Monumental Moments

Admired by even the devil himself (PhotoDisc)

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Talk about mystique. Native American tribes have always considered this 1,267-foot monolith in northeastern Wyoming a sacred site, and in 1906 President Teddy Roosevelt proclaimed it America's first national monument.

Devils Tower has also been a climber's mecca since at least the 1930s—many consider it one of the nation's finest traditional rock-climbing areas, and over 5,000 people scramble up it each year. You may find some climbs are actually harder than the 5.7 to 5.13 ratings imply. Most are generally long and not bolt protected—in other words, novices, don't get ahead of yourself.

Hikers have it easier, especially since there are no long backcountry routes. Two short interpretive trails lead through a boulder field, meadows, and a ridge-top forest. For more exercise, take the three-mile Red Beds Trail as it runs alongside iron-stained cliffs, drops down to the Belle Fouche riverside, and then crosses a prairie. A side trail leads through the prairie-dog town.

The campground, near the river, has 30 tent and RV sites from which to enjoy the twilight when the Tower is often at its most spectacular and spiritually charged.