Black Canyon of the Gunnison Overlook Trails

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in southwest Colorado has nine short trails to overlook points between the south rim Visitor Center and Warner Point at the end of the Rim Rock Drive. Seven of the short overlook trails have the one way distance in yards posted.

Adding up all the distances, I got about 4000 total yards, or about 2.3 miles of walking to see all the overlooks. Some of the interpretive signs in the Visitor Center are repeated along the trails, explaining the overwhelming scenery.

At the Pulpit Rock Overlook there is discussion of how the Black Canyon is shaped. The north rim is much steeper than the north facing south rim. 

The next three overlooks are nearly side by side. Cross Fissures, Rock Point, and Devils Overlook are relatively long with Devils Overlook the longest at 607 yards.

In this area you can see some of the Pegmatite Dikes. Molten Pegmatite rocks have squeezed into the cracks to form lighter colored bands. The lighter bands of rock contain the common minerals of Mica, Feldspar, Quartz, and Garnet.

The Narrows, between Pulpit Rock and Chasm View is the shallowest and narrowest section of the Canyon.  This area was very difficult for early surveyors to pass. Interpretive information says that the canyon width at Chasm View is 1100 feet and 1820 feet deep. The Gunnison River has a very steep gradient, averaging 95 feet per mile, giving the river the energy to cut downwards.

The Painted Wall is probably the most dramatic of the view points. This is the highest cliff in Colorado at 2300 feet. The patterns here were created more than one billion years ago as molten rock squeezed into existing rock. These cliff overlooks are good places to see the White-throated Swifts and the Violet-green Swallows.

The Cedar Point View Point has more views of the Painted Wall and also has small signs identifying many of the common plants. This area has more Pinyon Pine and Juniper trees than the area closer to the Visitor Center.

Dragon Point also has views of the Painted Wall and a good view down the Black Canyon. 

Sunset View doesn't have a trail long enough to be concerned about the distance. On a clear day Monument Mesa and Grand Mesa are visible in the distance. The last viewpoint is at High Point where the 1.4 mile Warner Point Trail is located. It took me 2:30 hours to visit all these view points.

Advice from the Black Canyon: Carve out a place for yourself. Aspire to new plateaus. Stand the test of time. Don’t get boxed in. Listen to the voice of the wind. It’s OK to be a little off the wall. Reach Deep!

Rim Rock Trail and Uplands Trail-Black Canyon of the Gunnison

The Rim Rock Trail and Uplands Trail both connect the south rim Visitor Center and the campground at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in southwest Colorado. The total loop is about 2.5 miles.

I started on the 1 mile Rim Trail that departs from the parking area of the Visitor Center. After about 0.5 miles along the rim, the trail passes Tomichi Point, the first view area along the Rim Drive on the way to the Visitor Center.

Continuing south of Tomichi Point, there is an interpreted trail segment with 14 stops. Arriving from the Visitor Center, the stops begin with No. 14.

The Trail Guide doesn’t identify specific features but talks more in general about observing and listening to the environment. There are general comments about which plants and animals live here and also about the erosion process that has formed the Black Canyon. The Tomichi Route into the deep canyon begins near marker No. 13, but wasn’t otherwise marked.

Near the campground, there is a marked junction with the 1.5 mile Uplands Trail. This segment returns to the Visitor Center through mostly Gambel Oak, Sagebrush, and Utah Serviceberry, and is easy walking but without any more views into the Black Canyon.

The trail crosses the paved road twice before making a junction with and finishing on the Oak Flats Trail near the Visitor Center. My hike on the Rim and Uplands Trails took 1:10 hours on a 80 F degree late May day.

Oak Flats Trail-Black Canyon of the Gunnison

The Oak Flats Trail is a 2 mile loop that begins at the south rim Visitor Center of Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park in southwest Colorado.

Before starting on the trail most visitors will probably get a preview of the Black Canyon at the Gunnison Point Overlook. The Black Canyon features very old dark colored pre-Cambrian basement rocks that have been penetrated with lighter colored veins or Pegmatite Dikes.

