"[3] The monument encompasses 798 acres (323 ha) and includes two main attractions: the Devils Postpile formation and Rainbow Falls, a waterfall on the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River.

"[3] The monument was once part of Yosemite National Park, but discovery of gold in 1905 near Mammoth Lakes prompted a boundary change that left the Postpile on adjacent public land.

Influential Californians, including John Muir, persuaded the federal government to stop the demolition and, in 1911, President William Howard Taft protected the area as a National Monument.

[12] Native wildflowers include:[13] The most common method for accessing Devils Postpile is via the mandatory shuttle bus operated by Eastern Sierra Transit Authority in the summer months at the price of $15 for an adult,[14] followed by a 1/4 mile walk.

[15] Due to the Reds Meadow Road reconstruction project for the 2024 season, entry is limited to Friday starting at 9 AM, all day Saturday, and Sunday until 11 PM, this schedule until September 15, 2024.

[17] The source of the lava is thought to have been somewhere near Upper Soda Springs campground at the north end of Pumice Flat on the floor of the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River, from where it flowed to the site of the Postpile.

Other notable sites include Svartifoss in Vatnajökull National Park in Iceland, Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, Fingal's Cave in Scotland, Titan's Piazza of the Mount Holyoke Range in Massachusetts, the Garni Gorge in Armenia, the Cyclopean Isles near Sicily, Sheepeater Cliff at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Basaltic Prisms of Santa María Regla in Huasca de Ocampo, Mexico, the Organ Pipes formation on Mount Cargill in New Zealand, Gilbert Hill in Mumbai, Organ Pipes National Park in Australia and the Column Cape (Russian: Mis Stolbchaty) on Kunashir Island, the southernmost of the Kuril Islands, Cerro Colorado and Mar Brava (Ancud) in Chile.

The much more massive Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming is superficially similar but consists of a phonolite porphyry, formed by the intrusion of igneous rock.