Posted on by Randy

Devils Tower Wyoming

The Devils Tower Wyoming was only a three day stop for us, because the tower is literally all there was to see. But what a sight it is. Kind of hard to believe when you look at it. Nothing else like it in the world. When driving in and top a hill and there it is! Awesome…

We did spend quite a bit of time hiking around the tower and in the welcome center. The National Park Service has done a great job in explaining the tower, telling the history, and discussing the thousands of climbers who tackle this completely vertical 1,267 foot monolith.

The Route

Our 164 miles was about right about three hours with a rest stop. Not a bad work day. We traveled mostly on I-90, then had to veer off on US-14 for about 30 some miles to get back to the tower. US-14 was twisty and had a few steep hills, but not too bad. Gotten some good mountain driving experience this summer.

  • Saying goodbye to the Bighorn Mountains.
  • And hello to Devils Tower.

Devils Tower KOA Campground

Our RV park (KOA) was just a few feet outside of the National Park and we had a great view of the tower from our site. It was hard to get used to seeing it. The RV park was decent. A little older park and kind of dusty, although it did have good spacing and real grass between sites.

  • View from our campsite.
  • KOA Kampground
  • Another tower view from basecamp.

How It Was Formed

They believe it began as an underground flow of lava that flowed up toward the surface but was blocked by some stone forming a flat top. The tower of magma cooled to become a very hard rock and the Belle Fourche River eroded all the soil around it to leave it standing. The top is the size of a football field.

From the NPS: Devils Tower rises 1,267 feet (386 m) above the Belle Fourche River. A sacred place to over 20 Native American tribes, the Tower is also known as Bear Lodge. Devils Tower was designated as America’s first national monument in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt.

Climbers

There were climbers on the tower every day that we were here. Climbing on two of the four sides. Some free climbers and others with modern equipment. The first climbers to make it using modern techniques was in 1937.

Look at the tiny spec at top, left side for a climber walking around on top. As seen through binocular.

There are many established and documented climbing routes covering every side of the tower, ascending the various vertical cracks and columns of the rock. The difficulty of these routes range from relatively easy to some of the most challenging in the world. All climbers are required to register with a park ranger before and after attempting a climb.

Climber resting on a ledge about halfway up. Or did he change his mind?

Of the 100,000 or so who have climbed the tower, six have been killed in falls. I’m very happy to hike around the base and take a few photos, thank you.

Photos

  • Indians still claim this area as a spiritual sacred ground.
  • Pat by the large rock field.

Thanks for following along! We are now in Spearfish South Dakota for a week. Take care and God Bless.

8 Replies to “Devils Tower Wyoming”

  3. Haven’t been there but did love the movie “Close Encounters” which probably put Devils Tower on the tourist map. After visiting there, you really should see the movie.

    Reply

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