Devils Tower, the flat-topped volcanic rock formation Roy Neary becomes obsessed with — sculpting it in mashed potatoes, driving across several states to reach it — is a real geological monument in Crook County, Wyoming, rising abruptly about 265 metres above the surrounding Belle Fourche River valley.
It is used in the film almost entirely as an establishing and background presence — the exteriors of people approaching and looking at it are real, filmed at and around the actual monument. The elaborate landing site built at its base, with landing pads, control towers and crowds of extras, was constructed as a set inside an aircraft hangar in Alabama, not at Devils Tower itself.
America's first national monument
Devils Tower was designated the first United States National Monument in 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt, under the newly passed Antiquities Act — the first use of a law that would go on to protect the Grand Canyon and hundreds of other sites. Geologically it is an igneous intrusion, columns of phonolite porphyry exposed as softer surrounding rock eroded away over millions of years, giving it the distinctive vertical fluting visible from a distance.
The formation is sacred to several Plains Indigenous nations, including the Lakota, Cheyenne and Kiowa, under a number of different traditional names — most translating roughly to Bear Lodge — and ceremonial activity at the site continues today, a fact the National Park Service actively acknowledges in its management of visitor access, including a voluntary June climbing closure out of respect for Indigenous ceremonies.
What was filmed there, and what was built in Alabama
Spielberg's crew filmed genuine location footage of Devils Tower and the surrounding landscape for the film's approach sequences — Roy and Jillian's journey toward the mountain uses the real formation and real Wyoming terrain.
The elaborate finale, though — the landing pads, the control tower, the enormous illuminated mothership sequence — was built as a physical set inside a decommissioned blimp hangar at what was then Brookley Air Force Base in Mobile, Alabama, reportedly one of the largest enclosed spaces in the world at the time, chosen specifically because no soundstage was large enough for the scale Spielberg wanted.
So the film's structural landmark is real and its climactic set piece is not: you can stand in the same spot Roy stands in on his approach, but the landing site itself never existed at Devils Tower, or anywhere outside that Alabama hangar.
Visiting a monument, not a film set
Devils Tower National Monument today is managed principally as a geological and cultural site rather than a film destination — there is a visitor centre, hiking trails circling the base (the 1.9-mile Tower Trail is the main one), and a prairie dog colony near the entrance that draws its own steady attention.
The Tower is also a serious rock-climbing destination, with hundreds of established routes up the vertical columns, a use that long predates and is unrelated to the film.
Visiting the location
- Where
- Devils Tower National Monument, Crook County, Wyoming.
- Getting there
- About 90 minutes from Rapid City, South Dakota (nearest sizeable airport), or roughly an hour from Gillette, Wyoming, via US-14 and WY-24.
- Access
- A National Park Service site with a per-vehicle entry fee, open year-round with seasonal visitor centre hours. Some climbing routes close voluntarily each June in respect of Indigenous ceremonies.
- Walk the Tower Trail, a fairly easy 1.9-mile loop around the base, for the closest and most complete views.
- Go early or late in the day for the clearest light on the columns and fewer people at the main viewpoints.
- The landing-site set from the film exists nowhere at the monument — there is nothing built to see beyond the natural formation itself.
- Combine with the Black Hills of South Dakota, a scenic 1.5–2 hour drive, if making a longer trip of it.
Frequently asked questions
Is Devils Tower a real place?
Yes — a geological formation in Wyoming, and the first site designated a US National Monument, in 1906. It is sacred to several Plains Indigenous nations and remains a ceremonial and climbing site today.
Was the alien landing site built at Devils Tower?
No. The landing pads, control tower and mothership sequence were built as a full-scale set inside an aircraft hangar in Mobile, Alabama. Only the establishing exterior footage was filmed at the real Devils Tower.
Can you climb Devils Tower?
Yes, it is an established rock-climbing destination with hundreds of routes, though some climbing is voluntarily paused each June out of respect for Indigenous ceremonies at the site.
How long does it take to visit Devils Tower?
The Tower Trail loop around the base takes most visitors 1–1.5 hours; the site can comfortably be seen in half a day including the visitor centre.