Register Cliff, Historic sandstone cliff near Guernsey, US

Register Cliff is a soft sandstone cliff near Guernsey, Wyoming, rising about 30 meters above the North Platte River. Its pale tan face shows horizontal sedimentary layers, deep vertical cracks, and protruding blocks. At the base, rounded boulders and grey-green shrubs sit on dry grass, and a small wooden frame with a dark opening marks a later storage cave.

Starting in the 1840s, emigrants on the Oregon Trail carved their names into the soft stone as they traveled westward from Fort Laramie. The earliest recorded carving dates back to July 14, 1829, showing how this practice spanned decades.

The carvings at this site show how travelers marked their journey by leaving personal marks on the stone. You can see the handwriting and names vary greatly, reflecting different people and times who passed through this place.

Access to Register Cliff is free, and parking is available directly at the cliff. A fence protects part of the rock face where the historic inscriptions are concentrated. The cave at the base was dug later to store potatoes for a nearby ranch and was later used for machinery.

The cave at the base of the wall was dug later, not by emigrants: it stored potatoes from the nearby ranch to keep them from winter frost, and was later used to keep machinery. A fence now protects part of the rock face, since erosion and vandalism have already destroyed some of the historic inscriptions.