Why You Should Visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado

“Several canyons of the American West are longer and some are deeper, but none combines the depth, sheerness, narrowness, darkness, and dread of the Black Canyon.”
— Duane Vandenbusche, author of Images of America: The Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Have you ever heard of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park? No? Well, you’re not alone. But when we stayed in Grand Junction for a week last month, we were so close to Black Canyon that I couldn’t resist the chance to check off another National Park from my personal list.

Matt had never heard of it but was also happy to make the 1.5 hour drive and spend the day exploring. And the more we researched it, the more excited we were to visit. Keep reading to find out why you should visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

It’s One of the Least-Visited National Parks

Whether it’s due to its somewhat-isolated location away from any major highways or just because people don’t know about it, Black Canyon doesn’t get very many visitors. It’s the least visited of Colorado’s four national parks — the other three being Rocky Mountain, Great Sand Dunes, and Mesa Verde.

With only 432,000 annual visitors in 2019 — a record high that’s more than double its 2015 numbers — it’s definitely in the bottom 25% of all national parks in the country by visitation numbers. To give a couple of comparisons: Arches National Park, about 3 hours to the west, receives 1.5 million visitors per year. Even Denali National Park, all the way in Alaska, gets an average of 600,000 annual visitors.

But just because it isn’t very popular doesn’t mean it’s not worth a visit! In fact, there’s something to be said for the solitude. As some parks like Zion and Yosemite deal with suffocating crowds in peak season, you can be sure that Black Canyon feels as wild and uninhabited as in centuries past.

It’s a Canyon Full of Extremes

Deep. Narrow. Dark. The Black Canyon is extraordinary in part due to its extremes. Carved by the Gunnison River over millions of years, the canyon got its name not from the dark mafic rock that forms its walls — but from the fact that the narrowest part of the canyon only receives 33 minutes of sunlight a day. And so you have the “Black” Canyon.

Not only is the canyon dark, but it’s deep. The Painted Wall, which is one of the most famous rock exposures in the park, is also the tallest cliff in the entire state of Colorado. Though it doesn’t feel like it as you stand at the overlook peering down at the canyon floor, the Empire State building could be stacked in the gorge nearly twice before reaching the top of the wall.

And here’s one of the craziest things about Black Canyon: its steepness. On average, the Gunnison River drops 43 feet per mile (8.1m/km) throughout the canyon — and 240 feet in a mile (45.5m/km) at Chasm View. This makes it the 5th-steepest mountain descent in North America. The primitive “wilderness routes” down to the bottom of the canyon drop approximately 2,000 feet in the 1-mile hike… and don’t forget you have to come back up!

Black Canyon Has Something for Everyone

Whether you’re a hardcore mountaineer who can’t wait to descend the canyon’s depths, a casual hiker, or someone who prefers to see the sites from a distance, you’ll be able to plan your perfect visit at Black Canyon National Park. When making your visit, you’ll first have to decide whether you want to visit the North or South Rim. The South Rim is more popular and has more facilities including the Visitors Center; the North Rim is primitive with no services but has a better view of the narrowest part of the canyon.

We visited the South Rim because it sounded more like the experience we wanted from our visit. By doing some research, you can decide which canyon rim is right for you. (Or, you can do both! But it takes a few hours to drive from one rim to the other. Unfortunately, there’s no bridge.)

Also: keep in mind that most of the park is closed in winter, from late November to early April. 

If you’ve ever been to the Grand Canyon, you might be familiar with the concept of overlooks at Black Canyon. On the South Rim, you’ll find 12 overlooks stretching along the 7ish-mile length of the canyon rim. At each one, there is space to park, get out, and occasionally walk/hike a short distance to reach the viewpoint.

For casual hikers like myself — Matt would probably put himself in the “hardcore mountaineer” category — the South Rim provided good opportunities for a few moderate hikes. We first hiked Oak Flat Loop Trail which started near the Visitor Center. It’s 2 miles round trip but is quite steep at certain points. And at High Point, the last stop on the South Rim, we hiked to Warner Point. At 1.5 miles round trip, it gives a 270-degree view of the canyon. You can even see the towering West Elk Mountains out in the distance.

And… if you want a view of the canyon from below without hiking down (and back up!), you can take East Portal Road from near the South Rim entrance station. Though the road is extremely steep and vehicles longer than 22 feet aren’t allowed, it will get you down to the river and a picnic area. We didn’t go, but it leaves something for our next visit!

You Can Visit Black Canyon in a Day

We didn’t wake up particularly early to get to Black Canyon like we did when we went to Arches. But we still had a full day with plenty of adventure! We arrived at Tomichi Point, the first overlook on the South Rim, around 10:45am, and we left before dinner time. That was along with stopping at pretty much every overlook and doing those two hikes, too! But the South Rim is only 7 miles long, so it’s easy to see why it didn’t take much time.

With the Visitor Center closed due to COVID, we didn’t get to spend any time checking out informational exhibits. We also didn’t pack a lunch — and there’s no food in the park — so we just snacked throughout the day. Even adding time for those, Black Canyon is easy to visit in a day, as long as you stick to one rim and don’t hike all the way to the bottom of the canyon.

 

We had a fun day exploring a national park that was new for both of us. And we loved the solitude and crowd-free experience of visiting one of the least popular parks. We’ll have to come back for the North Rim and East Portal Road someday!

Have you ever visited Black Canyon of the Gunnison? Or have you ever heard of it? Let me know in the comments!

-Cathy

Originally Published on October 6, 2020.