The Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Before leaving SW Colorado on a holiday trip, my husband and I took a side trip to West Central Colorado, to see the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  We entered through its main entrance, five miles northeast of Montrose, via US 50 and CO 347.  I had heard that this canyon is one of our country's most breathtaking sights to see, and I was soon to learn that fact was not an exaggeration!

The day we drove into the park, in late November, it was overcast and misty, and cold enough for snow flurries. We knew that the park was already basically closed for winter, as the weather can be severe here, as the top rim of the canyon is over 8,000 feet elevation.  The south rim's visitors center is open year round, however, and we were excited to see as much as we could of the park.

The first point we reached along the south rim road was Tomichi Point overlook.  Tomichi is the Native American name for the Gunnison River below. There you can see this map of the park--please click on the photo to enlarge.  There are eleven viewpoints along the road from here to High Point, 6 miles away, but only this one and the next were open.

Here, we had our first look at the immensity of the canyon!

Sheer walls of stone rise from 2,000 to 2,722 feet above the swift and turbulent Gunnison River below.  Deeper than it is wide, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison has been carved out over 2 billion years of water erosion by the turbulent Gunnison River. The canyon is so narrow as to allow only the midday sun to reach the bottom, for about 30 minutes a day, thus giving it a dark black appearance.

Next stop was the park's visitor's center at Gunnison Point.  The park protects the deepest 14 miles of the Black Canyon gorge, about 75 miles upstream from the Gunnison's junction with the Colorado River.

Once we walked outside the park's visitor's center we were met by more spectacular views.

The viewing platforms were full of snow and ice, so we gingerly walked around them on a trail.

The weather was improving and the canyon began to glow as the sunlight hit its walls.

Click to enlarge this photo of an informational placard about the geological formation of theses canyon walls over a million years ago.

The metamorphic rocks exposed at the bottom of the canyon are nearly two billion years old! They date from the Precambrian, or oldest, era of the earth. At its widest the canyon is 9 miles across, but only 40 feet wide at its narrowest.

Seeing the high peaks of mountains in the distance made me realize what a high elevation we were standing at as we looked down the canyon gorge.

Light and shadows danced among the walls.

It really was an amazing sight to see! The thought that the river carved only one inch a century through this rock is mind boggling as the bottom of the canyon is some of the oldest exposed rock on earth! To see a list of the rocks and minerals that make up the canyon, click on this NSP link.  The greatest descent of the Gunnison River, in feet per mile, is 240 miles as it flows through the park. The Gunnison's average drop as it flows through the park is 95 feet per mile.

Please click to enlarge

We returned to the visitor center where we enjoyed seeing exhibits and a movie about the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the history of the explorers and attempts to navigate the Gunnison River and build a railroad at the bottom.

We hiked the relatively easy, one mile loop Rim Rock Nature Trail that follows along a rim of the canyon, not far from the visitors center.  There we could hear the river below and saw sagebrush, Gambel oaks, pinyon pines and Utah junipers.

There are unmaintained hiking trails on the north and south rims of the canyon, which take about two hours to hike down, and four hours to hike back up. All inner canyon descents are strenuous and require Class 3 climbing and basic route finding skills., plus an official permit. Most visitors to the park view the canyon by the various scenic overlooks.  In winter, snowshoeing and cross country skiing trips along the canyon rim are conducted by the rangers.

The short  YouTube video above will give you an overview of what the canyon looks like in summer, and the various viewpoints that were closed for winter during our visit.

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison was declared our country's 55th National Park in 1999.  It is definitely worth a visit to view this magnificent feature of nature and one of the marvels of Colorado, and our country.  I hope to visit the park again sometime in the future, when all the viewpoints are open for the season.  I hope you will also put it on your list of National Parks you'd also like to visit.  A good resource as to what to see and do and where to stay when visiting the Black Canyon of the Gunnison can be found on this link.

Only 26 days till Spring! We have had some unusually warm weather this past week on the Front Range of Colorado. We broke a record at 73 degrees in Denver one day! I know that winter weather will return soon, but it has been nice to have a break. How has the weather been in your area this winter?

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