The Iron Mountain Road, in South Dakota, has been described as an incredible journey, an unforgettable 17 mile experiences. The road was designed as a work of art to make you slow down, to see and feel things that you don’t experience every day. It was specifically designed with a tremendous amount of curves, including what is referred to as switchbacks, in order to limit the speed of travelers to less than 35 miles per hour so you can enjoy the beauty of the Black Hills National Forest. Notable is the fact that the Iron Mountain Road (US-16A) was purposely built directly over its summit of the Iron Mountain to provide scenic views of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
These features of this road include wooden structures, called pigtail bridges, and one lane tunnels that were built to showcase the American patriotic symbol, Mount Rushmore. These tunnels frame the Mount Rushmore National Memorial like a picture frame and are spectacular sites to photograph – depending on which direction you are traveling, you may have to look in your rear view mirror to experience this wonder. It is recommended you travel this road in both directions – you will see and experience different things each way. If you only have time for traveling one direction, make that direction North!
The 17 mile Iron Mountain Road experience consists of:
• 314 CURVES
• 14 SWITCHBACKS
• 3 PIGTAILS
• 3 TUNNELS
• 4 PRESIDENTS
Remember, it is about the journey, not the destination.
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