When taking a road trip across the United States, there are so many choices to make. I usually start by picking a few must-see places, then finding a driving route with the best balance between scenery and efficiency. Once that is done, I find reservations for lodging along the way. Then finally I fill the driving days with interesting stops along the way! Devil’s Tower National Monument did not make the cut on a 2015 adventure and I regretted it, so when I was planning another cross country trek last year, I was sure to include it. Here is what we found to do!
Lodging
We planned to stop at Devil’s Tower Monument on the return trip from Yellowstone National Park. I usually start my research of an area 6 months to a year in advance and I was thrilled to see that Devil’s Tower had one privately owned in-park lodge. I like booking in-park lodging whenever I can because I feel it maximizes our time in a place. This is a luxury that I am willing to pay for, it is sometimes difficult to get a family of 5 ready and out the door! Being in the park gets us that much closer to our starting point for the day.
Devil’s Tower Lodge could not have been a better choice! I can not say enough positive things about our stay. The lodge is located at the rear of the park, on adjacent, private land. You enter the park and follow the directions from the lodge to arrive. There are a few rooms to let in the main building but there is also a stand-alone cottage. We chose the cottage, named the Weissner Cottage, after that first person to climb the tower. It had two bedrooms, a bath, a large kitchen/dining/living area, and its own deck. There was plenty of room for a family of 5.
In addition to a room for the night, the Devil’s Tower Lodge offered a hot breakfast and an optional family style dinner. I would recommend that you make a reservation and get there in time for dinner. We had two wonderful home cooked meals, a refreshing change for a family whose cooler was getting down to peanut butter and jelly! The meals were served family style and the large dining table served all the lodge’s guests for the night. It was nice to chat with other travelers from all over the country. In addition to the common dining area in the main building, there was also a living room with books and games and two pianos. It was a nice place to sit and relax both before and after a meal.
History
Devil’s Tower was the very first United States National Monument, established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, but this area was special to a lot of people long before then. In researching some of the oral histories of the monument, I was struck by the presence of a large bear in most of the Native American stories I read. In several of the stories, the Great Spirit played a role in raising the rocks to protect people from a great bear. I found 6 different tribes listed as having geographical, historical, or cultural ties to the tower. Today, the tower is still visited for sacred rituals, the most common of which are prayer offerings. Throughout the monument, there are colorful clothes scattered about. These religious artifacts are sacred and should not be touched.
But the tower’s history starts long before any people walked the earth. Along the trail, interpretive signs talk about the tower’s formation and though much is agreed upon, some aspects of its creation are still uncertain. It is known that it is made of a rare form of igneous rock and that it is the largest example of columnar jointing in the world. It is also agreed upon that the igneous rock occurred as a volcanic intrusion through layers of surrounding sedimentary rock, put just how that process took shape is uncertain.
It was fascinating to wander around such an unusual and important natural artifact.
Hiking
There are a handful of trails in the park which provide great views of the tower and even take you through a prairie dog town, but the most popular is the paved, 1.3 mile Tower Trail.
We arrived at the visitor center early, before it opened, so we had the trail mostly to ourselves. Before heading around the monument though, the boys were drawn to the jumbled rocks at its base. I didn’t realize that you can scramble up these rocks, and it was a very nice surprise. I followed the boys as they climbed up all the way to the base where only permitted climbers can continue on.
After ambling back down, we rejoined our teenage daughter who opted out of the scramble and started the loop around the monument’s base. Each side of the monument offered a different perspective of the giant monolith. We watched as the sun rose behind it and finished our walk before it reached its highest point in the sky, welcoming in the midday tourists.
Subscribe below so you don’t miss out on an adventure!
