Must-do at Mount Rushmore! Walk the Avenue of Flags to get closer and closer to Mount Rushmore presidents’ faces! ⛰🇺🇸 Black Hills South Dakota

Hi there!

So first, it is possible to get distant views of the Mount Rushmore presidents from the road as you are driving through Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

And before that, you can get even more distant views of Mount Rushmore as you’re driving through the Iron Mountain Road tunnels!

For some people, that could be the perfect way of seeing Mount Rushmore.

And then on their way they go to drive out of Mount Rushmore National Memorial to see more of the Black Hills and beyond!

But if you want a little bit more out of your Mount Rushmore experience, you might want to WALK to see Mount Rushmore too!

And, it’s possible to walk in Mount Rushmore National Memorial in such a way that as you are walking, you will be walking towards the Mount Rushmore presidents.

Doing this means that you getting closer and closer to Mount Rushmore, which means that the Mount Rushmore faces also appear to be getting bigger and bigger!

This is the walk along the path called Avenue of Flags!

It’s a walk to the Grand View Terrace!

Avenue of Flags is a walking path that will get you closer and closer to Mount Rushmore!

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Avenue of Flags to Grand View Terrace

And the grand finale of walking Avenue of Flags is getting to the Grand View Terrace and seeing the Mount Rushmore presidents in front of you!

Watch the Avenue of Flags video on youtube!

Avenue of Flags to Mount Rushmore amphitheater

At the end of Avenue of Flags is also where you will find the Mount Rushmore amphitheater!

When you are at the Grand View Terrace, if you look down, you will see it!

Once you are at the Grand View Terrace, you will also see stairs that go down to the amphitheater.

You can go down to the amphitheater seats even if there is no event.

These stairs will also take you to the Lincoln Borglum Visitor Center, which is the main Mount Rushmore visitor center.

The Mount Rushmore Visitor Center is basically at the top of the amphitheater.

When you are at the Grand View Terrace, you are basically standing directly above the visitor center.

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Find your flag on the Avenue of Flags

So the reason it’s called the Avenue of Flags is because yes, you will be walking down a path with flags flying high on both sides of you.

The flags that you will be walking by are flags of all 50 states in the United States, along with the flags of Washington D.C. and U.S. territories.

Finding your state’s flag will be easy because they are placed in alphabetical order.

When you CAN’T see Mount Rushmore presidents from Avenue of Flags…

If you are visiting Mount Rushmore in the rain…

You may or may not see the Mount Rushmore presidents while walking the Avenue of Flags!

The first time I walked the Avenue of Flags, it was raining.

I had no idea that you were supposed to be able see the Mount Rushmore presidents as you’re walking!

That’s because they were hidden by clouds!

But, later the clouds went away from just a moment, and I did catch a glimpse of the Mount Rushmore presidents while walking the Avenue of Flags in the rain!

It is basically the same thing if you go to see Mount Rushmore in the fog.

If you see some bad weather in the forecast, see more about a foggy or rainy day visit to Mount Rushmore.

More below about what you’ll see walking Avenue of the Flags on a good weather day at Mount Rushmore!

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Now…

Here is a bit of how it can go to walk the Avenue of Flags at Mount Rushmore!

Entry to Mount Rushmore National Memorial is free, which means that driving through the Mount Rushmore National Memorial park is free.

But if you want to do walk the Avenue of Flags, this requires parking at the Mount Rushmore parking lot which is not free.

It’s around $10 per car for a Mount Rushmore pass, and this will last for 1 year. See current fees.

So the cost to walk to see the Mount Rushmore presidents getting closer and closer is $10 for your group.

Once you have entered Mount Rushmore National Memorial, you will keep driving until you see the sign for parking.

Then you’ll drive towards the parking lot.

Then, after you have parked, you will start your walk towards the Mount Rushmore presidents!

First you will come across the “information center.”

The information center is different from the main Mount Rushmore visitor center that’s at the amphitheater.

You can grab a Mount Rushmore newspaper here, which will give you a bit more information on Mount Rushmore.

Across from the informational center is also where you can buy the Mount Rushmore audio tour. This is another way to get a bit more context about Mount Rushmore and how it came to be.

Oh, and there are also bathrooms across from the information center.

So once you get past all that, then you can really start your walk to Avenue of Flags and see the Mount Rushmore presidents closer up!

Then, you’ll see the flags!

Look down and you’ll also see that is says Avenue of Flags.

And then you are at the end of Avenue of the Flags where you will be at the Grand View Terrace with Mount Rushmore in front of you!

And that’s a bit about walking Avenue of Flags to the Mount Rushmore Grand View Terrace!

If you are interested in Mount Rushmore, you may also be interested in these road trip activities:

• Things to do for views in Mount Rushmore National Memorial
• Can you see Crazy Horse Memorial from the road?
• Things to do in the Black Hills for VIEWS
• Things to do in Badlands National Park
• Things to do in Devils Tower National Monument
• Things to do in Custer State Park
• Things to do in Wind Cave National Park
• Things to do in Black Hills National Forest
• What is up with the Wall Drug Store?
• Things to do in Jewel Cave National Monument
• Things to do in Yellowstone National Park
• Driving from Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone
• Driving from Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton National Park

HAPPY WALKING TO SEE MOUNT RUSHMORE PRESIDENTS!