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Crazy Horse Memorial
See Badlands and Black Hills, South Dakota family vacation
Crazy Horse Memorial
Custer State Park Area
view websiteAvenue of the Chiefs
Custer, SD 57730
605-673-4681
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Good-for-Kids Rating
Babies
Toddlers & Pre-KSchool-Age KidsPre-Teens & Teens
Crazy Horse Memorial Description
The Crazy Horse Memorial seems to capture kids' imaginations more completely than Mount Rushmore. Maybe the subject matter -- a Lakota leader on a horse -- is more appealing than presidential faces. Maybe it's the active dynamiting that can sometimes be seen at the Memorial. Maybe they can identify with an incredibly huge, not yet completed project (like cleaning their room). Once finished, it will be the largest sculpture in the world. The sense of watching history in the making is palpable, and viewing the uncompleted Crazy Horse gives a new perspective to Mount Rushmore.
Historical Landmark
Kid Tips
School-Age Kids: Don't miss the Indian Museum of North America -- it often has hand-on activities (like grinding corn or Lakota Indian games), and Native American artists and craftspeople set up shop there in the summer.
Pre-Teens & Teens: Grudging attendance turns to rapt attention during the laser show, and kids seem to get a kick out of the idea that one wrong blast could leave Crazy Horse's steed faceless.
Planning Notes
- Join the crowd. If you are in the Black Hills on the first full weekend of June, check out the annual Volks March, which gives approximately 15,000 people the opportunity to climb up (6.2 miles round trip) and look Crazy Horse in the eye.
- Light show. If you are there late in the day, stay for the 30-minute evening laser show which projects Native American images onto the stone. During the summer, dark could fall as late as 10 p.m., so call ahead for more specific information on times.
- Catch a show. On summer weekdays there are two Native American dance performances each afternoon (usually at 1 and 3 p.m., but schedules may vary).
- Catch a ride. There are bus rides to the base of the sculpture for $4 per person, or van rides up to the arm of Crazy Horse for $120 per person, but not when dynamiting is being done or thunderstorms threaten.
- Fireworks. "Night Blasts" (pyrotechnic displays that light up the Monument) are held on June 26 and September 6 every year, weather permitting. Arrive early and bring three cans of food per person for admission (it benefits a local food bank).
Just the Facts
Hours: May 26 - October 8: 7 a.m.- dusk Winter: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Laser Show occurs at dark, from Memorial Day weekend through Native American Day (also known as Columbus Day.)
Fees: Under $10
Recommended Time: 3 – 4 hours
Reviews of Crazy Horse Memorial
A hit with my kids
By jloxtercamp June 17, 2008 | central minnesota
Babies
Toddlers & Pre-K
School-Age Kids
What we loved:
most everything
What we didn't love:
nothing
This was a fun place for my kids to see. There was a lot to do. My kids especially loved the Native American dancers. They had fun playing the drum when the dance was done. Read More
Crazy Horse
By csting77ray June 08, 2008 | Derby, KS
What we loved:
Everything
What we didn't love:
How some people misunderstand it's purpose
My family and I just returned from our annual vacation to South Dakota. We go every June to visit the Black Hills and Crazy Horse.
I wish that more people would take the time to explore Crazy Horse and it's history. In 1968 a sculptor by the name of Korczak Ziolkowski was approached by Red Cloud, a Lakota (Oglala) indian chief, to build a memorial to his people. Crazy Horse was chosen because he never surrendered, never signed a treaty, never even held the pen in his hand. He was captured by soldiers and stabbed in the back. Red Cloud and his people wanted the "white man to know that we have heroes too". After the Native Americans were pushed from their land, many of them fought back out of fear, starvation, abuse by the "white man", and a longing for the lands and culture that had been robbed from them. When Crazy Horse was captured, he was asked, "where are your lands now?", he replied, "my lands are where my dead lie buried". He was a hero to his people, not just the Lakota (Oglala) but all tribes for his strength of will and bravery to fight for what he believed in and never gave up.
Korczak, the artist that began the dream of his monument in 1968, met his wife on the mountain, raised ten children on the mountain, died on the mountain, and was entombed at its base. This was not just his dream, but his life. His wife and children are carrying on that dream, 7 of the children still work daily on the mountain.
Unlike Rushmore, this is a privately funded project, that's why it is still under construction after all of these years. Korczak didn't want the goverment to have control over this project because he wanted the dream to be realized in it's entirety, not ended when they decided that funding it was no longer necessary (for those of you who know your Rushmore history you will understand what that means). He knew that for this dream to be realized it had to be done with the contributions of those that believed in his dream and the dream of those that had inspired him.
If you truly understand the meaning of this sculpture, it will bring you to tears just by standing in it's shadow.
Sincerely,
Eliza Johnson
Derby, KSRead More
Crazy for Crazy Horse
By swjohnsonla November 19, 2007 | Daughter: Age 5 | Santa Monica, California
Babies
Toddlers & Pre-K
School-Age Kids
Pre-Teens & Teens
What we loved:
Overall vision and grandeur
What we didn't love:
Over-emphasis on the "privately funded" nature of the enterprise
The most striking thing about the Crazy Horse Memorial is it's overall hugeness, even in its incomplete state. I guess it was a mistake to go to Crazy Horse first because Rushmore looks tiny in comparison.
What's amazing to see with kids and Crazy Horse is how there's still room for imagination. It's not done yet, so your mind finishes the work. So much in a kid's life is polished, pre-packaged and complete, that the work-in-progress nature of the monument helps kids see that there are still great things that are still to be accomplished -- it's a dream under construction.
What's also refreshing is that it truly honors another side of American History -- one that wasn't always fairly acknowledged. A visit here, plus a trip to the Custer battlefield, and it's almost a certainty that your child will never want to be the "cowboy" when he or she plays "cowboys and indians."
In an age when Xtreme sports glorify the rebel and the underdog, who wouldn't love "Crazy Horse"!
The Visitor Center is unbelievably well-appointed -- gawdy even. The unglorious shilling of memorabilia is a hazard with almost any destination now, but this gift shop feels like a kick in the stomach.
The other nagging thing about the whole place is the grating way they shove its status as a non-governmental enterprise down your throat. I realize they're trying to appeal for funding, and they probably get a lot of traction with the anti-government types out West, but it feels like too much of a hard sell.
Read More
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What's Nearby?
- Custer State Park 13329 Us Highway 16a
Custer, SD 57730
605-255-4515 43.73593888888889 -103.56517583333333 - Flintstone Bedrock City Highway Us 16 & 385
Custer, SD 57730
605-673-4664 43.76681694444444 -103.59833277777778 - Four Mile Old West Town Museum 11921 Us Highway 16
Custer, SD 57730
605-673-3905 43.74484277777778 -103.64638277777777
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