Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park: An Underrated Gem
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado is one of my personal favorite parks, and I think it is extremely underrated! This park has such a unique landscape which features the canyon and its epic rock features, lots of pretty trees, and a mountain backdrop. Of course, given the name, the star of this park is the canyon with its painted rock walls and gigantic rock spires. However, it differs quite drastically from what most people’s idea of what a “normal” canyon is; people usually think of places like Grand Canyon National Park or Canyonlands National Park where the canyons are mind bogglingly wide.
In Black Canyon of the Gunnison, sections of the canyon walls (which are about two thousand feet tall) are narrow and almost completely vertical all the way down to the canyon floor. When you stand on the edge of the canyon, it makes you feel insignificant compared to the sheer size and depth of this natural wonder.
Peering down at the bottom of the canyon, you can see the culprit who formed it. The Gunnison river has been slowly crafting this canyon for millions of years by cutting through layer upon layer of rock. Slicing through the sedimentary rock at a rate of “about one inch per every hundred years”, the Gunnison has worked hard to give us such a beautiful creation.
When traveling to this park, you can visit both the southern and northern rims of the canyon. The southern portion is easiest to access since the entrance is close to the town of Montrose. This section of the park has a nice scenic drive with a ton of great viewpoints for you to stop at. In my opinion, the best viewpoint is at Painted Wall. This is the “tallest cliff in Colorado” at 2250 feet tall and it has striking rock features that look like they were painted on, hence the name. At the end of this scenic drive, you can hike the short Warner Point Nature Trail. This hike provides a different angle of the canyon and let you see all the way to Grand Mesa National Forest.
If you are an adventure seeker and avid hiker, you can take the strenuous trek down to the bottom of the canyon via the Gunnison Route. This two mile trail takes you two thousand feet down to the Gunnison river and then two thousand feet back up to the top of the canyon. Safe to say, this hike is not for the faint of heart and only for experienced hikers. While I haven’t done it yet, it is definitely near the top of my hiking bucket list!
The northern rim of the canyon is the less visited part of the park, and I personally think it is better than the southern rim. The only problem with it is that there aren’t really any close towns which are reasonably sized. However, I think staying farther away and making a longer day trip to visit it is definitely worth the time.
On the northern rim, you can drive along another scenic (gravel) road. This road goes in the opposite direction of the southern rim’s scenic drive, so you get new views of the canyon. Given this, it is definitely still worth doing even if you’ve done the southern rim’s scenic drive!
Apart from the scenic road, the northern rim has my favorite hiking trail in the park. This trailhead features both an easy and moderate difficulty level hike, so you can choose how far you want to push yourself. The short version goes to Exclamation Point, where you get a great view into the canyon. You can literally stand right on the edge of the canyon in this spot, so be careful when taking pictures because there is no railing! If you want to keep going past Exclamation Point, the trail continues up to the summit of Green Mountain (which is more of a hill). Once you get to the top, you get excellent views of the canyon with a mountain backdrop. I loved how this view lets you really see how the canyon cuts right through the terrain.
Once you are done visiting Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, there are other nearby parks to explore. First off, Gunnison National Forest is right next door and it offers some cool hiking opportunities along the Gunnison river. For the southern rim, the nearby town of Ouray is nestled right in the mountains of Uncompahgre National Forest and San Juan National Forest. Both of these national forests have have hikes with breathtaking mountain views. You could also drive up to Grand Junction and visit Colorado National Monument. It has a great scenic drive where you can see desert mesas and unique rock formations.
For the northern rim, Grand Mesa National Forest has a really cool drive up to it, and there are a bunch of pretty lakes to hike to at the top. You could also stop by Needle Rock Nature Area and the lake in Crawford State Park.
If you are interested in taking a trip to visit the beautiful Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and its surrounding areas, don’t hesitate to contact me so I can plan a trip that best fits your desires!
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