El Capitan Look-Out - Guadalupe Mountains, TX - Scenic Roadside Look-Outs on Waymarking.com

"El Capitan" is the southernmost promontory of the Guadalupe Mountain range in West Texas and Southeast New Mexico. At 8,064 feet, it is the 8th highest peak in Texas and rises abruptly out of the Chihuahuan Desert floor, with a dramatic prominence of 285 feet. Considered the "signature peak" of West Texas, El Capitan is a massive limestone formation long used as a landmark by early pioneers along an old route which later became the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line.

The lookout point for "El Capitan" is right off US Hwy 62/180 (which straddles the Guadalupe Mountains' foothills in this area), approximately 110 miles East of El Paso, TX and 55 miles of Southwest of Carlsbad, NM. There are actually two rest areas / lookout points -- on both sides of the divided highway -- but the "westbound"/"Carlsbad to El Paso" viewing area is by far much more photogenic. It is also the one that includes a Texas Historical Marker describing Guadalupe Peak, Texas' highest peak, located to just the right of El Capitan's wall (and looking somewhat lower on the horizon, but that it just due to it being further away and the viewing angle at this spot). The marker reads:

"Guadalupe Peak, Texas’ highest mountain at 8,749 feet above sea level, dominates one of the most scenic and least-known areas of the state. It lies behind and to the right of El Capitan (8,078 feet) [sic, yes the elevation numbers don't match], the sheer wall that rises more than 3,000 feet above this spot to mark the south end of the Guadalupe range. The starkness of the mountainside belies the lushness that the Guadalupes conceal. Tucked away in their inner folds are watered canyons shaded by bigtooth maples, velvet ash, junipers and ponderosa pines. Just beyond the ridge lies a forest of Douglas fur and pine that is home for black bears, mountain lions and deer.
Legends of hidden gold in the mountains go back to Spanish rule. One relates that Apache chief Geronimo believed the richest gold mines in the western world lay hidden in the Guadalupes. The true value of the area is the scenery and associated life that resemble the same landscape experienced by early inhabitants. Excavators have found spearheads, pictographs and human remains together with bones of long-extinct bison, dire wolf and musk ox in cliff caves, and carbon-14 dating of remains indicates humans occupied the area 12,000 years ago.
Geologically, the Guadalupe Mountains present spectacular exposure of the Capitan reef, formed by algae and sponges along with other ancient marine life during the Permian period (over 200 million years ago), when much of west Texas and New Mexico was part of the Permian Sea. For centuries, El Capitan has acted as a guidepost for Native Americans, Spanish explorers, the U.S. Cavalry and geologists. Today, visitors to Guadalupe Mountains National Park use the same guidepost to explore the timeless wilderness surrounding it, the hidden oasis found in the mountains."

Describe - Highway or Road number: US Hwy 62/180 Closest town or city: Pine Springs, TX (5 mi) / Salt Flat, TX (20 mi) / Carlsbad, NM (55 miles) Number of parking spots available: 5 Name if a website describes this location.: [Web Link] Winter View: yes Summer View: yes Year around access ?: yes Comfort station on site: no Is a photo of an "Information Sign"included?: Yes

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