We recommend getting up early for this day, not only because there is a lot to pack in, but also the wildlife is more active in the morning and the roads were almost empty! Although we had originally planned to go directly to Mount Rushmore in the morning, our GPS app (GyPSy Guide - very informative and helpful! ) recommended driving Needles Highway and the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park prior to going to Mount Rushmore. This worked out very well, as we were also able to drive to Wind Cave National Park. We felt fortunate to have the Needles Highway to ourselves early in the morning, as it is a very windy and narrow road, with three narrow one-lane rock tunnels that you pass through. (You can see one of the one-lane tunnels in the photo below!) Although we were not early enough to reserve a tour for Wind Cave, the park includes a grassland area where we saw bison, big horn sheep, two-pronged antelope, prairie dogs, and mule deer. Driving Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park brought us to a large valley filled with hundreds of bison and their calves, some of which crossed the road directly in front of us! We then drove Iron Mountain Road toward Mount Rushmore. This was the road the designers of Mount Rushmore intended to be used to see the monument and there are spectacular views of the area and the approaching monument along the way. This again is a very narrow and twisty road, which includes two unique "pig-tail" bridges that spiral down the road. The Mount Rushmore monument is impressive. It is worth it to hike the half-mile Presidents' Trail; be forewarned that there are over 400 steps to get to the base of the monument along the trail, but the views of the monument are great. The nearby Crazy Horse Memorial is still very much a monument in work with much construction remaining, but interesting nonetheless. As for pubs, we were able to stop at several along the way: Sick-n-Twisted Brewery (which had a delicious peanut butter and jelly porter), Black Hills Miner Brewery with beautiful views of the hills, and back in downtown Rapid City, Hay Camp Brewing Company.
That view of the the monument through the trees is so cool.