Black canyon of the Gunnison national Park

We took the 10.00 AM tour and it cost 15$ per person and has to be reserved in advance by phone. The walk down Pine Tree trail consists of 200 steep steps and and .75 mile flat trail. Some of the pictures I took in the trip reminded me of Zion. So it is basically looking up at the canyon with a waterfalls on the way. The ranger tells u a lot about the railroad history in canyon and other geoloigcal facts.
What made the trip special was that we spotted a black bear in the bay. We watched it get out, shake all the water off and amble on into the woods. This made the average boat trip a super worthwhile one.

This is the only option for lunch between the Curecanti and Black canyon and not a bad one at all. They have sandwiches and very popular pies in their menu but they were gracious enough to cook up vegetarian burritos and quesedillas on request. Recommended.

Right at the south rim entrance, is the east portal road which leads down to the river. The campground near the river is beautiful, shady with portable restrooms with trees near every campsite. There are views of the canyon as well. The road is steep so use low gear.

We stopped first at Tomichi Point the visitor center and the Gunnison Point before we took the Oak Flat Trail. A moderate loop trail thorugh the woods with viewpoints.
Most of the viewpoints after here require a walk anywhere from 200 yards to 500 yards. We stopped at the Pulpit Rock, Rock Point and Chasm View. All viewpoints until Chasm View are better in the afternoon and evening when the sun is behind them. The viewpoints after Chasm View Point are better in the morning. Then we took the Warner Point trail which has valley/meadow views and some canyon views. One viewpoint that is set apart from the others is the Chasm View/Painted Wall viewpoint. Painted Wall is the only significantly unique view in the canyon. All other viewpoints are mostly similar with the river and canyon views. Sunset view is another nice view. After the Warner Point trail, we stopped by the Sunset view for a nice sunset. However for canyon pictures from the Sunset view stop by in the morning

Fabulous Italian food and be warned their bread basket is a whole Bruchetta platter with dip and the tomato cheese bruschetta concoction.

The drive up Hwy 92 is beautiful with potential for fall colors. hermit lookout is a nice viewpoint to stop by for view of a lake. North Rim viewpoints are very similar to South RIm viewpoints but with less crowds and north rim part of the park is more remote.

In the afternoon we drove to Crested Butte and had a quick meal in Pitas in paradise. Usual fare of falafel and other middle eastern cuisine.

Exellent pizzas with unique toppings including a tofu pizza. Recommended.

Overall Black Canyon does not deserve a whole weekend but maybe a quick stop on the way to Ouray and other south west colorado destinations. There are many routes to Denver. We took 285 on the forward journey and Hwy 91 and Hwy 24 on the way back. Mt Anterro was a beautiful view and we passed through LeadVIlle.