SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Fireworks are coming back to Mount Rushmore in 2026.
In a news release Tuesday, Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden announced the details of next year’s Fourth of July fireworks display at Mount Rushmore.
Thunderstorm chances increasing the next 24-36 hours
The state, along with the Department of the Interior are moving forward with planning for the Mount Rushmore Fireworks celebration to celebrate America’s 250th Birthday. Rhoden and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to move forward with planning. You can read the full MOA attached below.
Rushmore-2026-fireworks-MOADownload
“Through this joint effort, the Department looks forward to ensuring the two and a half centuries of American leadership, growth, and strength are honored during this historic celebration,” Bergum said in the news release.
Back in February, Rhoden and Burgum agreed that fireworks would return to Mount Rushmore in 2026. The MOA serves as the legal binding document.
“South Dakota is the epitome of freedom, so it is only fitting to throw the biggest birthday party ever for the United States of America in our backyard,” Rhoden said in a news release.
Rhoden has formally invited President Trump to the display.
The last time fireworks were displayed at the monument was 2020. Fireworks at Mount Rushmore happened between 1998 and 2009 before stopping in 2010.
In 2020, a group of protestors shut down a road outside of Keystone near a security checkpoint to get into Mount Rushmore.
In rejection letters for requests for fireworks at Mount Rushmore, the National Parks Service under the Biden Administration cited “ample documented opposition” from Tribes to the 2020 Fourth of July show.
