Keystone: Mt. Rushmore Zipline Tour & Black Hills Views

4.95

(453 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I barely had time to second-guess myself before we clipped in—our guide, Jamie, just grinned and checked my harness one more time. First platform was higher than I expected, honestly. You could smell the pine needles baking in the sun and someone’s sunscreen (coconut? reminded me of summer camp). The first zipline shot us out over a little ravine—my stomach dropped but in a good way. Jamie yelled something about looking left for the faces on Mt. Rushmore, but I was too busy trying not to scream.

The hike between lines wasn’t tough, just enough to get your heart going. We stopped under these massive Ponderosa pines and Jamie pointed out how you can tell them by their bark—it smells like vanilla if you get close enough (I tried it, she was right). By the third line, I finally remembered to look up instead of just at my feet. There it was—Mt. Rushmore peeking through the trees, way bigger than I’d thought from this angle. Someone behind me said it looked like they were watching us fly by, which made me laugh.

By the last zipline my hands weren’t even shaking anymore. The wind felt cold against my cheeks but I didn’t care—I could hear birds somewhere below and the sound of someone else whooping ahead of me. The whole thing took about two hours but it felt both longer and shorter at once, if that makes sense? Walking back at the end, I kept thinking about how weirdly peaceful it was up there between flights—just you, some strangers who feel less strange now, and those granite faces off in the distance.