Devils Tower National Monument: Bad Name, Great Place!
Devils Tower rises 1,267 feet above the Belle Fourche River in northeastern Wyoming, and it stands 867 feet from its base to its summit. The Lakota know it as Bear Lodge, or Mato Tipila, and the Park Service calls it a sacred place to over 20 Native American tribes. President Theodore Roosevelt made it the first national monument in 1906.
Why Is It Called Devils Tower?
The name came from an 1875 expedition. Col. Richard Dodge wrote that the Indians called the shaft “Bad God’s Tower,” and he changed that to “Devil’s Tower.” The earliest official maps call it Bear Lodge, and the Park Service says nobody can tell now whether Dodge got a bad translation or renamed it on purpose. The name became official in 1906.
A Geological Puzzle
The geology here still isn’t settled. The Park Service says geologists agree the Tower began as magma, which is molten rock buried underground, but they can’t agree on how it cooled. Every modern theory says erosion exposed the Tower, and that same erosion erased the evidence that would settle the argument.
The columns are the part you’ll remember. The Park Service calls this the world’s largest example of columnar jointing, and the rocks around the base, some as large as a bus, are pieces that weathered off the Tower.
Stories That Belong to the Tribes
Each tribe has its own oral histories about the Tower, and the Park Service calls many of them sacred narratives rather than legends. Several are on the Park Service’s First Stories page as they were recorded, and we’d rather send you there than retell them.
A Place of Ceremony and Respect
Ceremonies may happen at the Tower at any time of year, and visitors don’t always see them. If you see prayer cloths or bundles near the Tower, leave them alone.
Every June the park asks visitors not to climb the Tower or scramble inside the Tower Trail loop, out of respect for American Indian cultural values.
Planning Your Visit
The park is reached by a single road, Wyoming Highway 24. A private vehicle pays $25, the park doesn’t take cash, and an America the Beautiful pass covers entry.
The Tower Trail is a 1.3-mile paved loop from the visitor center parking lot, and the Park Service recommends it before 10 AM or after 3 PM, because parking fills up in summer. The 2.8-mile Red Beds Trail is the longer way around, past the red cliffs.
There’s no food in the park, so bring your own, and you can refill a water bottle at the restrooms. Pets aren’t allowed on the trails or in buildings. On foot, stay at least 100 yards from any wild animal, and don’t feed the prairie dogs, because that’s illegal.
A Modern Icon for Travelers and Climbers
People come here from around the world. Photographers come for sunrise and sunset, when the light turns the stone gold or deep rose. Climbers come for some of the finest crack climbing in North America, and anyone going above the boulder field has to register first.
A Place That Stays With You
Whether you know it as Devils Tower, Bear Lodge or Mato Tipila, it’s worth the drive if you’re traveling through Wyoming, the Black Hills or the Badlands. If you’d rather leave the driving to someone else, our private Devils Tower and Spearfish Canyon Adventure is a full day from Rapid City.
