Weather forecast
Sun, Jul 5Start
Glendive, MT
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En route
Devils Tower
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Overnight
Sturgis, SD
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Devils Tower National Monument
Jr. Ranger Badge
Junior Ranger badge — visitor center closes 6:00 PM
Game Plan
Arrive ~12:20 PM; 5.5 hrs before close. The most relaxed badge day of the whole back half.
- Tower Trail (1.3 mi paved loop) — Your noted loop — circles the base through boulder fields and ponderosa; prayer cloths on trees (please don't touch).
- Joyner Ridge Trail (optional) (1.5 mi) — Quieter, with the best photo angle of the Tower across the prairie.
- Prairie dog town at the entrance — huge colony, roadside viewing
- Belle Fourche River valley views from the picnic area
Sunrise, Sunset & Golden Hour ★
Sunrise
5:19 AM MDT
Sunset
8:47 PM MDT
Be set up by (sunrise)
4:49 AM
Be set up by (sunset)
8:27 PM
Sunrise spot — You depart Glendive at 8:00 AM — sunrise long past. Belle Fourche River valley near Devils Tower is beautiful in early morning light.
Easy morning — no sunrise opportunity.
Sunset spot — Devils Tower itself — the tower turns from grey to amber to deep red at sunset. From the south picnic area or Joyner Ridge Trail viewpoint. You arrive Sturgis by 4:15 PM; driving back to the Tower (35 min) for sunset is highly recommended.
Return to Devils Tower for sunset (35 min each way + 30 min filming = home by ~10 PM). The tower in raking low light is its most dramatic. Your call.
Heads Up
First-come parking at the Tower fills midday in summer; arriving by 11:30 usually still works on a Sunday — patience may be needed.
Tomorrow is the trickiest scheduling day of the trip — read Day 17's plan tonight and decide on Wind Cave.
Trip Journal — Day 16
No journal entries for this day yet.