Devils Tower National Monument

Understand

History

Devils Tower was known as "Mateo Tipi" by Native Americans of the region, and is considered sacred. "Mateo Tipi" translates as "Bear Lodge", as the Indian legend revolves around the creation of the tower as a refuge for a group of Indian youths being pursued by a giant bear. Imploring the great spirit to save them, a rock they were standing on began to rise into the air. The bear tried to reach them, with its claws carving the fluted columns into the rock. The youths then were taken up and became what is known as the seven sisters constellation. A U.S. cavalry scouting party reached the tower in 1876 and incorrectly translated the name to mean "Bad God's Tower", and thus its present name remains.

Devils Tower is a popular place for rock climbing, hiking, and as a tourist waypoint between popular destinations such as Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Badlands National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park.

It is probably best known as the location of the alien-human rendezvous point in Steven Spielberg's 1977 science fiction film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Production designer Joe Alves traveled the west looking for a proper landmark and stumbled across the obscure park finding it a perfect fit for use in the film.

Landscape

The one obvious contrast in landscape here is jarringly weird, and indeed the main attraction! Devils Tower is one of the world's most striking natural monoliths in no small part for its sheer, vertical form, and its dramatic contrast with the rolling prairie extending in all directions for seemingly endless distances (the rolling prairie being essentially a lower extension of the nearby Black Hills in South Dakota).

The tower is the eroded remnant of a giant laccolith—an igneous intrusion produced by rising molten magma exploiting a weak point in the existing sedimentary rock layers about 65 million years ago. Over the epochs since, the softer sandstones and shales that covered and surrounded the intrusion (which had pushed them up), leaving us with this alien-attracting, arrestive tower. The tower is made of constantly-eroding polygonal columns of phonolite lava (similar to the columnar basalt found at the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, as well as at Devils Postpile National Monument in California).

You might notice that the forest rolling along the hills is a little repetitive. The lack of diversity was caused by fire suppression by ranchers, settlers, and by the U.S. Forest and Park Services, as a means of avoiding fires spreading to settled areas and the burning down of the valuable and beautiful forests. But without the natural cycle renewal caused by (natural) forest fires, the Ponderosa pine has taken over, depriving any smaller ground plants from getting needed sunlight. The Park Service has been undertaking prescribed burns to try to restore the rich, diverse ecosystem that once prevailed.

Flora and fauna

Prairie falcons nest on the monument, and some climbing trails are closed yearly to protect the nestlings. Annual information about closings is available on the National Park Service web site.

The meadows on the approach roads to the tower are the home to colonies of Prairie Dogs.

Climate

Visitor information

• Park website

Get in

By air

The nearest airport with commercial service is the Gillette-Campbell County Airport (GCC) in Gillette, with commuter service to Salt Lake City and Denver Airport.

The closest full-service airport is Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), across the border in South Dakota and served by five airlines. US Route 14 links the two cities.

By car

The monument is on Wyoming State Route 24, which is accessed via US Route 14. The US-14/WY-24 intersection is about 1 hour east of Gillette and 1 hour and 30 minutes west of Rapid City.

Fees and permits

Entrances fees are valid for seven days, allowing unlimited re-entry for the week. Fees as of 2020 are:

• $15 - Individual on foot/bike
• $20 - Motorcycle
• $25 - Private vehicle
• $45 - Devils Tower National Monument Annual Pass

Get around

Most visitors enter by car or bus from the East Entrance, where permits are checked. From there, it is a 2 mi drive to the base of the tower on its northwest side, with a visitor center and restrooms.

Visitor center parking is limited, and fills to capacity during peak times (between 10AM-3PM in the summer). When the parking runs out, traffic is metered partway up the park road, creating waits of 45 minutes or longer.

From the visitor center, a walking path leads to the base of the tower. Visitors can walk the full perimeter on a trail approximately 1.3 miles (2 km) long.

Stay safe

Do not approach prairie dogs because of the risk of contracting bubonic plague if bitten.

Respect

Native American tribal members who practice their traditional faiths make pilgrimages here to conduct personal and group ceremonies. Sweat lodges, sun dances, and other traditions are practiced at the monument. The most common ritual that takes place at the tower is prayer offerings. Colorful cloths or bundles are placed near the tower — commonly seen along the park's trails — and represent a personal connection to the site. They are similar to ceremonial objects from other religions, and may represent a person making an offering, a request, or simply a remembrance of a person or place. As with many religious ceremonies, they are a private to the individual or group. Do not touch, disturb or remove prayer cloths or other religious artifacts at the park.