Family Nature Summits: Black Hills Summit: Full Schedule

If you would like to join a class that is frozen, please send us a message or email, and we will do our best to accommodate you.

The Summit Handbook and our pick-a-hike guide are helpful resources! Email [email protected] with additional questions or message us in Sched!

Session availability is subject to change due to weather, availability, and interest. Classes with fewer than 5 participants are subject to cancellation. You are only able to sign up for one class during a time period (including waitlists). We do our best to accommodate waitlists.

Add/Dropping Classes: All classes with an additional cost have a final add/drop date of July 13. After July 13th, you will be responsible for the cost of the class unless we can fill the spot. Classes with no additional cost can be added/dropped at any time.

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7:00am MDT

Photography & Scenic Drive - Rushmore, Crazy Horse & Needles Highway

Monday August 3, 2026 7:00am - 12:00pm MDT

If you want to travel along a great road and see the best sights to photograph in Custer State Park, this is the trip for you. We will leave early (7 AM) to get the best warm morning light on the presidential faces, but we will photograph them from an unusual perspective. Iron Mountain Road winds through the Ponderosa Pines of Custer SP and the Black Hills, making its way toward Mt. Rushmore. Along this road, we will pass through three short tunnels, each of which frames the faces of all four presidents on Mt. Rushmore. We will make a stop at each tunnel to capture these unique photos, along with a stop at Norbeck Overlook, which also gives a great view of the presidents of Mt. Rushmore. Next, we stop at Mt. Rushmore proper to get the traditional and close-up view.

We then make our way to the majestic silhouette of the iconic Crazy Horse Memorial. We will not go into the memorial, but we will be able to photograph Crazy Horse from a distance. Then it is onward through a few more tunnels for a stop at the most photographed lake in the Black Hills, Sylvan Lake. This lake is known for its large granite cliffs that hang over the lake. If we have a still morning with no wind, the reflections are amazing. After Sylvan Lake, we pass through the narrowest tunnel in the Black Hills, roughly 8 feet-4 inches wide (yes, our van will fit), the Needles Eye Tunnel. The other side of this tunnel drops us into the Needles District, where hundreds of granite spires point toward the clouds and sky, and we stop to photograph clouds, trees, sky, and majestic spires. This whole excursion is a photographic extravaganza. Join us.

Faculty

Matt Hays

Hiking & Photography, Faculty

Matt Hays is an avid hiker, backpacker, rock-climber, skier, and mountaineer. He has climbed all fifty-four fourteeners in Colorado numerous times, many in the winter. He has also climbed Mt. Whitney, CA and the Grand Teton in Wyoming via the Exum Ridge. He summited Mt. Rainier in... Read More →

Monday August 3, 2026 7:00am - 12:00pm MDT

Photography, Difficulty- Easy

Family Nature Summits: Black Hills Summit

7:00am MDT

Matt Hays

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