Devils tower hours/closure

Congrats you Trump voters, you got Devils Tower closed from 5pm-7am! Making America great alright. First a little closure here, a little closure there, pretty soon, boom, no public lands at all! 

Wow, that's extremely disturbing though sadly not at all surprising. But, isn't there a campground in the Park? Is that now no longer in operation?

The campground is outside the park boundary so that should be OK. 

The closure is very upsetting though. 

I don’t actually believe they are closing the gate at the entrance. Just “closing” the park….their are private residence up the road plus the campground.  Thus, I am sure it just won’t be staffed after 5pm

Double J wrote:

I don’t actually believe they are closing the gate at the entrance. Just “closing” the park….their are private residence up the road plus the campground.  Thus, I am sure it just won’t be staffed after 5pm

I don’t think they can close the road since it’s Wyoming 110 and yes there are private residences past the park but that are accessed through the park. But no more alpine starts or summer evening sends (it isn’t dark till 9 in the summer).

anonymous coward wrote:

The campground is outside the park boundary so that should be OK. 

The closure is very upsetting though. 

No that’s the KOA you’re thinking of, there is a NPS campground by the Belle fourche river. I don’t know how this will affect that.

Jiggs Casey wrote:

I don’t think they can close the road since it’s Wyoming 110 and yes there are private residences past the park but that are accessed through the park. But no more alpine starts or summer evening sends (it isn’t dark till 9 in the summer).

Not trying to start any issues, but if the roads are open but the park is closed/ not "staffed," is there a reason people couldn't climb into the evening if they are already there?

Again, not trying to promote any unlawful behavior considering the circumstances.

Matt D wrote:

Not trying to start any issues, but if the roads are open but the park is closed/ not "staffed," is there a reason people couldn't climb into the evening if they are already there?

Again, not trying to promote any unlawful behavior considering the circumstances.

Oh I am all for civil disobedience. Climb it 24/7, do not adhere to these bullshit closures from Herr Fuehrer.

Jiggs Casey wrote:

Oh I am all for civil disobedience. Climb it 24/7, do not adhere to these bullshit closures from Herr Fuehrer.

I get where you're coming from, but an easy solution to any perceived problem is to ban it completely...

They could absolutely close the gate to reduce liability. RMNP locks the gates during gov shutdowns and gives private residences a code to access. This is absolute bullshit.   

I heard they are putting in a small non-vehicle gate that will have iApplePay. It will charge $2.02 per entry. $2 goes to Wreck.gov, your other 2¢ goes to the park.

Matt D wrote:

Not trying to start any issues, but if the roads are open but the park is closed/ not "staffed," is there a reason people couldn't climb into the evening if they are already there?….

Any climbers will be forced to trail a rope so that at the stroke 5, they can yank you down. 

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2025/03/12/driskill-calls-closure-of-devils-tower-stupidity-at-highest-levels/

The last line in the news clip "for now we can only speculate" until Frank S or someone whose actually there post up it's all speculation.
No gate's but they can barricade the entrance, yes there's some private land access but pretty sure its a very limited number.
Climbing has always required a permit and it would be hard to hide up there. Maybe if you have a site inside the park at the CG maybe you could keep climbing, or maybe they'll use the lack of rescue staff as an excuse to close it to climbing. 

It's only temporary 

What purpose does that serve?

Here's their more recent FB post :

"Thank you for all the comments and concerns regarding our recent post about our change in hours. We appreciate that so many people around the country and world are paying attention to the phenomenal resources at Devils Tower National Monument. 

We at the park apologize for not being more clear. The change in our hours is a temporary condition. This change will be in effect only through March 30 after which park hours will return to being open 24 hours a day."

From NPS website - road repair 

"Visitors will be allowed in the park from 7am to 5pm. The park will be closed at night from 5pm to 7am. This is due to minor road repairs."

Blocka Climber wrote:

From NPS website - road repair 

"Visitors will be allowed in the park from 7am to 5pm. The park will be closed at night from 5pm to 7am. This is due to minor road repairs."

I definitely jumped to a conclusion but given what’s happened since Trump has taken office I’m going to forgive myself.

Good news

The Devil's Tower NM website:

https://www.nps.gov/deto/index.htm