Why Black Canyon of the Gunnison is Worth the Trip
In true weekend warrior spirit, we used the Memorial Day three-day weekend to road trip from Phoenix to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The drive is nearly 10 hours without stops, so we broke it up by camping near Durango, Colorado. This gave us time to rest, explore a new area, and still make it to the park feeling ready for adventure.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison is the least visited of Colorado’s four national parks. It’s also one of the most dramatic—steep, narrow, and carved by the Gunnison River over millions of years. Only a small portion of the park is easily accessible, and most visitors explore the South Rim, which is home to a campground, visitor center, and a series of jaw-dropping overlooks. While the North Rim is more remote and seasonal, we stuck to the South Rim for this trip and hope to return to explore the other side someday.
We loved that all the overlooks are dog-friendly, and there’s even a rim trail where leashed pets are allowed. This made it easy to bring along our favorite four-legged hiker, Finnick, who loved every minute.
While the park officially became a National Park in 1999, it was protected as a National Monument for 66 years before that. Its history is fascinating, even a train once ran through the canyon! But, what really wowed us were these incredible facts:
Some parts of the canyon are so steep and narrow, the floor only gets 33 minutes of sunlight a day.
The canyon walls are over 1.7 billion years old—among the oldest exposed rock in North America.
The Painted Wall stands 2,250 feet tall, making it the highest vertical cliff in Colorado.
The Gunnison River still carves the canyon today, eroding the rock at a rate of just 1 inch every 100 years.
Leave No Trace
Most of our trip was spent on public land: National Forest, National Park Service, and Bureau of Land Management. All of these lands have been set aside for public use and recreation and it’s our collective responsibility practice the Leave No Trace principles while visiting. In addition, it’s vital to pack out what you packed in and in some cases leave it better than you found it. Together we can keep our public lands clean and accessible for future visits and generations to come.
- Plan ahead and prepare.
- Travel and camp on durable surfaces.
- Dispose of waste properly.
- Leave what you find.
- Minimize campfire impacts (be careful with fire).
- Respect wildlife.
- Be considerate of other visitors.
Phoenix to Snowslide Campground (Durango)
Friday
We left the Phoenix area mid afternoon on Friday with hopes of getting to our planned campsite around 9pm with the time change. Unfortunately, traffic delays impacted us and we didn’t arrive until closer to 10:30pm. Our plan was to camp at Snowslide Campground in the San Juan National Forest in La Plata Canyon about 30 minutes west from Durango.
Prior to our trip we weren’t sure about camping in the area. We had questions like; was every campground going to be full? Were there dispersed camping sites available? What would the night time temperatures fall to? What do we do if we don’t get a spot where we want?
Because Snowslide Campground is a first come, first serve campground, there was more anxiety and uncertainty. However, when we arrived Friday night there were multiple spots available. We had back up plans to check out Kroeger Campground further up the road or find a dispersed spot in the area. And if that didn’t work out, we had planned to camp at Target Tree Campground to the west, or disperse camp off the forest roads near there.
When we arrived at our campsite at Snowslide, we were pleasantly surprised by the sound of rushing water in the Plata River nearby. It’s our favorite white noise to fall asleep to when camping. It was dark with clear skies and the stars were absolutely incredible! We made a Mountain House meal for dinner and went to bed. Temps lowered into the upper 40s that night but it quickly warmed up once the sun was above the canyon walls.
Need to Know: Snowslide Campground
- First come, first serve
- No RV hook ups
- Managed by a concessionaire
- Camp host had firewood for sale
- $22/night; can pay cash, check, or via Recreation.gov
- Extremely little to NO cellphone service on Verizon
Durango to Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Back
Saturday
On Saturday we slept in, for our standards. We had plans to get to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, 3 hours away, but we weren’t in a rush. That morning we attempted to make breakfast and burned our cinnamon rolls, checked out the river, and drove up the road a little bit before heading to Durango.
