Sight · Capitol Reef National Park
A quick stop for two pale caps and their shrinking red pedestals.
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
Twin Rocks Viewpoint“Twin Rocks Viewpoint is coming up, with two pale boulders perched on narrow orange pedestals. It's a quick roadside stop if you enjoy odd rock shapes.”
Plays as you drive up to Twin Rocks Viewpoint in the Parkwolf Capitol Reef Tour Guide.
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“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
Twin Rocks is a roadside viewpoint of two pale boulders balanced on orange rock pedestals below the cliffs of Meeks Mesa. It's a brief stop, but a good one if you want to see erosion at work: the harder tops protect narrower bases of softer rock.
The pale cap is Shinarump, part of the Chinle Formation; the orange pedestal is Moenkopi mudstone. Shinarump resists erosion better, shielding the softer pedestal like an umbrella. The sides keep wearing away, and the cap will eventually fall onto the light-colored boulders below. The Chinle formed in a tropical river landscape about 220 million years ago; Shinarump itself is made of river-deposited gravel and cobbles.
Meeks Mesa's cliffs rise above the highway, with the rugged, roadless northern Waterpocket Fold beyond them. Nearby Chimney Rock has a similar orange Moenkopi column capped by pale Shinarump, making it an easy comparison. For a photo, get both pale tops and their narrow red pedestals in the frame.
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
ChallengingSulphur Creek Route5.8 mi · 4.5 hr · 1.6 mi awayThree waterfalls and creek crossings make this a hands-on canyon hike.
ChallengingLower Spring Canyon9.7 mi · 6 hr · 1.9 mi awayA long canyon walk with an exposed bypass and river ford.
ChallengingChimney Rock Loop3.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.9 mi awayA steep climb opens onto Chimney Rock and Waterpocket Fold views.
ChallengingUpper Spring Canyon18.7 mi · 16 hr · 1.9 mi awayRemote traverse through Wingate narrows and a boulder filled wash.
EasySunset Point Trail0.8 mi · 45 min · 2.7 mi awayA short rim walk for sunset over the Waterpocket Fold.
EasyGoosenecks Trail0.2 mi · 15 min · 2.7 mi awayA short walk to Sulphur Creek’s tight canyon bend.
ModerateSulphur Creek Waterfall Hike1.4 mi · 1.5 hr · 4.6 mi awayFollow a desert creek upstream to a waterfall below red rock walls.
Scenic pullout · 1 mi awayCapitol Reef West Entrance PulloffA signed west-edge stop with Chimney Rock to the east.
Sight · 2.1 mi awayChimney RockA capped red-rock tower beside the road, with a strenuous loop.
Sight · 2.5 mi awayPanorama PointA 360-degree red-rock view after one very short walk.
Sight · 2.7 mi awayGoosenecks OverlookQuick access to Sulphur Creek's tight turns.
Sight · 2.9 mi awaySunset PointA short walk to sunset color on the Waterpocket Fold.
Sight · 3.2 mi awayFluted Wall ViewpointA quick roadside stop for the Moenkopi’s fluted red wall.
Sight · 3.8 mi awayNavajo KnobsClimb high above Fruita for a 360-degree view of the Waterpocket Fold
Sight · 3.9 mi awayThe Castle ViewpointA sandstone bluff cut free by erosion’s own moat.Parkwolf’s Capitol Reef ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
