South West Region
The Black Canyon Of The Gunnison, CO

The canyon is a 2000 feet deep gorge carved in the Rocky Mountains by the Gunnison River, delivering spectacular views, hiking, nature hiking trails, and fishing. The river drops an average of 96 feet per mile in this National Park.

The park has a scenic roadway along much of the south rim of the canyon with many scenic overviews, and you can hear the roar of the river from the canyon top. There are several campgrounds around the rim, one that's actually down in the canyon itself, and several Visitor Centers. Some people actually backpack into the canyon and camp by the river, especially fishermen.

It's called the Black Canyon because the walls are so steep that sunlight rarely even strikes much of the walls, leaving the rocks looking dark and foreboding.

The canyon's spectacular steepness is because the bedrock that the river has cut through is an unusually hard form of quartz rock, so even though the river over times has eroded deep into the earth, the sidewalls resist erosion and widening because they're not worked on directly by the relentless river.

Before the Rocky Mountains were formed by geologic "uplift" action, the area was covered by a shallow sea, and the Rockies often display "sedimentary" and "metamorphic" rock, that is, rock formed from mud at the bottom of that sea (sedimentary) and then often modified by forces of heat deep within the earth (metamorphic). The quartz rock of the Black Canyon instead formed as magma deep within the earth at this location formed a "plume" closer to the surface than normal.

Whether you're interested in some of Colorado's most breathtaking and accessible scenery, or interesting and informative nature walks, in spectacular hiking, or fascinating geology, or maybe all of the above...the Black Canyon Of The Gunnison is one of Colorado's premier places to visit.

The National Park Service runs evening educational programs in the summer for the enjoyment of visitors.

The Black Canyon is in southwest Colorado on U.S. Highway 50, between Montrose and Gunnison. It's far enough away from Denver and Colorado Springs that most people won't call this just a "day trip" from those popular tourism destinations, although it can be done. It's about 250 miles from Denver.

There is an $8 entrance fee to get into the park, good for 7 days' use.

This is a great place for camping and for RVs, but vehicles longer than 35 feet are not recommended in the campgrounds. 30 amp hookups are available in Loop B of the South Rim campground only. Reservations can be made in 2 of the South Rim campground's sites in summer, and must be made at least 5 days in advance. Otherwise, sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Typically even in the summer, sites will be available at the North Rim campground, South Rim is more likely to fill up.

The North Rim CG has 13 sites in pinon pine trees and juniper, the South Rim has 88 sites, set in scrub oak and other brush. One loop there is open year-round, all other camping and RV facilities are open mid-May through mid-October.