Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
The Black Canyon National Park was carved by the Gunnison River, which first chewed through soft volcanic rock before hitting the harder metamorphic rock below. Over the next million years, the river carved a channel with walls that now reach over 2,700 feet high.
This park is amazingly in the lower third of most visited parks. It is within a perfect distance to other parks nearby, but it somehow does not get the love it deserves.
Places to Stay When Visiting
There is no lodging inside the park other than a few campgrounds (below). Outside the park, there are a couple neighboring towns that have Airbnb/VRBO options.
- Montrose, CO (15 miles away)
- Cimarron, CO (19 miles)
- Vernal, CO (21 miles)
- Olathe, CO (25 miles)
- Delta, CO (36 miles)
VISIT Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park:
Park Details
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park was established in .
| Address | |
|---|---|
| Phone | 970 641-2337 |
| Hours | Open every day. The South Rim Drive is usually open to vehicles from late-April to mid-November |
| Entrance Fee | $30 per vehicle, valid for 7 days |
When to Visit: Weather vs. Peak Visitation
We crunched 30 years of historical weather and/or park service data to find the best months to visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. We looked for the optimal temperatures, the least amount of snow and rain, and stayed away from peak visitation months if we could help it. All this data then helped us paint a picture as to what the absolute best time to visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is.
Our data shows the best months to visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park are August, September, October & July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Visits | 8,759 | 7,287 | 7,236 | 14,159 | 34,729 | 47,411 | 54,392 | 47,104 | 44,884 | 22,757 | 12,356 | 7,836 |
| Precipitation | 39 | 37 | 36 | 32 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 23 | 32 | 38 |
| Avg Temp | 34 | 37 | 45 | 55 | 67 | 78 | 83 | 81 | 73 | 61 | 46 | 35 |
| Max Temp | 43 | 47 | 58 | 69 | 79 | 87 | 89 | 86 | 82 | 73 | 62 | 48 |
| Avg Temp | 17 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 39 | 47 | 47 | 39 | 31 | 24 | 19 |
| Min Temp | -1 | 2 | 9 | 19 | 23 | 28 | 36 | 37 | 26 | 19 | 7 | -2 |
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park Road Trips
Many family vacations consist of stringing one or more national parks together during a week-long trip. Creating these types of trips is our specialty! Here are the road trips we've created where Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is visited.
Other Nearby National Park Sites
From national monuments, to historic sites to seashores and more, here are the other parks closest to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.