Devil's Postpile
National Monument
Sequoia and
Kings Canyon NP
Three Rivers, CA 93271
Phone: (559) 565-3341
This small piece of Inyo National Forest is where molten rock cooled and cracked underground about 900,000 years ago. Then, 890,000 years after that, glaciers plowed through the valley, exposing the bizarre formations. The result: strange basalt columns that shoot 60 feet into the air, creating what's often compared to a monstrous pipe organ. By any standard, it's quite an eerie and sublime geologic relic.
Hikes around here bring you into the Ansel Adams Wilderness and to Rainbow Falls which pours from 100 feet above. All the other natural virtues of Inyo National Forest are out there. The wide range of elevation (between 4,000 and 14,495 ft.) makes for an equally wide range of habitats for the native critters and plants.
The snow falls hard, ironically, on Devil's Postpile. So, it's only open between Summer and Fall. Plan for mosquitoes. Soda Springs Campground is the closest to the Monument.
Getting there
From Route 395 take Route 203, passing the Mammoth Mountain Ski area. Look out for campground signs.
Devil's Postpile