Devils Tower National Monument

About

Devils Tower National Monument protects the striking columned rock formation that rises above the Belle Fourche River landscape in northeastern Wyoming. The site is important for geology, climbing history, wildlife, scenic viewing, and the cultural traditions of many Native nations who hold the place sacred. Most visitors focus on the visitor center area, the Tower Trail, viewpoints, the picnic area, and short drives through the monument.

The monument can be a rewarding stop for travelers with mobility needs, but access is not uniform across all trails. The visitor center was built in 1935 and has documented wheelchair width limits at the doorway, while the plaza area includes curb cuts to features such as drinking fountains, benches, binoculars, and the information kiosk. The Tower Trail is paved around the base of the tower, but NPS describes only the first 0.2 miles as wheelchair accessible because the rest includes steep grades.

Official accessibility information also documents accessible restrooms near the visitor center parking lot, accessible campground sites, an accessible outdoor amphitheater, accessible picnic-area restrooms and drinking fountain, and two picnic tables that accommodate wheelchairs. For visitors with hearing impairments, the park offers publications and text-heavy waysides; for blind and low-vision visitors, large-font and braille brochures are available at the visitor center.

The main planning caution is that the monument's most famous loop route is only partially suitable for wheelchair users. Other trails are not described as accessible, and the NPS page directs visitors to contact the park for issues not covered. Visitors should check current conditions, parking congestion, construction, sacred-site closures, and seasonal weather before arrival.

Accessibility

The National Park Service accessibility page says the visitor center doorway accommodates wheelchairs up to 35 inches wide. It also notes curb cuts to drinking fountains, benches, binoculars, and the information kiosk, plus accessible restrooms in the first log building by the visitor center parking lot.

The 1.8-mile Tower Trail is paved, but NPS says only the first 0.2 miles are wheelchair accessible because the rest has steep grades. Other trails in the monument are not described as accessible.

Additional documented features include four accessible campground sites, accessible campground restrooms, a wheelchair-accessible amphitheater, accessible picnic-area restrooms and drinking fountain, two wheelchair-accommodating picnic tables, large-font and braille brochures, and service-animal access in facilities and on trails unless an area is closed by the superintendent.

More accessible places in Wyoming

• Grand Teton National Park (Moose)
• National Museum of Wildlife Art (Jackson)
• Fort Laramie National Historic Site (Fort Laramie)
• Cheyenne Botanic Gardens (Cheyenne)
• Heart Mountain Interpretive Center (Powell)
• Nicolaysen Art Museum (Casper)

Photo credits

• Devils Tower rises above pine trees, its distinctive vertical rock columns lit by the sun.: Colin Faulkingham, Public domain (source)
• Primary visitor image for Devils Tower National Monument: National Park Service, Public domain (U.S. National Park Service)
• Devils Tower's rock formation viewed across a forested hillside dotted with pine trees.: Ben Stephenson from Cleveland, OH, CC BY 2.0 (source)
• Devils Tower glows at sunset beyond a grassy campground with picnic tables and parked cars.: DimiTalen, CC0 (source)