Photo: Alamy
The National Park Service announced Monday that Independence Day fireworks will return to Mount Rushmore for the nation’s 250th anniversary, ending a five-year absence at the monument.
According to the agency, the fireworks display will take place on Friday, July 3. Public tickets for the event will be distributed through a lottery scheduled from April 8 to April 12.
“In partnership with the State of South Dakota, we are excited to reinstate a spectacular fireworks show as the highlight of Mount Rushmore’s Independence Day commemoration,” Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Dr. Jenifer Chatfield said in a statement.
“We invite the public to enjoy the show and reflect on our nation’s remarkable journey and the great patriotic leaders who established, preserved and expanded our country’s destiny,” she added.
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden welcomed the announcement, calling the celebration an appropriate way to mark the country’s milestone anniversary.
“In just a few short months, our nation will throw the biggest birthday party ever for the United States of America,” Rhoden said in the statement. “South Dakota is the freest state in a nation founded on the principles of freedom, so it is only fitting to celebrate in our backyard. We look forward to celebrating at the iconic Mount Rushmore National Memorial.”
Fireworks were previously held at Mount Rushmore in 2020 for the first time in more than a decade. Earlier displays had been canceled because of wildfire risks.
The National Park Service later declined South Dakota’s request to hold fireworks at the site for the Fourth of July in 2021. In 2022, then-Gov. Kristi Noem said the agency again rejected the state’s request to host fireworks at the memorial for Independence Day.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attended the last fireworks celebration at Mount Rushmore. At that time, he said, “There could be no better place to celebrate America’s independence than beneath this magnificent, incredible, majestic mountain and monument to the greatest Americans who have ever lived.”
