Big Pine Trail Head to Mt. Rushmore
March 25, 2018 - Even though March is generally pretty wet here, this year it has been unusually snowy, so there were still patches of snow and ice on the trail. There also were a lot of downed trees on trail, but nothing that couldn't be easily navigated around. The day was cool, around 40 degrees and overcast, but still a pretty nice day.
The trail begins at The Big Pine trail head which is about a quarter mile past HorseThief Lake and winds it's way for 5 1/2 miles through the Black Hills until you end up in a valley below Mount Rushmore.
Where to turn and park.
Information about the trail.
Beginning of the trail which starts across the road.
A lot of down trees in certain places on the trail.
Pretty amazing views.
You can see Mount Rushmore - Keep an eye out for it.
A side trail is then taken up to the National Monument where you can enter the monument if so desired. It should be noted that there is no admission fee into the monument but there is a parking fee, so if you hike to it like we did, you can enter for free.
We decided to just walk the road back to our car, and since it was not tourist season, the road was pretty quiet and it was a nice walk. The whole trip was 9.3 miles and took about 4 1/4 hours.
Feels like you are on top of the world.
Across the street from Mount Rushmore - The trail begins/ends. There are a couple of picnic tables and a place to tie your horses.