The Black Hills of South Dakota are home to majestic mountains, winding canyons, and towering rock formations. This area has inspired many riddles and brainteasers over the years. Below are 59 riddles about the mountains of South Dakota along with the answers.
Riddles about Specific Mountains
Mount Rushmore
Q: I have four famous faces, carved into a mountainside. Kings and conquered lands I do not hide. Who am I?
A: Mount Rushmore
Q: We are four presidents immortalized in stone, gazing out from a mountain we call home. Our sculpted visages inspire awe and wonder. Name us and our lofty place of splendor.
A: The four presidents on Mount Rushmore – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln
Q: Four great leaders, though long dead and gone, carved into a mountain that towers on. Gazing outwards their stone eyes still see. This monument named for whom might it be?
A: Charles E. Rushmore, the lawyer who first encouraged sculptor Gutzon Borglum to create the monument.
Harney Peak
Q: I am the highest point in South Dakota, a pinnacle of the Black Hills my head I show. To name me just say the man for whom I was recently renamed.
A: Black Elk Peak, formerly known as Harney Peak
Q: Seventh highest summit in the continental United States am I, explorer Sioux and Lakota tribes roamed freely under my sky. Lieutenant Colonel took my name away, now what peak is here to stay?
A: Black Elk Peak, previously known as Harney Peak after General William S. Harney
Needles
Q: We stand like a forest but are carved of stone, witnesses to history though we have none. Solitary sentinels under sun and rain, name our needle-like domain.
A: The Needles formations in Custer State Park
Q: Like stone soldiers we stand side by side, formed by nature our heads held with pride. Weathered and worn yet refusing to fall, we’ll outlast you and outlast them all. What is our name where spires touch the sky?
A: The Needles in Custer State Park
Black Elk Wilderness
Q: I honor a holy man who walked this land, 13,426 acres I span. Trails carve through my pine-cloaked hills, where deer drink their fills. Name me to show you understand.
A: Black Elk Wilderness
Q: This area wide takes a chief’s name with pride, by Harney Peak I reside. Bushwhack through woods where elk and mule deer roam free, what wilderness am I tell me.
A: Black Elk Wilderness near Black Elk Peak (formerly Harney Peak)
Custer State Park
Q: Needles and spires touch the sky, wildlife roaming far as the eye can spy. 71,000 acres for buffalo to roam, name this state park and mountainous home.
A: Custer State Park in South Dakota’s Black Hills
Q: Where pine-coated peaks pierce the sky, and herds of buffalo freely roam by. From Needles to Harney the vistas inspire, name this state treasure approved by fire.
A: Custer State Park
Crazy Horse Memorial
Q: Still taking shape though decades pass, my granite face gazes out at last. When finished I’ll dwarf the four you know so well, soaring ninety stories my form to tell. What unfinished memorial am I fated to be?
A: The Crazy Horse Memorial
Q: My unfinished face gazes outward for miles, slowly emerging to one day show my smiles. Into thunderhead rock I’ll be biggest of all, name the memorial meant to stand sentry tall.
A: The Crazy Horse Memorial
Riddles about Mountain Features
Tunnels
Q: Two tunnels cut, three tunnels in all, allowing passage through granite walls tall. Frame Mount Rushmore for eastbound travelers, what are we called hewn through ancient rocks somber?
A: The Needles Eye Tunnels
Q: Twin tunnels there are, through stone we carved our way. Frame the president’s faces we do all day. But Needles Eye is not our name try again if you may.
A: The Tunnels on Iron Mountain Road
Pigtail Bridges
Q: Loop the loop and wind our way, over canyons deep we cross night and day. Sturdy we stand from the 1920s conceivement, name the bridges unique in their living achievement.
A: The Pigtail Bridges
Q: We twist and wind to bridge a steep divide, corkscrewing marvels designed well and wise. Built in style of covered bridges old, what unique crossings put drivers on two lanes of road?
A: The Pigtail Bridges
Rock Formations
Q: We stand united as one solid wall, carved by time and destined not to fall. Sheer rock face from ages long ago, what is our name–can you guess so?
A: Stratocastles Terrace
Q: Lone and beholden to winds that whip, this sandstone stack defies overhang tip. Framed by needles for which park is named, identify this rock distended and famed.
A: Cleopatra’s Needle
Q: Seeing this tower you’d think I was named wrong, with a needle I have no place to belong. Stratocastles I call my cliffside home, towers above green pines on which I was shown.
A: Devils Tower
Canyons
Q: A rugged gorge carved narrow and deep, sculpted by waters that rush and leap. Crossed by stone bridges graceful and sure–what is the name of this canyon pure?
A: Iron Creek Canyon
Q: Through layers of time I cut real deep, cold waters rush down my canyon steep. Iron Creek Gorge I am modernly known, but my traditional name oft said in Lakota tone.
A: The Black Hills name translates to “Much Arched Cave” or “Abyss at the top of the Black Hills”
Q: Carved through limestone aeons before, sculpted by waters I descend to the core. From Rankin Ridge my views inspire all, name my canyon cut narrow and tall.
A: Flume Canyon
Lakes & Streams
Q: My waters are sweet, my trout swim deep, I’m the treasure most majestic they keep. Anglers love my 5 miles of shore joy–name South Dakota’s favored lake darling.
