An icon of the American West, Devils Tower is a treat for the eyes, impressive enough to make the aliens choose it for an airport in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Thrusting up from the northeast Wyoming plains around it, the tower can also be seen on an expedition to the Black Hills, of which it is a part, in South Dakota, just across the state line, where Mount Rushmore National Monument is a big draw.
Devils Tower is our first national monument, President Teddy Roosevelt having designated it as such back in 1906. You should stop at the Visitor Center before seeing anything else. It's open daily from late April through late September, from Wednesdays through Sundays during October and November. Closed December through late April.
Highlights
The tower rises 867 feet above its plains base, 1,267 feet above the nearby Belle Fourche River, the summit being 5,112 feet above sea level. It comprises about 1,347 acres or about 2.1 square miles, making it one of the smaller national monuments. The Lakota, one of 22 Native American tribes having a cultural affiliation with the tower, call it Mato Tipila, which means Bear Towers or Bears Lodge. In deference to Native Americans, who consider the tower sacred, visitors are asked on a voluntary basis not to climb it during the month of June, when tribal religious ceremonies are held there.
The tower is difficult to climb, and you must register before and after climbs with the rangers (no charge). You climb up one of the hundreds of columns ranged around the tower, often by swinging between the columns, doing splits all the way up. (There are at least 199 routes up, according to the Devils Tower Climbing Handbook.) A local guide service that says it has a perfect safety record, now in its 24th season, is Above Ouray Ice & Tower Rock Guides, tel. 888/345-9061, www.towerguides.com. A climbing school near the monument, operating since 1972 is the Above All Climbing School, www.devilstowerclimbing.com.
Fauna
There is an abundance of black-tailed prairie dogs here, as well as coyotes, porcupines, foxes and badgers.
Activities
Hike around the tower (paved, 1.3 miles), taking note of the signs along the way explaining its origins some 50 million years ago, its significance to Native Americans, its first sighting by European-American settlers, etc. If you have time, walk along the Joyner Ridge (1.5 miles) or the Red Beds Trail (3 miles), or chow down at the picnic shelter.
Ranger-guided programs are available from mid-June through Labor Day, usually, with daily Tower Walks at 9:30am, Ranger Talks four times daily, and evening programs daily except Mondays and Tuesday. There are Full Moon Walks from June through August on the appropriate day. Note also the Cultural Program events, such as tales by American Indian storytellers and lectures on Native American tribes and their lore, etc. These are usually in the evening in the Amphitheater.
2008 News
Some climbing routes are closed, as of March 15, 2008, due to prairie falcons, a protected species, nesting in the cracks on the tower, and this may last throughout the summer.
Also, the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, about 80 miles away, sees tens of thousands of motorcyclists coming from all over in August (August 4-10, 2008). Many of them visit Devils Tower during the rally, the Wednesday of rally week usually the busiest day at the park.
Number of Visitors
The average number of visitors per year is said to be about 350,000 to 400,000, of whom it is estimated only about 1% actually climb the tower, and around one-third of those (about 1,300) reaching the top. Only five persons have died climbing the tower since 1893, when the first modern climber ascended.
Fees
The entrance fee for you and your vehicle is $10, and that's good for ten days. Local passport is $20, good for a year. The Interagency Pass and other cards (Golden Access, Golden Age, etc.) are also valid. There is a camping fee of $12 at 50 different sites around the tower.
Contacts
The official site for Devils Tower National Monument is www.nps.gov/deto.
A good commercial site for the area is www.devilstower.areaparks.com.
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