Wanderlust: Black Canyon of the Gunnison

There are four national parks in Colorado: Rocky Mountain, Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Incidentally, this makes Colorado the fourth-highest-ranked state in number of national parks, behind California (9), Alaska (8), and Utah (5).

You recall our visit to Mesa Verde and the Great Sand Dunes back in June with the Service Adventure gang.

D and I hit Rocky Mountain National Park in August, a weekend blissfully spent camping and hiking. So I was really hoping to make it to Black Canyon and check the fourth off our list sometime this fall, while we're still in Colorado.

We drove about 250 miles west into the Rockies as the sun set Friday night, camped overnight in the park, and spent all of Saturday exploring hiking trails and overlooks. Not too disappointed with the views, to be honest.

I have to mention that it was a bit cold for camping. I had packed plenty of layers, and my sleeping bag is supposed to be good down to 30 degrees, but I made the rookie mistake of neglecting a sleeping pad or anything to serve as extra insulation between me and the cold ground.

On the bright side, though, it was only one night, and the passenger seat in our car turns out to recline quite a bit.

Anyway, the park is divided into the North Rim and South Rim of the canyon, and it takes about 2 hours driving to get from one to the other. Most of the campsites are on the South Rim, so that was the side we explored, and we made it through nearly all the hikes and overlooks in a day. If we'd had another day, we could've done the North Rim too, but we didn't feel like we missed out on too much.

Black Canyon was carved out by the Gunnison River and has been known by the Ute native people for ages.

The Canyon was taken over with typical colonial arrogance by General Palmer (railroad tycoon and founder of Colorado Springs) in the late 1800s. It was designated a national monument in 1933, but the area has only been a national park since 1999.

Although we saw other people throughout the day, it's clear that this park is much less visited and less well-known than the other three, even after accounting for the timing of our visit (not during peak-season).

Though it was a little on the chilly side, mid-October looked so lovely on this landscape.

We caught it just before the Gambel scrub oaks passed their peak.

And even found a late-season aspen grove.

Consider this yet another reason to visit Colorado. I daresay you won't regret it.

Happy October, friends.