Sight · Grand Canyon National Park
The Colorado River framed through a natural arch.
Overview
Angels Window is a natural rock arch in Kaibab Limestone at Cape Royal on the North Rim. A short side path branches off the paved Cape Royal trail to a railed and fenced viewing area above the opening, where the Colorado River appears through the stone. I’d make the stop when you’re already driving out to Cape Royal: it’s 23 miles from the North Rim developed area. The overlook is protected, but the drop still feels exposed if you’re uneasy with heights. You look through the arch; you don’t walk through it.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe arch and the payoffMap
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Grand Canyon Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Grand Canyon 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 Grand Canyon audio tourRecorded for this place
Cape Royal and Angels Window“You're nearing Cape Royal, where a nearly level paved walk leads to one of the North Rim's widest panoramas.”
Plays as you drive up to Angels Window in the Parkwolf Grand Canyon 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
The arch opens onto layered canyon walls, with the Colorado River far below and Vishnu Temple among the named landmarks in view. From the railed area, frame the river through the opening; it gives the canyon depth and scale without leaving the protected path. The arch sits on the approach to Cape Royal’s broader panorama, so continue to the point if you want a much wider view across the canyon.
Angels Window is an erosion-formed opening in Kaibab Limestone, the uppermost layer of the Grand Canyon. That limestone began as sediment on an ancient ocean floor and now caps the plateau above the canyon. The rock span makes a natural frame for the river and the much older layers exposed below it.
The 23-mile road to Cape Royal was surveyed in 1926, largely along an older wagon route, and took nearly four years to build at a cost of more than half a million dollars. Elizabeth Wylie McKee and her family ran the North Rim’s main concession from 1917 to 1927; her husband Thomas led tours to Cape Royal and Point Sublime. The road was rebuilt between 1959 and 1963 while keeping its original alignment.
Wildlife
718 sightingsCalifornia CondorMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
533 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
169 sightingsAmerican BisonMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,891 sightingsElkMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
59 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
27 sightingsGray FoxMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Grand Canyon. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyCape Royal Trail0.8 mi · 1 hr · 0.2 mi awayAn easy paved walk to a natural arch and wide canyon views.
ModerateCliff Springs Trail0.8 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.3 mi awayA short, steep walk to a spring beneath a red rock overhang.
EasyWalhalla Glades Pueblo Trail0.2 mi · 15 min · 1 mi awayA short pine walk reveals a 900-year-old settlement.
ModerateCape Final Trail4.2 mi · 3 hr · 1.9 mi awayA pine walk ends at an open rocky point above the canyon.
ModerateWalhalla Spur Trail5.4 mi · 3 hr · 4 mi awayA remote, rough forest track across the Walhalla Plateau.
EasyUnkar Delta Loop0.9 mi · 45 min · 5 mi awayA short river loop passes ten ancestral Puebloan sites.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayCape RoyalA 23-mile North Rim drive opens onto a 270-degree canyon view.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayWalhalla OverlookA broad Unkar Delta view, with a pueblo across the road.
Sight · 1 mi awayWalhalla Glades PuebloA short walk to a 900-year-old pueblo home site.Sight · 2.7 mi awayCape FinalA 4.2-mile forest hike ends with a wide canyon panorama.Parkwolf’s Grand Canyon ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
