Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation Review

The improvements for getting closer to see it are wonderful.The visitor center is beautiful!

They aren't going to finish this. They're just milking all the money they can get

Really cool place! Take the bus to the base of the carving!

I'm wondering why the work on crazy horse is at a standstill, the money appears to be available & donations still asked for. It hasn't changed for years. To bad....

I had the pleasure of being able to take a trip into the Black Hills and saw both Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. Both were fantastic but the memorial at Crazy Horse was amazing. A great tribute and memorial to a wonderful part of this country's history! The museum areas were fantastic and had a lot of historical artifacts, historical documents and art work. I cant wait to go back and would love to see it lit up at night looks like an amazing experience!!!

Well worth the visit. Take the tour around the bottom. The guide is very knowledgeable and he was filled with facts and information. The cost is small, only 4.00 per person in a heated van. We hung around for three or four hours in the gift shop and the many artafacts displayed along the way were interesting to view. You can even pick up a chunk of stone that was cut out during the daily work before you leave. It's free but you can also make a donation if you desire.
People are very friendly and will answer any questions you have. Parking is free and a short walk to entrence.

Amazing history displays, the vision of cultural preservation here is infectious.

Entrance for parking $12
$4 for bus tour

This place will never be finished, looks like it did 30 years ago.

Tourist trap. Expensive And you can't even get up close to see it without paying an additional fee for the shuttle bus and then it do get you that close.

Too pricey for what you get. $12/person to see the statue and museum, $4/person to ride the bus to the base and $124/person to get a closer look. Not more than a check-in item.

This place is overhyped but still worth a visit if you're in the area.

Awesome place! Great history and amazing sites! If you are visiting the Black Hills, definitely stop to see Crazy Horse Memorial!

How can any sound minded person say any bad thing about this place...just the mountain's natural rocks make you feel you're in... "sacred place".... Show you Hollyness of the great creator....
Just I wished that they leave people, to look at the mountain from afar and not to climb up on the face and nose of the sculpture, it would be more respectful for the place and the nation and the legend...some wonders of our planet Earth....

Tourist trap. Very expansive, not much to see for that price and you have to pay more to get a bus to go near the mountain.
So, you don't have to pay for that, take some pictures from the road it's way enough.

Cool to see the Crazy Horse carving! Lots of great exhibits! But don't go there if you are worried about catching COVID because almost no one wore mask or social distanced and it was packed!

Fascinating to visit just to appreciate the scale and ambition of the project that the sculptor and his family underook.

The monument is spectacular, and the museum is fascinating. The only reason I am not rating this higher is the lack of any pandemic precautions. Some areas are accessed through closed doors with handles. There is no place to wash your hands. All they would need to do is set up some hand sanitizer stations, but there aren't any. No employees wearing masks, so they obviously don't care about their employees, volunteers, and visitors.

Neat to see. Did this as a drive-by, but would love to see all of it if we had more time.

Be sure to go early and spend the day. The cost is the same if you show up an hour before closing. Beautiful area, highly recommend viewing while in this area.

This is truly an amazing place to visit.It is a little pricy,but really well worth it.Check it out!

Besides the unfinished, vast mountain carving itself, which will be several times as large as Mount Rushmore, there are probably thousands of artifacts, Native American folklore/stories, and artwork pieces to study and read about. One could spend an entire day here and still not make it through the entire visitor s center. We were slightly disappointed by the unfinished state of the carving itself and the fact that the tour bus doesn t get anywhere close to the mountain unless you pay a substantial fee (more than $100 for even the basic tour) and schedule your tour ahead of time. I ve included some pictures of the sculptures displayed at the visitor s center.

Yes, I did pay $24 (for my husband and I) to help a local family CARVE A MOUNTAIN. Yes, I did pay $8 ($4 each) to take a bus ride to get super close to the monument. No, you don't get to "touch it" because it's a live blast zone and construction site! They work on it almost everyday (including the day we went) without government funding. Appreciate this monument for what it is (a piece of history honoring a Lakota warrior in the making that will outlast civilization) and you will not be dissapointed.

Most of the tour and video are about the mountain carving itself but there is a lot of history given about Crazy Horse too. The bus tour guide told us more about him as well. The museum us PACKED with history and information, and I happily bought up a bunch of affordable books in the gift shop. (Souvenirs were pricey because duh.)

So please if you're going to Crazy Horse without knowing it's an unfinished mountain carving, don't bother writing about it on Google. This place is amazing and should be held in the highest esteem.

Definitely worth stopping here. Amazing history and you can take some rock home too :)

27.00 a car load for admission + smart ass greeter at front gate = NO thanks, you can keep your tourist attraction for another sucker.

