Devils Tower-How to avoid the Prairie Dogs!
Devils Tower may not be a National Park, but this makes it a less traveled treasure to visit when you’re out west! Just beware of the prairie dog holes…
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How to get to Devils Tower National Monument
Devils Tower is in…Devils Tower, Wyoming, which is located about 100 miles from Rapid City, South Dakota. Reservations are not required at time of publishing, but I suggest you arrive earlier in the morning to avoid a long line at the entry booth. The Monument’s posted hours are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Entry is $15-$25 depending on the size of your vehicle. You can also purchase the America the Beautiful pass to use at this park and this list of others around the country. NOTE: This park is CASH FREE!
Parking
Ample parking is available throughout the area. For detailed information, dependent on vehicle size and your adventure type, see the National Park’s website here.
When my family visited Devils Tower, it was our first time visiting a National Parks site! ( I cannot believe this now that we’ve visited so many!) As such, I was not super adept at planning our outing and we wound up visiting the side of the park with less exhibits. We didn’t even go to the visitor’s center! (I feel such shame.)
If, like us, you’d like to avoid the crowds, see the prairie dogs, and visit a less populated part of the Monument, park at the Campground/Picnic Area parking lot. We arrived mid-morning and there was plenty of parking available. The lot was also close to the trailhead.
Prairie Dog Town
As promised, the prairie dog story, which has become family lore.
Above, I wrote that Devils Tower was our first foray into the National Parks system. It was also one of our very first hikes. With a two year old in tow we thought we’d keep it short and chose the South Side Trail, which is only about .6 miles long and goes through Prairie Dog Town.
As we walked along, Dad in front, kids sandwiched in the middle and myself bringing up the rear, suddenly, the two year old dropped from my view.
The prairie dogs had taken him for their own. He was in the hole!
Obviously we fought a long, hard battle and the prairie dogs eventually relented and allowed us to have our toddler back.
It really was unnerving to have him disappear from my eyesight so quickly. One minute he’s fine, then, Bam! Gone!
He was absolutely fine and we continued our trek along the flat trail. Hiker be warned.
Red Beds Trail
Having survived the attack from the resident rodents, we found ourselves wanting more from our hike and decided to venture closer to the actual Tower. The trail crosses the road and meets up with the Red Beds Trail. This became a much more difficult hike and the two year old kicked all of our butts with his energy and stamina. Despite all of my husband’s reassurance, the rest of us began to get panicky that we would never make it back to the car.
People, the hike is not that serious. We were just unpracticed!
Here are some tips for safe hiking practices:
- Bring water into the Parks with you. We prefer to have a hiking backpack with a water bladder for each person.
- Wear sunscreen & a hat
- Get the National Parks app to gain access to park maps that can be downloaded. Do this before entering the Parks since there may be limited wifi service.
- Don’t hike alone
- Did you forget to download the app? Each trailhead has a signboard with the trail maps. Take a photo of the maps to have for reference during your hike.
- Stay on trail and be on the lookout for wild animals. Heed all warnings posted within the Park.
- Stop by the visitor’s center before hiking to ask a Park Ranger any questions and get suggestions about hikes and programming.
- Wear proper shoes. We love waterproof trail runners in our family.
- Bring granola bars or other small snacks, hand sanitizer and a small first-aid kit along on your hike.
- Beware the ruthless Prairie Dog
Continuing our hike, we thought we were real mountain climbers tackling the heights of Devils Tower. While we did gain some altitude, we barely made a dent in the Tower.
Our view from “the top”
Thankfully, after much prayer and false-promises to be better people, we came to a point where we could begin our descent. My kids still swear that we were lost. I tend to side with them, because its fun to blame my husband for poor map skills.
But, here, in writing, which he will most likely never stumble across, I will conceed that we were not actually lost but just terribly, terribly out of shape.
Devils Tower Trading Post
Having survived our harrowing hike on the boring side of Devils Tower, we were ready to leave the area. We did make one final stop that you can’t miss when you’re here- Devils Tower Trading Post. Only open April-October, the Trading Post has snacks, ice cream and….souvenier prairie dogs.
For more information on Devils Tower National Monument here is the official park website:
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