Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
who come to enjoy food, Western music, cowboy poetry, kids' activities, and nondenomin-
ational church.
The annual Cultural Program Series changes from year to year but consistently offers
fascinating lectures, entertainment, and living-history displays over the course of the sum-
mer season (May 31-Aug. 31). For information on current happenings, contact the visitors
center at the base of the tower (307/467-5283) or look online at the Park News newsletter
( www.nps.gov/deto/parknews ) .
The National Park Service hosts a fantastic spectrum of ranger-guided programs
throughout the summer season. Offerings include a 1.3-mile guided Tower Walk, a variety
of 20-minute Interpretive Talks, hour-long Evening Programs, and fantastic 90-minute
Full Moon Walks that leave from the Joyner Ridge Trail parking lot. For information on
any of the regularly scheduled events, contact the visitors center at the base of the tower
(307/467-5283, www.nps.gov/deto ) .
MM HIKING AND CLIMBING
Non-climbers interested in hiking will delight in the 1.3-mile trail around the base of the
tower, plus the additional 7 miles of trails that meander through the nearby forest and mead-
ows. Trail maps are available at the visitors center (307/467-5283, www.nps.gov/deto ). The
2.8-mile Red Beds trail winds through meadows and ponderosa pines, with a significant
elevation gain, to the Joyner Ridge. Plan on two hours for the Red Beds hike.
Each year the tower is climbed by some 5,000 people who come to slip their fingers and
toes into the hundreds of parallel cracks that divide the hexagonal columns of Devils Tower.
Although the entire tower offers more than 200 routes with technical difficulties ranging
5.7-5.13, the Durrance Route, first pioneered in 1938, is the most common. A few bolted
face climbs were established in the 1980s and 1990s, but new bolts and fixed pitons are pro-
hibited. Only a handful of fatalities have occurred over the years, most of which happened
on the descent.
All climbers must register at the climber registration office next to the visitors center;
registration is free.
Climbing is strongly discouraged during the June voluntary climbing closure, advoc-
ated by the National Park Service out of respect for many Native American cultures that
recognize the tower as a sacred place.
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