Sooo cool! There's a whirlwind of info about the history of this monument. There's even a 9-11 tribute to see.

5th time going up! Great exercise. Drink lots of water

Was there 18 yrs. ago as of todate it doesn't look any different. That is sad and disappointing. One would think the family wood finish there Father's dream.

First class museums. Take the shuttle bus to see other views.

Fun to learn more of the history behind the building of the monument. Really nicely done visitors center.

This place is amazing. To hear the story behind the whole thing is mind blowing. I cant not wait to go back in 2020.

This was a really cool place! I've never seen such an ambitious project, and even though the memorial is incomplete, it's still a great experience to go and see it. You can even see their lighting ceremony if you stay there late!

Stop at the entrance take a picture and drive your way to your next stop. This place is scam and the memorial is a money maker and it will never finish.

When I was about 12 years old, I wanted to see the crazy horse. My parents and I went there in 1977.
Then now, I wanted to show my husband all about it and we planned to go see the Crazy Horse, again. But, One guy who is living in South Dakota told us not go there because the Crazy Horse monument never been finish for a long time - It's about 50 years! I knew it! When you go there, get pay for help them to get finish but they put them to other place. We believe what he said. Don't waste your money! Mt. Rushmore is much worth than the Crazy Horse.

It's just awesome, everyone should see our countries great gifts.

This is not what you probably expect but is well worth the money and time. The monument s progress is slow and it is only about 40% completed but it is more than the rock, it is about the people that inspired it.

A magnificent monument funded without taxpayer funding to honor the American Indians.its worth a full day to explore all the displays and wonderful gift shop.

Crazy Horse blows the presidents away. It is awesome. Best part no government funding!

A little pricey but it's not government funded so they have to pay for there own consution. Alot of history to look at has a museum

I'm so glad that the natives American have this wonderful memorial. They should take pride and volunteer to help. Carrying wood, water, wherever is needed. I saw the DVD all about making crazy horse. Not one native was there volunteer to help. It is their memorial. all monies go to there education, so they should be helping. Sit back and do nothing shows no pride. Rather disgusting.

We didn't get to go up close because they was working on it.

Beautiful Memorial. I was able to learn much that I did not know. I am thankful for the leaders choosing Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski. I am even more thankful for Ruth Ziolkowski, the families determination, and the Foundation's mission to protect and preserve the culture, provide a living heritage of the North American Indians, and the traditions.

I have had the privilege to visit the area on two occasions. It was nice to see the changes from one visit to the other. Sculpting continues so there will be new sites for every visit. The museum is beautiful. Everyone is kind, friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. We had the joy and honor of meeting and speaking Mr. & Mrs. Ziolkowski's daughters. It was nice to hear her passion for the area.

It has been many years since our stay in the area. I look forward to going back again during my next visit to the Black Hills area.

Clearly the preeminent landmark in all of the US. 'merica!

Awesome Park great museum lot of things to check out

I enjoy the drive to the monument. I love the location of the monument and the contributions from all nations. So much history with each item makes you appreciate where we are today despite the struggles and hardships.

A must see! The volks March held memorial day weekend & again labor day weekend gives the chance to hike up to the monument. A must do! You won"t
regret it!

Pay no attention to the small-minded people who are critical of this wonderful place. To the people who complain that "it isn't done yet" ... well, try moving a mountain yourself and see how long it takes you. It's incredible that a family is so dedicated to honoring the native people of North America that their entire lives are spent carving a monument for countless future generations to enjoy and be inspired by.

Great museum and restaurants. You'll pay extra to take the bus to Crazy Horse

This is such a noble project to honor the culture and history of Native Americans. The Ziolkowski family showed so much dedication through generations and the monument is more than just a beautiful sculpture. It s a museum, a school, and a cultural center. Would highly recommend visiting it along with Mt. Rushmore. They also offer a laser show in the evenings at 8 pm. Parking was a breeze.

So much more informative than Mt Rushmore. The movie is very informative. Pay the $4 and take the bus to the base, it will give you the true enormity of the project. We'll be back in 10 years to see the progress!

How nice it would be to be able to see it completed .....

This was an amazing experience! This will be a huge monument when it is done! Mount Rushmore would fit on Crazy Horse's face alone. The mountain is being carved in the round. It will stand 563' tall and 641' long. All of this, and it has been done without one dime from the government. They turned down $10 Million twice. That's integrity.

The people were very friendly. The museum had many amazing displays. I learned a lot about Korczak, Crazy Horse, and the American Indian while I was there. We took the bus tour to the foot of the mountain. It was very informative, our bus driver knew a lot about the memorial history and the family history. Of course, the bus tour reveals more interesting things than you can see from a distance as well. We came back later to watch the laser light show. It was great! The shops had beautiful items to buy!

