Devils Tower National Monument

Devils Tower National Monument lays claim as America’s first national monument, designated to that distinction by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. A tall phonolite porphyry columnar rock formation jutting out of the ground, it towers 867 feet into the sky above the visitors center, 1,267 feet above the Belle Fourche River.

Devils Tower first came to my attention in 1982 when my husband and I watched the 1977 Steven Spielberg movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind staring Richard Dreyfuss. It did not become a must-see park, but when our summer travels put us in the area, we worked a visit into our schedule.

 

Hike Overview
  • • Location: Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming
    • Start/Finish: visitors center parking lot
    • Course Type: loop
    • Course Surface: paved
    • Distance: 1.64 miles
    • Time: 36:16
    • Average Pace: 22:10 minute/mile
    • Elevation Gain: 350 feet
    • Elevation Range: 4,247 to 4,455 feet
    • Start time: 10:52 AM
    • Weather: 70° and cloudy, climbing to 87° and mostly sunny
    • Date of Hike: August 5, 2o24

 

There it is, at a Distance

Driving down Highway 24 toward Devils Tower, we got our first glimpse at a distance and pulled over into the large roadside parking lot.

 

Several pictures later, we hopped back into our SUV and drove toward the rock column reaching for the sky.

 

Exploring the Park

After waiting in a long line, we made it into the park and found parking in a gravel lot not too far from the visitors center. We readied ourselves, changing into hiking shoes, grabbing water bottles, cameras, etc.

 

The hike around Devils Tower was easier than expected with a wide paved trail winding around the perimeter of the monument – there had been no need to change into hiking shoes. We stopped often to take pictures so it really wasn’t much of a workout. There were, however; other non-paved longer trails we could have opted to hike.

 

The landscaping and features of the tower changed dramatically depending on the angle from which we were looking.

 

Eventually, the dreary gray gave way to broken up clouds and patches of blue sky as we looked from the trail down into the valley.

 

And back up at the tower…

 

The tower is a popular spot for mountaineers and if you look closely, two mountain climbers can be seen to the right of center about a third way up. Other summited climbers can be seen at the top center of the tower.

 

Stories Along the Trail

Also known as Bear Lodge, the tower is a sacred place to many local Native American tribes. Ancestral stories have been passed down suggesting the tower grew taller to help locals escape bears.

 

As the sign below details, Devils Tower has been millions of years in the making as erosion carried away “softer sedimentary rocks leaving behind the harder igneous rock called phonolite.”

 

The vast valley below the tower was once “… an overflowing bounty of resources. The rich grasslands and forest flooded often with fresh water, attracting elk and bison to graze.”

 

Mountaineering has long been a favorite sport for those interested.

 

As the sign says, the tower is made up of multi-sided symmetrical columns which are “the tallest (some more than 600 feet) and widest (10 to 20 feet) in the world.” Crumpled rocks, formerly columns, lie along the trail.

 

The Window was formed when pillar sections broke free and crumbled away from the tower creating a 300-foot alcove, appearing to look like a window.

 

Controlled burning is an important part of forest management and takes place every 10 to 15 years to mimic nature’s normal process.

 

We saw prayer bundles in the form of cloth bits tied to tree branches along the trail. In keeping with the request, no direct pictures were taken.

 

According to early climber Willard Ripley, the summit is “a little soil and sagebrush.” The football field size top is home to wood rats, chipmunks, prickly pear, and Wyoming big sagebrush.

 

Garmin Stats

Garmin map and elevation graph…

 

 

Final Thoughts on Hiking Around Devils Tower National Monument

Our stop at Devils Tower National Monument was time well spent. An easy hike, it’s something most anyone can do. Signs along the trail inform hikers without trashing the landscape.  

We were glad we’d made the time to visit the park and highly recommend it as a stopping point for anyone in the area.

 

Questions
  • • Have you visited Devils Tower? ~ This was my first visit.
  • • Have you visited Wyoming? ~ Many times, starting in 1981
  • • On hikes which do you prefer, barren desert scapes or lush forests? ~ both

 

I’m linking up with Zenaida of The Running Teacher and Jenn from Runs with Pugs for Tuesday topics Link-Up. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!