Black Canyon of the Gunnison

The Gunnison river has cut through some of the hardest rock on the continent, ancient gneiss and schist streaked with pink pegmatite, and because the rock resists so well the canyon is narrow rather than wide: at one point the walls are only about four hundred metres apart while dropping more than six hundred, so the depths stay in shadow almost all day, which is where the name comes from. The Painted Wall is the tallest cliff in Colorado, over five hundred and fifty metres, laced with pink intrusions. Overlooks come one after another along the south rim drive, each a short walk from the car and each a genuine drop. Getting to the river means an unmaintained scramble down a gully, and climbing here is for experts only.

What you actually see

• Painted Wall - the tallest cliff in Colorado, streaked with pink pegmatite.
• The south rim overlooks - a string of viewpoints straight off the drive.
• The narrows - where the canyon is deeper than it is wide.
• The inner canyon routes - unmaintained scrambles to the river, permit required.

When to go

May to October, when the south rim road is fully open; the north rim road and parts of the south rim close with snow in winter. Early morning and evening give the best light into a canyon that is otherwise mostly in shadow. Summer is warm on the rim and much hotter at the bottom.

Honest expectations

Routes into the inner canyon are unmaintained gullies with loose rock and poison ivy, require a permit, and are genuinely dangerous; this is not a park where you casually walk to the river. The overlooks are fenced but the drops are sheer, so keep children close. The north rim is remote and reached by a long detour.

Nearby

Montrose is the gateway; Ouray and the San Juan mountains lie south.