Iron Mountain Road...worth doing in the opposite direction?

My question is similar to some of the other ';routing'; questions posted. We will be arriving Keystone from the east through Rapid City. We have a 525 mi. drive to Rapid City and will do a detour through the Badlands on the way, so we expect to arrive Rapid City late afternoon. We are staying in Keystone to have close access to the evening lighting ceremony at Mt Rushmore. The next day we plan to tour Rushmore, drive the Needles Highway (hopefully with a stop at Sylvan Lake) and see Crazy Horse from the road before driving up to Deadwood to stay the next evening. I%26#39;m going a little nuts trying to optimize the driving route without alot of backtracking or driving in circles. I know we will not have time to experience everything in one day, but trying to plan for something reasonable.

Is Iron Mountain Road worthwile if you are driving it away from Mt. Rushmore? In order to do it in the most scenic fashion, we%26#39;d have to be traveling toward Mt Rushmore, in which case it seems like we would be driving around in circles if we start from Keystone and are going to Deadwood. And we would be making the drive AFTER having spent our time there which would be less exciting, I would think. The other option we might have is coming in that way from Rapid City on the day we arrive but it looks like that would add a good 15-20 miles to the first day%26#39;s journey. The experience would have to be pretty spectacular to justify that after a long day on the road.

Alternatively, should we go ahead and drive Iron Mountain Rd opposite the recommended direction, and if so should we drive through the northern part of Custer State Park or take the Playhouse road shortcut over to the Needles Highway? We will have to leave our in-depth exploration of CSP for another trip, but just wondering if the drive across the northern portion on Alt 16 would be worth it versus maybe spending a little more time around Sylvan Lake?

Looking for some recommended advice on these trade-offs...

Iron Mountain Road...worth doing in the opposite direction?

Yes, it%26#39;s worth it ';in reverse';--just stop at the tunnels and jump out of the car for some views of Mt. Rushmore. What traffic is there moves pretty slow so you won%26#39;t have a problem stepping out into the road for a photo or two.

Iron Mountain Road...worth doing in the opposite direction?

Are there places near the tunnel to actually pull off the road, or do you have to stop in the middle to take the pictures?

There are pullouts. It%26#39;s a road built for scenic driving and stopping.

Actually when you travel south on the Iron Mountain Rd. You actually will face Mt. rushmore heading through 1 of the tunnels. You can stop near the other 2 to get the views from reverse