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.