The upper segment of trail passes through Gambel Oak forest with many Utah Serviceberry shrubs. In late May the Serviceberries were exploding with flowers. At the loop junction I stayed right for a counter-clockwise loop.

Staying right leads to a steep descent down switchbacks to another trail junction that leads to a permit required river access trail. This is the Gunnison Route, one of three on the south rim. The other routes are the Tomichi Route on the nearby Rim Trail and the Warner Route on the Warner Point Trail.

Continuing on the main trail, there are Douglas Firs in the shady areas and views across to the cliffs with occasional glimpses of the Gunnison River.

The climb back up is more gradual that going down. On the return segment there is a trail junction with the Uplands Trail that leads to the campground area. My hike on the Oak Flats Trail took 0:50 minutes.

Warner Point Trail-Black Canyon of the Gunnison

The Warner Point Trail is a 1.4 mile round trip that begins at the High Point view point at the end of the south rim road at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in southwest Colorado. The trail honors Mark Warner who came to western Colorado in 1917 and campaigned to preserve the Black Canyon for future generations.

There is a 14 stop trail guide for the Warner Point Trail and there are views to the south toward the Mount Sneffels area of the San Juan Mountains.

One of the interpretive signs at the High Point discusses the Gunnison uplift, the subsequent erosion, the volcanic activity in the West Elk and San Juan Mountains, and how the Gunnison River cut across the buried uplift to cut the Black Canyon.

One of the largest Pinyon Pines that you’ll ever find is at trail marker 13. The trail guide says that some of the trees in this grove are 750 to 850 years old. There are also some Douglas Firs growing on the cooler north side of this ridge. One of the three south rim trails that descends into the Black Canyon begins along the Warner Point Trail at an obscure marker.

There is a view point at the end of the trail into the Black Canyon. Mark Warner’s efforts were rewarded when President Herbert Hoover signed the Black Canyon as a National Monument in 1933. President Clinton expanded the park and renamed it as a National Park in 1999.

I spent 0:50 minutes on the Warner Point Trail on an 80 F degree late May afternoon.

Mesa Creek Trail-Curecanti

The Mesa Creek Trail is a 1.5 mile round trip along the Gunnison River in the Curecanti National Recreation Area, east of Montrose in southwest Colorado. This trail is at the historic Cimarron area near the toe of the Morrow Point Dam and is at the upper end of the 6 mile long Crystal Reservoir.

The road to the trailhead follows the grade of the railroad bed that followed the Cimarron River to a junction with the Gunnison River in the Black Canyon. A preserved trestle normally shows the historic Engine 278, but in 2012 the engine has been removed for renovation. If I’m reading the map correctly, the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad exited the Black Canyon here at Cimarron and continued west to Montrose.

The trail descends from an overlook point, crosses a footbridge and continues west on the north side. The Mesa Creek flows into the Gunnison River from the north side and there is a small footbridge across the creek.

This is an easy trail to access the bottom of the Black Canyon and view the steep deep canyon walls that were such an obstacle to early settlers. These rocks are very old, more than 1 billion years.

Looking back upstream, there are views of the Morrow Point Dam. It is also possible to walk closer along a sidewalk from the parking area. The Morrow Point Lake behind the dam is 11 miles long and relatively narrow, but 450 feet deep.

At the river junction, the turbidity of the Cimarron River flows separately for a while with the clearer Gunnison River. My hike on the Mesa Creek Trail took 1:00 hour on a late May morning. 

There is also the short walk toward the dam and the railroad displays to view in this area. The Morrow Point Dam was completed in 1968 and is the middle of the three dams in the Curecanti area. It was the first thin-arch double curvature concrete dam built in the United States.

 It is 469 feet high and holds 117,190 acre feet of water in an area of 817 acres at a water elevation of 7160 feet. The power plant has two turbine driven generators with a total capacity of 173 megawatts after an upgrade in 1992 from 120 megawatts.

Pine Creek Trail-Curecanti

The Pine Creek Trail is a 2 mile round trip along the bank of the Gunnison River in the Curecanti National Recreation Area, 35 miles east of Montrose along Highway 50 in southwest Colorado. This segment of Gunnison River is just below the Blue Mesa Dan and is at the extreme upper end of the Morrow Point Reservoir.

