This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.
What’s 641 feet long, stands 563 feet high, and resides in the side of a mountain?
Well, technically nothing yet. However, once completed, the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota will lay claim to the title of the largest sculpture in the world and the answer to that question.
The project began in 1948 when sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski was invited to carve a mountain to honor the heritage, tradition, and culture of North American Indians. Its namesake, Crazy Horse, was a war leader of the Oglala Lakota Tribe and a prominent leader in the Sioux resistance to white encroachment on the Black Hills. His bravery and skill are greatly admired, and he is revered by the Sioux as one of their greatest leaders.
View from the Observation Deck
Along with nearby Mount Rushmore, seeing the Crazy Horse Memorial in person has always been on my bucket list. While the ongoing progress of this massive undertaking in the Black Hills — with frequent drilling and mountain blasts — is reason enough to make a visit to the Memorial, I wished for a more exciting experience than simply viewing the sculpture from the observation deck. That’s when I discovered the Volksmarch!
The Crazy Horse Volksmarch is an organized hike that allows visitors to make the 6.2-mile roundtrip journey to stand on the arm of the mountain carving and experience a one-of-a-kind closeup view of the nine-story Native American face. An event that used to only occur once a year in June, the hike is now open to the public the first full weekend of June and the last full weekend of September with the addition of the Fall Volksmarch in 2013.
I had the pleasure of taking part in the very first Fall Volksmarch and it was the perfect way to experience the Crazy Horse Memorial for the first time. Enjoy photos from my journey to meet Crazy Horse face-to-face!
Crazy Horse Memorial
12151 Avenue of the Chiefs
Crazy Horse, SD
———————————–
Crazy Horse Volksmarch Details
Admission: $3 or three cans of food donated to KOTA Care & Share Food Drive
Parking: Free
Start time: 8am-1pm
Time: Hike averages 2-4 hours
–Hikers must register by 1pm and be off the trail by 4pm
–Gates open at 6am
Where to Stay in Rapid City, South Dakota
• Comfort Suites – Ranked #1 of all Rapid City area hotels! And I really can’t dispute that. The rates were a little higher than I’m used to paying, but that is common for this area. For the condition of the rooms and location to downtown and attractions like Mount Rushmore & Custer State Park, I would gladly spend the money again!
• Click here for the most current Rapid City hotel deals.
———————————–
Did you like it? Pin it!
These are great shots you got of Crazy Horse! The hike sounds like a lot of fun, and that’s great that it’s so cheap to do or that you can join by donating cans of food! Thanks for sharing this!