Mount Rushmore: no. Custer State Park: yes, for recreational flying, with care. Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a National Park Service site, so launching, landing or operating a drone there is prohibited. Custer State Park, a short drive south, is run by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, which allows recreational drones on its property as long as you don't disturb other visitors, interfere with park management or use the drone to find game. Commercial flights there need a commercial use permit.
Mount Rushmore
The NPS has prohibited drones in park units since 2014 under 36 CFR 1.5. At Mount Rushmore that covers the Avenue of Flags, the Grand View Terrace, the Presidential Trail and the memorial grounds. Violations can bring up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine. Sub-250 g drones are included.
You also can't fly from just outside the boundary over the memorial. If the drone is operating over park land, the ban applies. The memorial also borders the Black Elk Wilderness, where drone takeoff and landing are prohibited too.
Custer State Park
Custer State Park is one of the few big-name parks in the region where you can fly a drone for fun. GFP's recreational drone policy says you can't use a drone for surveillance in a private place, fly in a way that causes serious public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm or disturbs gatherings, interfere with management of the area or others' use of it, or use a drone to spot, locate or drive game (SDCL 41-8-39). In practice:
- Stay clear of campgrounds, beaches and crowds, such as Sylvan Lake's shore on a summer afternoon, where a drone easily causes the annoyance the rules prohibit.
- Keep away from bison and other wildlife. The park's bison herd is large and free-roaming, and a drone can spook them, especially near the Wildlife Loop Road and during the fall roundup.
- Don't fly over roads with traffic, including the Needles Highway tunnels and Iron Mountain Road.
- Commercial use needs a commercial use permit from GFP.
Rules can change, so check with the park office when you arrive.
Other Black Hills sites
- Wind Cave National Park borders Custer State Park and bans drones. Watch the boundary.
- Jewel Cave National Monument and Badlands National Park are also NPS sites. See drones at Badlands.
- Black Hills National Forest generally allows recreational drones outside wilderness and temporary flight restrictions.
- Crazy Horse Memorial is private. Ask before flying.
Airspace and South Dakota law
Rapid City Regional Airport has controlled airspace, and Ellsworth Air Force Base to the east has military restrictions. Check B4UFLY or Aloft and get LAANC authorization where needed. South Dakota bans flying over prisons and military facilities, and landing on someone's property without consent is a misdemeanor. See South Dakota drone laws.
The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August brings huge crowds. Check for temporary flight restrictions before flying that week.
Before you fly
- Pass the TRUST test.
- Register drones of 250 g or more with the FAA.
- Know the boundary between state, federal and private land.
- Stay at or below 400 ft and in sight.
For granite spires and bison herds from a safe distance, the 249 g DJI Mini 5 Pro needs no recreational registration. Visiting more parks on the trip? Read can you fly a drone in a national park.
Rules current as of October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.
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