![]() ![]() At High Point you can do a hike to Warner Point (1.5 mile hike) where you can see to the South the San Juan Mountain Range, Uncompahgre Valley, and Bostwick Park and to the north look for the West Elk Mountains, and at the end of the trail enjoy the views of the Gunnison River and the Black Canyon. We checked out Pulpit Rock (at 2pm there is a ranger talk there), Cross Fissures View, Rock Point, Devil’s Lookout, Chasm View (1/3 mile hike), Painted Wall View, Cedar Point (2/3 mile hike), Dragon Point, Sunset View and then High Point which is 8289 feet. They did a good job sitting people 6 feet apart and everyone had masks on in the amphitheater.ĭay two we woke up early and took turns (someone had to watch our dog, AKA King Bode) from riding from South Rim Campground to High Point, which is a 20-mile round trip bike ride. Most of the national parks we visited all talks were cancelled. It was an entertaining talk but geared much more towards kids, but it was nice to have ranger talk organized. At the visitor center we signed up for the evening ranger talk- Symphony of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. There is a wonderful hike from the campground to the visitor center that allows dogs and has an amazing view of the canyon. With the huge rain storm the night before there were several available camp spots, so we scored a great spot. We were pleasantly surprised to find there is a full loop that is first come first serve (why doesn’t every park do this?). We have found if you get to campgrounds between 830am-10am before the 11am checkout there is a good chance to get a spot in September. We got into the Black Canyon of the Gunnison at 830am and went straight to the South Rim Campground. The next day we headed out early, it was very tempting to blast a little AC/DC at 5:30am for the hungover revellers, but we didn’t. The campsite wasn’t bad but we prefer boondocking with a lot less people. Our luck we also had a huge bachelorette party right next to us that blasted loud techno pop music part of the night out of their SUVs. So we decided we would just stay one night and head off to the Black Canyons of the Gunnison National Park. WOW, is all I could think! This day and age with technology this is how you manage a large campground? But if you need RV electric hookups it is the only campground with hook-ups. ![]() The last thing you really want to do is drive again after driving 100 miles. I asked, ‘can you help and tell us for tomorrow which sites are available?’ The park ranger said no and advised us to drive back to Gunnison and get internet access to find available spot on and then come back to them at the visitor center to purchase since you can’t make a same day purchase on website. There is no cell coverage at the campground and the first come and first serve sites change daily. They are not much help they tell you either go on to reserve or drive around and if you find and open spot then come back to them and pay. You have to drive around and find them the campground station is closed and you need to go to the visitor center. We started at the Elk Creek Campground, which has a few first come first serve spots on the reservoir. Ponderosa: OPEN – self registration – credit cards preferred Stevens Creek: OPEN, reservations required Lake Fork: OPEN reservations required same day reservations may be available If you are not a big boater or fisherman then there is not much to do here, as there are only a couple of hiking trails and none at Elk Creek Campground, which is the largest campground with over 160 sites, but for our purposes it served as a nice entry point to the nearby National Park. As of September, when we visited here are the campgrounds that are open and closed:Įlk Creek: OPEN, reservations highly recommended limited self-registration sites available The area really is a mecca for those who love to boat and fish. It built campgrounds, marinas, lake access points while trying to protect, research and interpret the natural environment and local history. In 1965 the Park Service established Curecanti National Recreation Area, that would encompass all three reservoirs ( Blue Mesa Reservoir, Morrow Point Reservoir and Crystal Reservoir), as well as short sections of the upper Gunnison River. Taking highway 50 from the Boulder Area to Curecanti and Gunnison is a beautiful drive. After Rocky Mountain National Park, we headed to the Curecanti National Recreation Area and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. ![]()
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