After one night in Glendive, Montana, we are on the road to Rapid City, South Dakota. Along the way we are making our second visit to Devils Tower National Monument, with our first visit being in 2010.
Devils Tower is not a place we would go out of the way to visit twice – though it is definitely worth visiting at least once – but we are driving right past it and, with our America the Beautiful Pass, it is free. Basically we are stopping here to get out of the car and stretch our legs during the drive as much as anything.
As we drove into the park, we were greeted with a sign instructing folks to pay on exit rather than at entry. We’ve never seen that before at any other national park. On the plus side there was no line to get in the park.
Just after entering the park the road passes through a large prairie dog town. Having just spent days seeing prairie dogs in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, we didn’t even contemplate stopping. We dodged a few parked cars and kept going.
After a short drive, we were met with a temporary red light and got stuck in a long line of cars. We assumed the road was down to one lane for construction. Nope. The park was using a red light to space out the timing of cars entering the parking lot. Basically congestion control.
So much for the benefit of driving straight into the park without stopping to pay first.
We waited through several cycles of the light, maybe 10 minutes, before proceeding up to the visitor center. The parking lot was pretty full and we were lucky to find a great parking spot. I guess having cars lined up waiting on the road is better than a constant flow of circling cars in the parking lot hoping to get lucky for a parking spot.
Devils Tower has three main hiking trails. Like pretty much everyone else in the park, we walked the Tower Trail, a paved trail that circles the base of the tower. Along the way are numerous informative signs and several overlooks. I have no idea how long this trail actually is, having seen estimates ranging from 1.2 miles to 1.7 miles. I’m guessing 1.2 miles is about right, once you get to the actual start of the trail.
The Tower Trail was quite crowded. Benches are found every so often, usually occupied. Many of the trees surrounding the tower were felled by fire or uprooted during storms. There are a lot of downed and dead trees, and little shade.
Unbeknownst to us, June is voluntary no climbing month, out of respect for the spiritual significance of the tower. We hoped to see some climbers, but did not.
At one overlook Stephanie asked a family (American) if they wanted her to take their picture. This is Stephanie’s travel hobby. She has been offering to take photographs of pretty much everybody for the last five years. The husband/father was very enthusiastic about Stephanie’s offer. He showed her where to stand and how to take the exact picture he wanted. This was very helpful and he was thrilled with the result.
He is also only the second person in the last five years not to then offer to take our picture. Even folks that barely speak English in foreign countries know that offering to take photographs is a reciprocal deal.
The other trail to circle the tower is the Red Beds Trail, a true dirt trail. It is also a much wider loop, clocking in at 2.8 miles. I’ll bet this trail is a lot less crowded, too. It is probably the trail to take if you have the time. Unfortunately we did not have the time and skipped it. We won’t make that mistake again should we visit Devils Tower a third time.
After the Tower Trail hike we drove over to a small dirt parking lot for the Joyner Ridge Trail, a 1.5 mile loop that is maybe ¾ of a mile west of Devils Tower. We were the only ones there, which is surprising since this parking lot probably has the best views of Devils Tower.
Because we still had over an hour’s drive ahead of us, we were too lazy to put on our hiking boots, instead walking the trail in running shoes, which was fine.
We hiked the trail clockwise, starting at the trail marker sign. The trial starts with a gradual uphill and a walk along the ridge. Near the halfway point the trail goes steeply downhill into a wooded valley before making a gradual incline across a field ending in the parking lot.
Several hours after arriving at Devils Tower we resumed our drive to Rapid City. On the way out we noticed that the red light stopping traffic on the road was turned off. The peak afternoon rush hour was over. Fortunately we didn’t have to wait in line to pay on the way out.
Hiking in Devils Tower National Monument:
Tower Trail: 1.2 miles
Joyner Ridge Trail: 1.5 miles
Total Miles Hiked: 2.7
Garrett and Stephanie
To read other posts about our adventures in the National Parks and National Monuments, or elsewhere in the world, check out our Travel Blog. It contains collected links to all of our travel posts.
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