We went to Mount Rushmore later. It wasn't a bad experience, but we were a little disappointed because it was not up to the friendly standard of Crazy Horse. With all the granite around, it was a little sterile too. Sometimes people complain about Crazy Horse not being finished, but little do they know that Mount Rushmore has stood unfinished for over 60 years now. Isn't it ironic?

Makes Mt Rushmore look small... Paid for with ZERO Tax Dollars

Absolutely worth the visit and the entry fee supports the mission of the memorial. If you're in the Black Hills and planning to see Mt. Rushmore you owe it to yourself to see this one as well to get a balanced view of the history of the area. There is also a museum on site as well as several other things to see and do. It is informative and touching without overdoing it. Even my pre-schooler learned something.

This definitely has to be something that interests you initially to appreciate the whole of the project. The sheer scale alone of the sculpture is tough to fathom. Try and start your visit with the informative film as it gives you a great context to the memorial. It's entirely privately funded. Your visits make it possible!

It's good but I wish I've could've seen more the history around it is interesting but due to weather I couldn't experience all of it otherwise I would give this place a 5 star

I love the concept of what they are doing here, only this memorial will never be completed in mine or my children's lifetime which elicits the rating... it's rather disappointing to see from 3 miles away a completely unfinished memorial that they've been working on since the 1940s.

Paid the admission at the gate but was stopped at the trail head to the monument. It closes for tours at 3 pm and they wouldn't let us pass at 2:45. I could have taken the same photo at the gate.

Take the bus trip, for $4 it is worth it in my opinion.

Great Memorial
And all without state funds
But will probably take more than 100 years to complete it.

Great view - even better by helicopter! Mom went. I supported her from the ground lol

Once they are done it s going to be So amazing. Will come back when it is done. Great history

Not sure why this is a thing when the statue was started in 1948 and has only the face to show for it (which you can t really see because of how it s turned and where the viewpoint is placed). Can t believe they charge $12 for this when Mount Rushmore is only $10...

All about money and donations. Not much work happening on the memorial. More about the family than about Native Americans.

Visited during covid so was not able to get the full experience but from past times visiting the visitor center had lots of good information about the site, staff were friendly and helpful when deciding what tour to go on, was able to bus out to the site to see the work closer. View from a far is still great

Way over charge! After paying 24.00 to get in,then you have to pay another 4.00 for a bus ride to the foot of the mountain. They use excuse about why the Monument hasn't been finish. Selling mugs for University that don't exist! Just because someone said their going to build it. They can't finish a Monument of Crazy Horse. Why would anyone believe they going to build a School or University. They take in over 4 million a year!!
Where does the money go????

We went to the Crazy Horse monument as part of an AVA Volksmarch event. The trail to the top was challenging, but the bigger challenge was the weather.
It was really special to get such an up close view of this work of art in progress. Looking forward to getting another chance to do this again with better weather conditions.

Two visits there - one in 1982 and one in 2014 - lots of progress in between. In 1982 there were no details on the face!

A great and breath taking Memorial to the American Indian

Stunning piece of carving! The grounds, Museum, Restaurant were great. Hidden treasure!

This place is stunning and the ride to nearer to the actual memorial is a must to appreciate its size. Have to visit the museum to understand the story. It's an amazing place.

Not impressed. $11 PER PERSON is a ridiculous amount, especially considering how little progress has been made since I was a kid in Spearfish. The "museum" is nothing more than a over-sized gift shop that pushes items made in China as native made goods. My wife purchased earrings in Rapid for $5 that this place sold for $17.
The price of admission should be posted at the entrance and there should be a means to turn around before reaching the gate.

The entire site is nothing more than a means to say "look how evil white people are"

I like the whole idea of the sculpture but the fact they won't take government money to help build it makes me mad that it won't get done very fast.

The main reason I went to the Black Hills and I wasn't disappointed

Wow!! This place was amazing; we stopped here to see the wonderful things we heard. We were greeted by security officer Brian! He talked with us; answered our questions and talked us into a wonderful trip to the top of the mountain to see Crazy Horse up close and personal and we are so glad he did!! Thank you again Brian!! Our tour guide Bill was amazing- gave us a great background story and answered all our questions; patient with us when we were up exploring and taking pictures. You can definitely tell Bill has a wonderful heart & he loves his job. The lady we booked the trip with was wonderful- I can t remember her name (sorry) but she helped us get booked and gave us all the information we needed for a great trip to the top of the mountain. I hope we get back real soon!!!!