Visiting Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is one of the best decisions a traveler in Colorado can make. Located one hour southeast of Grand Junction, Black Canyon is nestled in the small town of Montrose, Colorado. I traveled here with my friend in late May of 2022 as we explored all the beautiful places in Colorado. At the time of planning, Black Canyon seemed a bit out of the way, but after a quick online search of the park showed such amazing views, we were excited to see the canyon in person.
Black Canyon can be explored in two ways. The park can be driven through, which takes about 40 minutes. This route is obviously longer if you stop at the numerous viewpoints along the way. These viewpoints are easy, accessible paved walks for all ages and physical abilities. The viewpoints are a great way to experience the beauty of the park. More challenging hikes allow you to explore down into the canyon. I would suggest getting to the park as soon as it opens if you would like to complete one of the three inner canyon trails. The three trails are named Gunnison, Warner, and Tomichi. These trails can only be hiked with a wilderness permit obtained at the visitor center and are handed out first come first serve.
We arrived at Black Canyon and were able to get in for free with our U.S. Park Pass. Entrance fee is twenty dollars without the pass. My travel companion and I had hoped to hike down the Gunnison trail, which is the easiest of the three inner canyon trails. However, our 10 am arrival was too late. The Gunnison trail had been completely booked by 9 am. After some consideration, we decided to attempt the Tomichi trail which was considered the
hardest of the three. Finding the trailhead was the beginning of the challenge. We parked at the Tomichi Point viewpoint and it took us about twenty minutes just to find the trailhead. Luckily, we had bumped into a group of hikers that were also attempting the Tomichi trail who helped us search. After wandering and referring to the app AllTrails, we were able to find the trail to the right of the Tomichi Point parking lot.
My friend and I began to walk down first with the other group of hikers behind us. We immediately knew why this trail was rated the hardest. The trail was completely unmarked. The path was loose soil and large rocks. On top of this tough terrain, the trail itself is one mile to the river below with 1900 feet of elevation gain, which in simpler terms means, the trail is steep!
Every step resulted in an avalanche of dirt and rocks. We found that the most effective way to travel down the trail was to sit and slide down the dirt. We had hiked only about thirty minutes and made it about halfway down. At this point, we were covered in sweat and dirt and were quite exhausted. We thought it was best to turn around when the group behind us yelled, “Hey! Just a heads up, we may have loosened a big boulder up here just watch out!” The thought of reenacting Indiana Jones running away from the boulder made us immediately decide that
we were turning around. The climb back up was even more challenging than the descent. The loose soil did not allow for sturdy footholds and forced us to traverse on all fours. After crawling for about forty minutes, we finally made it back to the trailhead and were able to stand on solid ground.
Reflecting back on it now, I am thankful that we at least attempted the hike. The Tomichi trail was challenging and unfortunately, we couldn’t make it all the way down, but it left us with a fun story to tell. So if you are up to the challenge and do not mind getting covered in dirt, Tomichi will be the perfect trail for you. We spent the rest of the afternoon eating trail mix and exploring the different viewpoints throughout the park. Black Canyon of the Gunnison, in my opinion, is a must-see on the National Park list. It is underrated and a hidden gem of Colorado. I hope to finally make it down to the bottom of the canyon which is the perfect excuse to return one day!
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