This national park in Colorado is centered around the massive Black Canyon, known for its dark-colored high cliffs. This canyon was carved by the Gunnison River over millions of years. Not only is the canyon named for its dark color, but also for the fact that some of the deepest, narrowest parts of the canyon only get around 30 minutes of sunlight a day. Another striking feature of the canyon is the light streaks that run through the dark canyon walls. While this canyon isn’t quite as massive as the Grand Canyon, it is the combination of the depth, sheer cliffs, and darkness that make the Black canyon so unique.
This National park is actually one of the less visited parks in the West, making it much less crowded than places like the Grand Canyon would be. Despite the lack of attention the park receives, it is still a fantastic destination for hikers as well as those looking for a fantastic view and a unique landscape. This lack of crowds can allow you to really feel like you are in nature as there won’t be people around every corner as there definitely were in Zion National Park.
The canyon offers impressive views, including the “Painted Wall,” pictured below. This is the tallest cliff in Colorado, and is 2,250 feet high. That is just about tall enough to stack 2 empire state buildings on top of each other! This is a must-see if you come to the park, and can be best viewed from the Painted Wall View Trail, which is a .2 mile easy hike that people of all hiking abilities can enjoy. You may want to avoid if you are scared of heights though!
There are many steep, difficult trails that venture down into the deep canyon. The “Wilderness Route” to the bottom of the canyon drops about 2,000 feet over the span of the one mile hike. This may not be too bad going into the canyon, but coming back up would be very exhausting! There are also many hiking trails available around the rim of the canyon, on different stretches that give different views of the canyon. The South Rim is the more popular side of the canyon, and is home to the visitor center as well as many overlooks. You can drive to each overlook along the 7 mile rim and park and hike a short distance to the overlook. This is great for people who are not interested in a hardcore hike with steep ledges.
Another option that seems fascinating to me is hiking up Green Mountain for a view of the canyon from above. The trail is about 8 miles long, so you have to be ready for a day of hiking, but it offers a very unique perspective of the canyon that I think would be very cool to see. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park seems like a very interesting place to visit. With stunning views and fewer crowds than you would see at the grand canyon, it is definitely worth a trip. I hope I get to visit one day so that I can compare it to my experience at the Grand Canyon!
