8 Best Restaurants in Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills, South Dakota

Feast on fresh walleye or buffalo, which you can have as a steak or a stew, in this rustic log-cabin structure with a stone fireplace. There's also a good selection of salads as well as kid-friendly burgers, sandwiches, and wraps. While the restaurant is most convenient for those staying in the Blue Bell Lodge or its associated cabins, the location on the western edge of the park also makes it a good lunch spot for anyone emerging from the western terminus of the Wildlife Loop Road or making a jaunt to the Mount Coolidge Fire Tower.

With windows facing the mountain sculpture, this airy pinewood restaurant is noted for its buffalo burgers. There's a soup-and-salad bar, but you'd do well to stick to the Native American offerings. Try the taco made with traditional fry bread or the Tatanka stew featuring prime cuts of buffalo meat. A short kids' menu is available.