A: Pactola Lake in the Black Hills
Q: This cold stream begins as ice and spring show, carving a path as the ages go. Its Lakota name means cold red stone–do you know?
A: Spring Creek, from the words Mini Lusa
Q: Anglers adore this creek that flows through, 8 miles within Custer State Park that accrue. Its name means “clear not cold,” contrasting its neighbor in distinction most bold.
A: Grace Coolidge Creek, as compared to Spring Creek (Mini Lusa)
Riddles about Wildlife
Buffalo
Q: Over 1,300 strong, we roam free and graze lazily. Custer State herd is our name, rolling grasslands our territorial claim.
A: The Custer State Park buffalo herd
Q: The Tatanka they call us in days of old, grazing the plains both the mighty and bold. Nearly wiped out yet we recovered in full–name the shaggy creatures Americans once hunted as rule.
A: The American bison or buffalo
Q: What is the name for a baby buffalo that makes hearts melt the same from Seattle to Toronto?
A: A red dog or buff pup
Mountain Goats
Q: We cling to Harney’s rocky heights, munching greenery day and night. Not really goats but of this bird instead–name the mountain climbers our kind is said.
A: Mountain goats are actually rock-climbing goats, not related to true mountain goats.
Q: Shaggy white coats keep us warm, as we clamber cliffs through any storm. Split hooves grip rock without any dread–though mountain’s our name, what breed are we instead?
A: Mountain goats are actually rock-climbing goats.
Bighorn Sheep
Q: Ram’s pride and ewe’s grace, we leap from crag to grassy place. Two-toed feet grip vertigo ledge–name the nimble climbers at home on the edge.
A: Bighorn sheep
Q: Both male and female we grow horns curled, hoofing up hillsides no height leaves us furled. Strong and stocky, we forage low and steep, scanning for predators as protective sheep. Name our bighorned kin well prepared in these mountains to reap.
A: Bighorn sheep
Elk
Q: In Custer herd tall, the bulls grow proud antlers all. Twigs adorn our bone tops come late winter displays–what male elk are famous for crowns through their days?
A: Bull elk in Custer State Park during rutting season.
Q: Swift and watchful, through forests we trace our past. Bull bugles to cow, the rut soon gone fast. Name the largest of deer wandering mountains so vast.
A: Roosevelt elk
Mule Deer
Q: White rumps flashing as warning, through forest and field roaming free. Does in herds with fawns play shy–name the bounded beauty catching every awed eye.
A: The mule deer
Q: Tawny brown coats help disguise fawns well, hiding in grass while learning sights and smells. Name the deer with ears extra large, wandering South Dakota Parks mountain foothills at-large.
A: Mule deer
Prairie Dogs
Q: Little burrowers who chirp and stand, clever engineers near Badlands we band. Colonies connected, watchguards that see–name the tiny wildlife that shelter subterranean homes under every off-trail cottonwood tree.
A: Prairie dogs
Q: Chubby little rodent, misnamed a tiny bit–not nocturnal I rise with sunlight emit. Clipped black tail wagging when visitors I spy–name this burrowing bubbly creature often six inches high.
A: The black-tailed prairie dog
Riddles about Activities
Hiking
Q: Cobbled and rocky and root crossed boards too–112 miles round Black Elk Wilderness accrue. Rock Canyon, Rankin, Hell Canyon delight–name the journey weblike with connectors outright.
A: Centennial Trail, carved by Civilian Conservation Corps
Q: Only a portion lies inside Custer State keep, these pine bough paths make Black Hills roam unique. Tunnels and stairs through granite drifts–name the scenic route of challenging climbs with bridges and rifts.
A: Cement Mountain Trail, with a portion inside Custer State Park
Horseback Riding
Q: Haven of sky ranch and nature retreat center too, horseback ride by deer and elk in coatings new. In Custer foothills amidst spruce reign deep–name the resort and lodge offering all amenities to woo.
A: State Game Lodge in Custer State Park
Q: All tacked up, horses beneath blue dome. Through forest and canyon our riders freely roam. At state park stables our trail rides start–name where you too can mosey grassy hills ’til hunger forces your party apart.
A: Any of Custer State Park’s four stables
Rock Climbing
Q: Sheer walls and chimneys await the bold, ropes for safety should your grip lose hold. Popular spot anchors across granite face–name the crag where climbers top belay with good grace.
A: Custer State Park’s Little Devils Tower
Q: For climbs vertical, horizontal, or cracks–quartz holds glimmer lighting our route attacks. Perched on Rankin Ridge, boulderers unite–I crown the hills for gradients acute. Name the state challenge and granite delight.
A: The Knuckle
Mountain Biking
Q: Over 200 miles through box canyons thread, singletrack and doubletrack well-fed. Hairpin turns, rocky terrain, POVs to boot–Custer’s vast network makes mountain bikers swoon.
A: Custer State Park’s extensive mountain biking trail system
Q: Smooth flowy rollers to gnarly rock gardens galore–I drop over 1200 feet to my core. Carved on the backside of Mount Coolidge call–name the plummeting path bikers admire most of all.
A: Dinosaur Trail
Conclusion
The mountains of South Dakota offer adventures and natural wonders galore. From the rock spires of Custer State Park to the chiseled faces of Mount Rushmore, this region provides no shortage of sights to see and trails to travel. Hopefully these riddles have piqued your interest–or perhaps you knew some of the answers already! The Black Hills await your next visit.
