Curecanti Creek Trail

 We drove home the long way from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP. We went East on 50 to the West end of Blue Mesa Reservoir and then got on 92. The Blue Mesa Reservoir was very low. You could see where the water has been in the past. 92 is a great scenic drive all the way to Hodgekiss where we turned West toward Delta. 92 is up in the mountains. You could see snow on some of the surrounding peaks. We stopped at a rest area that had great views down into the gorge a few miles past the Blue Mesa Reservoir Dam. We saw the sign for a hiking trail and decided to try it. This is the Curecanti Creek Trail. We were running out of time so didn't get to the end. This is a great hike! It goes down the canyon about 1000 feet vertical and starts to follow a stream that eventually connects to the Gunnison River. We didn't make it to the Gunnison but the stream and surrounding area was amazing. Hopefully we return here again some day.

Part of Blue Mesa Reservoir:

Curecanti Creek Trail:

Black Canyon NP - Down by the River

 The East Portal road at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP drops down to the Gunnison River from the river. About 2000 feet vertical down. They say this is the steepest road in Colorado. It was steep! It is also paved and in good shape so it wasn't a problem. The road takes you down to the river where they built a diversion tunnel in 1905-1909. There used to be a town there for the workers. The tunnel goes 6 miles through a mountain and takes water from the Gunnison River and brings it to the Montrose area. Now there is a short walk along the river, a picnic area, and a mile of road that goes along the river. A beautiful area! Great that you can see the top and bottom of the canyon at this park. 

Back up at the rim:

Painting of the canyon in the visitor center:

Black Canyon NP - Up On the Rim

 This is a spectacular area. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP has a North and South side. We went to the South side today. The South side has a scenic drive on the rim and another road that goes down to the river. The canyon is 2000 - 2700 feet deep and has very steep walks. We started at the Warner Point trail which is at the end of the rim road. This trail looks down toward Montrose and large ranches on one side and the canyon on the other. There is a trail here that goes all the way down to the river (2700 vertical, 7 miles RT). We put that on the list for another day. After the hike we checked out a number of the view points off the rim road. These are short walks to dramatic views of the canyon. There was a large fire in the area in 2025. The area of the first hike wasn't burned but everything else in the rim road was. After one year there was a lot of new growth. The oak bushes that are in many places came back from the root systems. Cactus appeared to live through the fire. A lot of grasses and other plants were back.