From the iconic faces on Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Crazy Horse Memorial® to the ever-evolving beauty of Rapid City’s Art Alley and City of Presidents, amazing art and sculptures can be found throughout the majestic Black Hills & Badlands region of western South Dakota. Read about some of the featured stops on this trail, and discover more great places by exploring the grid below.
1. Mount Rushmore National Memorial
If there’s one part of South Dakota that’s recognized across the world, it’s Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The 60-foot faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln have been featured in so many movies, TV shows and other pop culture mediums that the men may be more famous now than when they were presidents. Surrounded by the beauty of the Black Hills, the iconic monument has earned the name “America’s Shrine of Democracy” for representing the birth, growth, development and preservation of the United States.
Visitors marvel at the masterwork created by Gutzon Borglum and a brave team of workers who transformed a Black Hills mountain into a carving that attracts nearly 3 million people a year. Start with a breathtaking view from the wide plaza before strolling the half-mile Presidential Trail, where scenic overlooks provide unique perspectives on each carved face.
Don’t miss the Native American heritage village, a cluster of three tipis designed to raise cultural awareness of the state’s first residents. The Sculptor’s Studio is where Borglum himself worked from 1939 to 1941. The large room features a 1/12th-scale model of Mount Rushmore and exhibits detailing the process of imagining, creating and maintaining the memorial. During the summer months, visitors can take in a 15-minute ranger talk about Borglum, the carving process and the daily life of a Mount Rushmore sculptor. You can learn even more at the on-site bookstore, and don’t forget to treat yourself to ice cream at the Carvers’ Café, made from Thomas Jefferson’s own recipe! Check out more surprising facts about Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
2. Crazy Horse Memorial®
It is a masterpiece in progress, a multi-generational undertaking unlike any other in the world. When completed, Crazy Horse Memorial® will be 641 feet long and 563 feet high — but there’s no need to wait to experience this powerful tribute to the Lakota leader and his people. A visit to Crazy Horse Memorial® offers a rare glimpse of a monumental work in progress, showcasing Crazy Horse’s 87-foot face and 263-foot arm, along with a powerful celebration of Native art and culture.
“My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know that the red man has great heroes also.” These were words written by Chief Standing Bear in his letter to a young Polish-American sculptor named Korczak Ziolkowski. Standing Bear — a respected Lakota elder and cousin of Crazy Horse — dreamed of having a mountain carving that would honor his people and equal the scope and vision of the then-in-progress Mount Rushmore. Ziolkowski, a talented sculptor and artist who’d worked briefly on Mount Rushmore before serving in World War II, was intrigued by Standing Bear’s letter and the desire to honor Native contributions and culture. He accepted the offer by Standing Bear and other supporters.
“By carving Crazy Horse, if I can give back to the Indian some of his pride and create a means to keep alive his culture and heritage, my life will have been worthwhile.” — Korczak Ziolkowski
From his arrival in the Black Hills on May 3, 1947, until his death on October 20, 1982, Ziolkowski dedicated his life to Crazy Horse Memorial®. His dream lives on, not only in the work itself but in the generations of his family that continue carving to this day — as well as the 1 million-plus people that visit Crazy Horse Memorial® every year. Learn about the memorial’s history and progress.
In addition to the sculpture, visitors can enjoy a full experience on the Crazy Horse Memorial® campus, including a lifetime’s worth of art in Korczak’s Home and Studio. Start your visit with the historical video at the Welcome Center before enjoying the Native American Educational and Cultural Center, the Indian Museum of North America and “The Nature Gates” — iron gates that Ziolkowski and his family decorated with 219 silhouettes of South Dakota wildlife.
3. Art Alley
Tucked between 6th and 7th streets in downtown Rapid City, Art Alley is a living canvas where creativity runs wild. This open-air gallery bursts with bold murals, thought-provoking graffiti and unexpected masterpieces. Whether you're an art lover or just passing through, this colorful corridor proves that in South Dakota, even the alleyways are full of surprises.
4. City of Presidents
While Pierre works to capture every past South Dakota governor in sculpture form, Rapid City is dedicated to giving every United States president a place in town. The City of Presidents is an installation of life-size bronze sculptures placed along the city’s streets and sidewalks. Every commander-in-chief up to President Obama can be found throughout downtown Rapid City, and it’s not uncommon to see people posing for pictures (or, in Jimmy Carter’s case, giving high-fives) in between shopping, dining or catching a movie at the Elks Theatre, home of the largest movie screen in the state.
5. The Sculpture Project: Passage of Wind & Water
Rapid City’s dedication to public art extends to The Sculpture Project: Passage of Wind & Water, a collection of 21 granite pieces carved by sculptor Masayuki Nagase and placed in the city’s popular Main Street Square (512 Main St.) to illustrate changes the region has endured through the passage of wind and water.
6. Dinosaur Park
A more vintage collection exists at Dinosaur Park (940 Skyline Dr.), where families have been enjoying huge dinosaur statues and spectacular 100-mile views for free since 1936. The five sculptures were a Depression-era project cooked up by the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce, who saw them as a way to create jobs and capitalize on the flood of visitors to nearby Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Emmit A. Sullivan is credited as the sculptor — the same artistic genius who created Christ of the Ozarks and Dinosaur World in Arkansas.
As you continue exploring Rapid City, don’t miss these unique pieces of art:
- Cyclorama Mural, a 191-foot painting of America’s history at Dahl Arts Center (713 7th St.)
- Creative works at the Suzie Cappa Art Center (722 Saint Joseph St.)
- Educational art and science exhibits at Apex Gallery at South Dakota Mines (501 E. Saint Joseph St.)
- Indigenous art at Prairie Edge & Sioux Trading Post (606 Main St.)
- Dangling orbs that contain intricately detailed worlds at Dick Termes' Termesphere® Gallery in Spearfish
- The Rapid Trout and Fallen Officers Memorial at Founders Park (1500 W. Omaha St.)
Art & Museums in Western South Dakota
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