Unfortunately, we weren’t really paying attention to our maps and went to Durango thinking we could stop for more coffee creamer on our way to the National Park. We then got more coffee and a better breakfast before heading out. However, only after stopping and then starting our maps again did we realize that a portion of the highway we wanted to take, the Million Dollar Highway (US Route 550) was closed for a bike race until around 1pm. So instead of waiting in traffic for the road to open up, we decided to take the back way through Dolores, CO and past Telluride. In hindsight we’re happy we saw the closure before getting to it. And the route that we did take was stunningly gorgeous. Turns out, its part of the San Juan Scenic Byway.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
- The national park has two main areas—South Rim (more developed) and North Rim (more remote)—with no direct road between them.
- Cell service is limited, so download maps and the NPS app before arriving.
- Roads are steep, winding, and narrow; drive cautiously watch for cars parked poorly roadside.
- Permits are required for inner canyon hikes and wilderness camping.
- Above the rim has a lot of dog-friendly options, including overlooks
We arrived to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park around 4pm. For the park’s standards, it was busy. However, compared to some of the more popular parks, it was still a small crowd. The visitor center parking lot was full and the building closed at 5pm. Instead of circling for a spot, we decided we’d come back first thing in the morning. From there we continued on to check out the different overlooks and soak in the views of the Black Canyon and the Gunnison River. The canyon is spectacular and the geology is very cool to see in person!
We slowly made our way down Rim Drive Road stopping at the following overlooks: Pulpit Rock, Cross Fissures, Devil’s Lookout, Chasm View, Painted Wall, Dragon Point, and Sunset View. Our goal was to watch sunset at the park, meaning we were going to be there until at least 8:20pm when the sun went down. We ate a Mountain House meal for dinner at the picnic tables Sunset View before going back to catch the glow at some of the other overlooks. Luckily for us, on our way we and some other visitors saw 3 male bighorn sheep resting and eating on some rocks in the distance. It was a beautiful sight!
Sunset at Black Canyon of the Gunnison
The bighorns threw off our plans a little, but we aren’t upset about it. We snapped a few photos from painted wall before heading back to Sunset View to watch the sunset. By the time we go there around 8pm the parking lot was full and cars were starting to park illegally and somewhat dangerously for other drivers. Surprisingly, we didn’t see a single ranger at clearly the most popular spot in the park at the moment.
In the research and planning for our trip we were unsure about where to sleep Saturday night. However, we learned that there is BLM land just outside the park and it’s open to dispersed camping. So after sunset we made our way to the BLM area and by the time we arrived the last little bit of light was very faded. We started down the road and we were quickly surprised at how many other campers were here. It was packed!
Darkness quickly filled and we had all of our lights on. It seemed like everywhere we looked or turned, there was a camper in a potential spot. Eventually, we continued down the road to where it started to get fairly rough and eventually unevenly divided by a deep erosion caused rut. At this point we knew most cars couldn’t make past this. We very carefully continued down the road, earning a cringy pinstripe along the way. We found an open piece of land that was relatively flat and had been traversed before, so we camped there for the night.
Sunday
On Sunday we were up early and at the visitor center just after 8am when it opened. After getting some souvenirs we checked out Gunnison Point Overlook behind the visitor center. Shortly after we hiked a little on Rim Rock Trail to Tomichi Overlook. The trail continues to the campground and is the only dog friendly trail in the national park.
Million Dollar Highway
Our goal was to camp again at Snowslide Campground or at least somewhere near Durango before driving home on Monday. We left the park shortly after 11:30 and after a quick stop in Montrose we made our way south. This time we were able to take the US Route 550 south to Durango. The route goes through Ouray and passes Silverton. Between the two historic mining towns the section of highway is famously known as the Million Dollar Highway. The road twists and turns through the mountains with scenic views all around. Some sections have no guard rails. Most of the road small stretch of highway has a speed limit of 15 to 25 mph. If you have a strong fear of heights, this might not be the road for you.
We stopped in Ouray and walked around for a bit before we started the drive.
Snowslide Campground… Again
After stopping for gas and cheaper firewood in Durango, we arrived back at the campground around 4pm. There were plenty of open campsites! In fact, we ended up getting one that we really wanted but was occupied Friday night. It had more space between others and backed up to the La Plata River. That evening we relaxed for a bit before making one of our favorite camping meals, 5 Can Chili.
Related Posts
Check out the different blog posts linked below to learn more about the gear we use and trust, other things to do and places to visit in Colorado, our first trip to Durango, and other National Park road trips we’ve done.
