Parking
Use the memorial’s main parking facility and follow signs to Grand View Terrace, the start. Parking is fee-based; federal recreation passes do not cover it.
Overview
About Presidential Trail (Stair-Free Route)
Why go
- Close view of the carved faces without the full loop’s stairs
- Short, surfaced route with a simple return
Heads up
- Stops at the base viewing areas and does not reach the Sculptor’s Studio
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Mount Rushmore map
Full mapElevation5,255–5,277 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
1 active Mount Rushmore alert
- InfoSculptor’s Studio Heat AdvisoryThe Sculptor’s Studio may close temporarily during periods of high heat. - The closure protects visitors and staff from high heat.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Mount Rushmore Tour Guide
Your drive to Presidential Trail (Stair-Free Route), narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Mount Rushmore National Memorial. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Grand View Terrace and the Visitor Complex0:00 / 0:34
“You're approaching the memorial visitor complex and the walk to Grand View Terrace. For the classic photo of all four faces, keep some granite below the portraits in frame to show their scale.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Mount Rushmore Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Washington's Profile View
- Blackberry Trailhead: Creek Walk or Lake Hike
- Wrinkled Rock Climbing Area
- A Record for the Distant Future
- 5 audio storiesacross Mount Rushmore’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Mountain Goat, Mule Deer, White-tailed Deer, and 7 more
- Works offlinemaps, 8 trails, 18 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“We recently toured Badlands, Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore and more! We learned so much from this app as we toured each of these sites. The audio tours are worth the money.”
Trail guide
Hiking Presidential Trail (Stair-Free Route)
A close view without the stairsThis is the surfaced first leg of the Presidential Trail, walked from Grand View Terrace to…
This is the surfaced first leg of the Presidential Trail, walked from Grand View Terrace to viewing areas at the base of Mount Rushmore and back. The park gives the outward leg as about 0.2 mile; retracing it makes this roughly a 0.4-mile round trip. Allow about 20 to 30 minutes with a stop at the view. It is a good choice if you want to stand close to the four carved faces without taking on the full stair loop.
Turn around at the base viewsThe path runs from Grand View Terrace to the base viewing areas, then returns the same way.
The path runs from Grand View Terrace to the base viewing areas, then returns the same way. The park describes this section as surfaced to accommodate wheelchairs. From the viewing area, keep some of the pines below the granite in a photo to show the scale of the faces. The full 0.6-mile loop continues toward the Sculptor’s Studio and includes 422 stairs, so turn back here to stay on the stair-free route.
Start at the memorial entranceUse the memorial’s main parking facility, then follow signs to Grand View Terrace.
Use the memorial’s main parking facility, then follow signs to Grand View Terrace. Parking is fee-based; federal recreation passes do not cover the parking charge. Pets are not allowed past the entrance pergola, while service animals may accompany visitors in public areas.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Mount Rushmore
87 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
44 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
20 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
14 sightingsTurkey VultureMost seen around 1 PMSighting map
32 sightingsMarmotMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
11 sightingsBrook TroutMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Mount Rushmore. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