The Pine Creek Trail is the route that visitors who want to go on the Pine Creek Boat Tours have to hike to get to the boat dock. The trail is also always open for hikers. This trail is an opportunity to hike at the bottom of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

There are 232 steps to descend from the trailhead to the trail. The trail follows the grade of the old railroad bed. There are several benches along both the steps and further along the trail to view the steep canyon and rest. Pine Creek flows alongside and under the steps.

Interpretive signs along the river segment of trail describe the history of exploration. Beginning in August 1882, the first narrow gauge railroad traveled through the Black Canyon and continued for 67 years. The rails were removed in 1949, but the grade and trestles remained for a while and were used by automobiles to reach the fishing areas. 

It took me 0:25 minutes to arrive at the boat docks. The boat tours are offered during the summer season at 10:00 AM and 12:30 PM, every day except Tuesday. Reservations are required, no walk ups, but the trail is always open. The boat visible on the day I hiked looks like it can take about 10 passengers at a time. The park information says there is a 42 passenger boat also.

The trail continues past the boat dock for about 10 minutes of easy walking, and then seems to fizzle out. As the trail goes further downstream, the water gets obviously deeper as the Morrow Pont Reservoir begins.

When hiking, you can’t tell that you are actually very close to the toe of the Blue Mesa Dam. There is a view point along Highway 92 a short distance east of the Pine Creek turnoff from Highway 50.

The Blue Mesa Dam was completed in 1965, the first of the three in the Curecanti area. The dam is 390 feet high and holds back 940,800 acre-feet of water with a surface area of 9180 acres. The power plant originally had two 30,000 kilowatt generators driven by turbines. The generators were upgraded to 43,200 kw in 1988, for 86 megawatts total.

From the same viewpoint, the Pine Creek Trail area is also visible. My outward hike took 0:35 minutes and the return took 0:40 minutes for a total hike of 1:15 hours. I hiked on a late May day.

Dillon Pinnacles Trail-Curecanti

The Dillon Pinnacles Trail is a 4 mile round trip along the north side of Blue Mesa Reservoir in the Curecanti National Recreation Area, east of Montrose, along Highway 50, in southwest Colorado. The Curecanti area is upstream of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

There is a pullover view area when approaching the Dillon Pinnacles from the west along Highway 50. Interpretive signs at the view area say that the Dillon Pinnacles began 30-35 million years ago during a period of volcanic activity that built up the nearby West Elk Mountains and the San Juan Mountains.

The lava, mud flows and rocks from the volcanoes built up the breccia that forms the pinnacles. Only 2 million years ago the Gunnison River cut through the area to form the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Now, this segment of river below the pinnacles is the Blue Mesa Reservoir.

Just east of the view point there is a bridge and the trailhead is just across the bridge. The first segment of the trail approaches from the east and passes through a sagebrush area. At first, this seems like it is going to be a desert hike.

The middle segment turns north along a seemingly dry drainage, but which has riparian habitat and even Ponderosa Pines start to appear. Although they are not obvious in the first part of the trail, there are pines and firs on the on mesa top and some of them creep down the hillsides in the drainages.

The last segment turns west and heads for a flat hilltop viewpoint below the west end of the pinnacles. Interpretive signs along the trail say that the West Elk Breccia is 600 feet thick. It is formed of hardened molten rocks cemented together in a matrix of ash.

Later eruptions in the San Juan Mountains formed a cap rock or welded tuff on top of the breccia. The resistant cap rock causes the formation of the pinnacles.

Near the end of the trail there is a small scale pinnacle. An interpretive sign here says that the angular rocks are Andesite. The binding material is ash, pumice and dust.

There are several good benches along the trail at shady spots or good view points. The last part of the trail is a short loop that finishes on the flat hilltop below the pinnacles, with good views over the Blue Mesa Reservoir. It took me 1:00 hour to arrive at the end of the trail and 0:50 minutes to return for a total hike of 1:50 hours. I hiked on an 80 F degree, breezy late May day and carried 2 liters of water.