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Devils Postpile National Monument

courtesy of the National Park Service

Contact Information:
Devils Postpile National Monument 
P.O. Box 3999
Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546
760-934-2289
 http://www.nps.gov/depo/

Size: 798 acres

Location: In east-central California, between Yosemite and Kings Canyon/Sequoia national parks. Drive 10 miles west from US 395 on SR 203 to Minaret Summit and then 7 miles on mountain road. 

Description: The formation of Devils Postpile was the result of hot lava cooling and cracking to form basalt columns 40 to 60 feet high, resembling a giant pipe organ. The monument also includes the 101-foot Rainbow Falls of the San Joaquin River, and sections of the 211-mile John Muir Trail (linking Yosemite and Kings Canyon national parks) and the 2,638-mile Pacific Crest Trail (spanning the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, from Canada to Mexico). 

Devils Postpile National Monument
courtesy of the National Park Service
Activities: From late June through early September activities include guided walks, campfire programs, junior ranger programs, special bird banding programs (offered throughout the summer by Point Reyes Bird Observatory biologists). 

Operating Hours: Summer season only: Opens around mid-June, weather permitting. Monument may close at any time after October 15th due to snow. Official season closure is November 1st. The ranger station is open from mid-June until early October 9 am - 4 pm. Winter months: Closed.

History: Proclaimed on July 6, 1911; transferred from Forest Service on August 10, 1933. 

See other National Monuments
See other California National Parks

 

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