- The Mount Rushmore climbing area is only the 2nd SummitPost.org “climbing” submission for South Dakota. This is not overly surprising due to the state’s remoteness but is astonishing regarding the quality of granite routes that can be found here. There are two popular climbing areas south of Rapid City, South Dakota in the Black Hills National Forest (1.2 million acres!): the Needles area, which is known for its ethics via trad climbing and limited fixed protection; and the Mount Rushmore climbs which feature many fully bolted sport routes.