Our epic road trip from Minnesota to Yellowstone National Park and back included a stop on the way home at the Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. Have you ever gotten a little overly ambitious when you’re planning a road trip? We had stayed the night at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge inside of Yellowstone National Park, and in my mind, we were going to make it to the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center outside of Cody, Wyoming, see the Devils Tower, AND make it to the Mount Rushmore area in South Dakota for the night…. However, on the way out of the East Entrance of the park, we stopped to take a glance at Yellowstone Lake, saw a bear as soon as we left the park, had an amazing visit at the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, and drove through the Bighorn Mountains. By the time we arrived at Devils Tower, it was a full on thunderstorm, made even more exciting by the winding mountain roads that we sometimes couldn’t see very well! (Good job driving, to John!). As well as being in a thunderstorm, it was already dark. Whoops! Didn’t exactly make my target for the day! We scrambled to find a hotel and as we drove past Devils Tower, we could see it light up every time there was lightning (which I have to admit was pretty cool!). So we stayed the night at the Best Western Devils Tower Inn in Hulett, just about 15 minutes from the Monument.
Up early the next morning, we arrived at the Devils Tower National Monument shortly after they opened. We had really no line when we arrived, but noticed the line was considerably longer when we were leaving! We had planned the trip for this year to take advantage of the Every Kid Outdoors program, where every Fourth Grader (and their family) gets into the national parks for free all year! We were able to use it at Yellowstone National Park, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and the Devils Tower National Monument! What a way to make the whole trip just a little bit more affordable! Bonus: my brother also had a fourth grader, so they met us at Yellowstone!
Not too far from Hulett, we were able to see the amazing geological feature that is Devils Tower rising up above the flatter lands around it. As we drove along the winding road, it would appear and disappear with the hills and curves, and kept growing larger the closer we got!
Around the parking lot, the park rangers had a couple of different displays set up to show you information about Devils Tower and some of the animals that live in the area. Everyone was really friendly and helpful! As you walk up the path towards the tower, there is a 1.3 mile paved hike that will take you all the way around the tower. Along the base of the tower are giant boulders that have fallen from the tower over the years (but more than 200 years ago). Another thing we noticed were pieces of fabric tied to branches in the trees.
The ribbons or pieces of cloth that we saw hanging in the branches of the trees all around the tower were placed there by Native Americans. The cloth represents a prayer that was a part of a religious ceremony. Many different tribes of Native Americans have considered Devils Tower a sacred place for their culture. Many legends describe how the tower got the distinctive columns that rise up 867 feet from the base to the summit.
One of the stories involves children playing when they began to be chased by a bear! The children jumped on some rocks, and when the Great Spirit saw that the bear was about to reach them, it caused the rock that they were on to rise up out of the ground until the bear could not reach them. The columns on the side of surface were actually caused by the bear scratching the side as it tried to reach the children.
Looking at Devils Tower, you might think it looks like a volcano, but according to the National Park Service website, the formation is actually called an igneous intrusion. As magma pushed upwards into the sedimentary rock around it, it hardened and molded into this shape. As the sedimentary rock wore away, it left us with the hardened rock visible. The top of the tower stands at 5,112 feet above sea level.
You might look at those long cracks that run all the way up the formation and think to yourself how perfect they might be for rock climbing… and you’re right! In 1893, two ranchers from the area climbed the tower using wooden ladders. The ladders can still be seen! Most climbers today would take about 4-6 hours to reach the top, but the record climber made it to the top in 18 minutes in 1980!
As we were walking around Devils Tower, we were so excited to see four mule deer walking through the trees and rocks at the base of the tower! A mother and triplet fawns emerged from the trees and we were fortunate enough to watch them walk around for a bit that morning! Another exciting sight was seeing and hearing peregrine falcons that were nesting at the top of a ledge about halfway up the tower! We could see two adults and caught glimpses of babies!
The walk around the tower was an easy, paved trail that goes all around the tower. There are some large rocks at the base of the tower that the kids climbed around on, and you walk among the trees as you gaze up to the top!
If you’re going to the area, we highly recommend visiting Devils Tower National Monument. It is such a unique structure! We were able to view some wildlife. In addition to the falcons and deer, we saw a scarlet tanager as we were entering the park! Bird watching is one of our favorite hobbies, and it is always exciting to see a new bird when you visit a new place!
Thank you for visiting our blog! We hope our little adventures inspire you to have some little adventures of your own! We appreciate you stopping by! Join our email list if you’d like to be notified as we post our next stop!
