Sight · Capitol Reef National Park
A quick stop where ripple slabs sit on a drainage divide.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Capitol Reef Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Capitol Reef National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Capitol Reef audio tourRecorded for this place
Slickrock Divide“You're approaching Slickrock Divide, a roadside saddle where rain drains north toward Grand Wash or south toward Capitol Gorge.”
Plays as you drive up to Slickrock Divide in the Parkwolf Capitol Reef Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Slickrock Divide is a roadside saddle on Capitol Reef’s paved Scenic Drive. A paved pullout sits beside slabs marked with ripple ridges, and a short climb above it opens a broader valley view. It’s a quick stop for a close look at the rock and the way the land drains.
Rain falling here runs north toward Grand Wash or south toward Capitol Gorge. The ripple-rock slabs preserve surfaces from old river bottoms and tidal mudflats in the Moenkopi Formation. That formation began as sediment in coastal flats and lagoons about 225 million years ago. For a photo, start close enough to show the ripples; include the valley if you want to connect those small patterns to the larger landscape.
The Scenic Drive is a paved 7.9-mile road, not a loop, so you return the way you came. This makes sense as a brief pullout rather than a separate outing. Capitol Reef warns that only half an inch of rain can trigger a flash flood; don’t enter nearby canyons when rain is forecast.
Wildlife
50 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
322 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
70 sightingsMarmotMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
13 sightingsCottontail RabbitMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
33 sightingsTurkeyMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
14 sightingsRavenMost seen around 9 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Capitol Reef. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingOld Wagon Trail Loop3.8 mi · 3 hr · 0.6 mi awayA steady climb earns a long view over the Waterpocket Fold.
ChallengingCassidy Arch Trail3.4 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.7 mi awayA steep climb to a walkable arch above Grand Wash.
EasyCapitol Gorge Trail2 mi · 1.5 hr · 3 mi awayFollow a sandy gorge to historic names and stone waterpockets.
ChallengingGolden Throne Trail4 mi · 2.5 hr · 3 mi awayA strenuous climb to a knoll below Capitol Reef’s Golden Throne.
ModerateLower Pleasant Creek6.8 mi · 4.5 hr · 3.7 mi awayA sandstone canyon walk that keeps sending you across the creek.
ModerateUpper Pleasant Creek Route7.6 mi · 5 hr · 3.7 mi awayWalk a narrowing creek canyon to cascades in pale sandstone.
EasyGrand Wash Trail4.4 mi · 3 hr · 4 mi awayA gentle wash walk that tightens into shadowed sandstone narrows.
ModerateCohab Canyon Trail1.7 mi · 1.5 hr · 4.3 mi awayA steep Fruita climb opens into a sculpted sandstone canyon.
Picnic area · 1.8 mi awayScenic Drive Picnic AreaA sheltered lunch stop at the end of the paved Scenic Drive.
Sight · 1.9 mi awayGolden Throne ViewpointA four-mile hike to the sandstone dome above Capitol Gorge.
Sight · 2.4 mi awayOyler Mine ViewpointA quick roadside pause for Capitol Reef's uranium story.Sight · 2.6 mi awayCassidy ArchWalk across a sandstone arch with Grand Wash far below.
Picnic area · 3 mi awayCapitol Gorge Picnic AreaA covered picnic stop at the start of a storied gorge walk.
Sight · 3.2 mi awayPioneer RegisterTwo prospectors left their names here on September 20, 1871.
Sight · 3.5 mi awayGrand Wash NarrowsA tight sandstone passage worth the walk from Highway 24.
Sight · 3.5 mi awayThe TanksSmall rain-fed pools turn pale sandstone into living habitat.Parkwolf’s Capitol Reef ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
