Devils Tower Reopens, But “Will Never Look The Same” After Huge Hailstorm

Devils Tower National Monument reopened Wednesday afternoon after clearing the immense damage caused by a severe hailstorm that swept through northeast Wyoming.

During the Monday evening thunderstorm, Devils Tower got 1.5 inches of rain and 5 inches of golf-ball sized hail, with some hailstones reportedly the size of baseballs hitting the local KOA campground. Wind gusts of 80 mph were recorded, with some as high as 110 mph.

"Some large trees came down by the visitor center, and one tree fell and hit the ranger station," Devils Tower Chief Ranger Matt Roland told Cowboy State Daily. "We're concentrating on front-country and main visitor access areas points right now."

The visitor center and most of the trails at Devils Tower are clear and open to the public. Only the Joyner Ridge Trail, which "sustained major damage," remains closed.

The impacts of the fast and furious storm are evident throughout the region. Some locals are already saying it'll never be the same, but it's still business as usual in the shadow of the nation’s first national monument.

"The campground will never look the same again," said Andrea Wood, general manager at the Devils Tower/Black Hills KOA campground. "It will never be the campground that my grandmother dreamed of and created, and that's OK. I think she would recognize that we must keep moving forward. But we are and definitely will stay open, now and in the future."

Total Losses

Wood said Monday's thunderstorm was the worst she's ever encountered at the Devils Tower KOA. Several days later, her staff and an emergency tree crew are still clearing the leaves, branches and debris felled by the hail.

"The entire campground is covered in 2 to 6 inches of tree leaves and debris," she said. "There's not a blank spot anywhere you look. The tree crew is trimming the dangerous limbs out of the high trees and clearing the roads so that we can actually get campers in and out. It's pretty awful."

The Devils Tower KOA is surrounded by large native cottonwoods. Wood said her grandmother, Ellen Driskill, planted many of them knowing they'd eventually become beautiful additions to the campground she envisioned.

After the storm, any trees that were still standing were completely defoliated. Wood said there have been "massive losses" to the trees throughout the campground.

"I wouldn't even want to estimate how many pounds of debris we're moving out," she said. "The piles are 8 feet high, at least."

The campground's infrastructure also suffered tremendous damage. Dozens of windows were shattered or completely destroyed, and Wood said that all of the roofs on the campground's cabins are "a complete loss."

"All those roofs were brand new in May," she said. "That's pretty depressing because we spent a lot of time saving our money to re-roof all of our rustic cabins."

Wood has five companies assessing the damage to the campground's infrastructure. The cost to repair and restore everything could be massive.

"Everywhere you look, something is broken or missing," she said.

Open For The Rest Of The Season

Despite the damage, the Devils Tower KOA is still open for the remainder of the 2024 season. Wood praised her staff, who have been tirelessly working to clean the campsite and ensure its visitors enjoy their stay in the shadow of Devils Tower.

"I have an absolutely incredible staff this year," she said. "As soon as the storm was finished and it was safe to be outside, they started cleaning and worked hard until it was too dark to work anymore."

Wood said her staff had to use snow shovels to clear the hail away from doors, and are still collecting the branches and debris blocking roads and pedestrian pathways.

The focus now is ensuring everyone can access the amenities of the Devils Tower KOA. Wood said the campground's pool has been drained and cleaned, and the mini-golf course has been cleared of debris. Both should be open by Monday.

Legacy And Duty

The Devils Tower KOA's season used to extend from Memorial Day to Labor Day. In recent years, the season has stretched into the shoulder season to accommodate the growing tide of tourism.

Wood pledged to keep the Devils Tower KOA open for the rest of the 2024 season, no matter what.

"We never close before Oct.1, and we won't this year," she said. "We strongly feel that it's our legacy and our duty to help share Devils Tower with as many people as we can, so that they can come to know the magic of this place and how wonderful Wyoming is."

Wood explained that because Devils Tower stands in a "rural and remote" spot in northeast Wyoming, there aren't many businesses to serve campers and tourists at the base of the tower. The campground gives visitors gives them a place to stay with easy access to the monument.

"We want to provide a good service for visitors and keep that opportunity available to them," she said. "So, we'll work as much as we can to get things shored up and continue providing services for those campers."

The scars of the severe thunderstorm could take years to heal, but Devils Tower is still standing. And as long as the iconic tower still looms over northeast Wyoming, Wood said the Devils Tower KOA will proudly sit in its shadow.

"Devils Tower is open," she said. "We are here, we are open, and we are ready to welcome folks and help them with their needs.”

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.