) in a nice clean van and there was a variety of cracker/cookie snacks and water provided for each tour. (We brought a couple of apples along each day, too). We had one drizzly day and Scott provided umbrellas. Scott was also great about taking photos at all of our stops and allowing us to take as much time as we needed to enjoy the scenery. All in all, we had a fantastic three days in South Dakota and we were so glad that we chose Affordable Adventures to share all of their knowledge about the area and get us to the best spots for viewing and photos!
My husband and I highly recommend the Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Custer State Park Loop tour. We had a wonderful day with our guide, Scott, who was friendly, and knowledgeable of the places we were visiting. He drove our group of 6 in a comfortable van, supplied with snacks and water. He kept us entertained with his knowledge of the points of interest. Our group even spent a delightful time together over a delicious lunch at the Blue Bell Lodge. It was a day well spent, our adventure exceeded our expectations with the attention to details for our comfort and experiencing these famous landmarks.
A wonderful way to spend a day couldn’t have been happier. Scott, our guide was kind knowledgeable and a delight to be with, a real gentleman showed us all the sites. Nothing was a rush. Couldn’t recommend any higher.
We had an absolutely outstanding experience on this tour! From beginning to end, everything was first-class, and it exceeded our expectations in every way. If you're looking for a top-notch way to experience the Black Hills, this is it. Our tour guide, Scott, was exceptional. He was kind, respectful, patient, and incredibly knowledgeable. It was obvious that he genuinely loves the Black Hills and enjoys sharing its history, beauty, and stories with others. He took the time to answer every question, never rushed anyone, and made sure everyone on the tour felt comfortable and included. Not only did we learn so much about each of the places we visited, but Scott also shared fascinating facts and stories about the Black Hills region throughout the entire tour. We came away with a much deeper appreciation for the area's history, geology, wildlife, and culture. His knowledge added so much to the experience and made every stop even more meaningful. The entire tour was well organized, informative, and enjoyable. We left feeling like we had experienced far more than we ever could have on our own. We would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting the Black Hills, and if you have the opportunity to tour with Scott, consider yourself fortunate. He truly made an already wonderful experience unforgettable!
Great experience, Scott was knowledgeable of the areas. Guided us thru hilights at both Mt Rushmore and Custer State Park.
Knowledgeable guide from Black Hills area. Was very pleasant. We chose to do this because not from this area and we believe was absolutely the right choice. Feel like we were able to see more doing this way. The narration throughout was awesome. Bruce was an amazing guide. Would highly recommend.
The guide was with was with us all day and gave knowledgeable information about any topic we asked about during the trip, took us everywhere promised on the trip plus a few extra areas that he thought would be memorable (and were!) pulled over for extra photos! And was very helpful overall! Very friendly courteous and outgoing!
Scott our tour guide from Affordable Adventures was awesome! He wove together a very history and local facts as we made our way through Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse and the Custer State Park! For our lunch break he made sure we had great experience and delicious food to select from at the Blue Belle Lodge! Scott went out of his way to give a wonderful tour! Thank you!
Ellen was very professional, informative, and made the tour extremely interesting and fun. Her vast knowledge and attention to detail, made it very enjoyable for entire family. Ellen went above and beyond to ensure our family had a memorable experience. I highly recommend this tour. Thank you Ellen truly a great experience!!
You can’t control the weather but we got very lucky! Our guide Scott was excellent and kept everything interesting and on schedule.
Guides are knowledgeable, always trying to make your visit a great one. Willing to go the extra mile and very personable.
When booking the tour, we didn't realize it was a private tour. We were staying in Custer but when booking the tour the option of being picked up in Custer did not show up. It would have made tour much easier. The guide was terrific, knowledgeable and friendly. We completed one item on the bucket list in style.
We had an amazing time with Affordable Adventures. They were so easy to work with while planning our trip. Our tour guide, Susan, was so knowledgeable about the history of the area. We never felt rushed. She made a couple unplanned stops to point out interesting places not on the itinerary. She even had treats to feed the wild burros as we stopped in Custer's Park to look at the buffalo and other wildlife. We enjoyed the tour so much that we asked if it would be possible to arrange a trip the following day to the Reptile Gardens and the Air and Space Museum. Although, it was not a tour they normally offer, they accommodated our request. The Reptile Gardens was a must see, especially for our grandson. The price was extremely reasonable and our tour guide, Ann, was absolutely delightful and so knowledgeable, as well. We would highly recommend Affordable Adventures. They were very professional and it was evident they wanted us to have the best experience possible. The tour van was very clean and cold water and snacks were provided. Thank you Afforable Adventures for all the great memories.
We went on the Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and CSP Wildlife Loop tour with Nick as our tour guide. It was nice to sit back and let someone else do the driving so we could take in the views and the monuments. The tour was well worth the price. Our guide Nick was informative, funny, and a great guy! He told us so much information and old time lore we would have never known if we had gone on our own. He was also polite and respectful of our wants and needs. He is a great asset to the company. We wish we could use him for all our tours!
We had Nick as a tour guide and he was the best. Very patient with us and extremely knowledgeable. We were very blessed with Nick as our tour guide.
This was an amazing day. The tour guide, Nick, was the best, a great storyteller and tons of knowledge. Cost of tour is well worth it and hope Nick is your guide! Brenda
We had an excellent tour with Scott. He went out of his way to make sure we got to see everything, and he shared a wealth of information with us!
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