Sight · Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Green Mountain's long North Rim walk ends in a broad canyon panorama.
Overview
Green Mountain is the summit destination at the end of North Vista Trail on the North Rim, a 3.6-mile walk one way from North Rim Ranger Station. You trade a quick canyon stop for a long hike and a broad view that reaches beyond Black Canyon into four mountain and plateau regions. Go if you want a substantial walk; if that is more than your day allows, Exclamation Point is a worthwhile earlier turnaround.
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
North Vista Trail to Exclamation Point“You're nearing the North Rim Ranger Station, the start of North Vista Trail to Exclamation Point and its view along a bend in the Gunnison.”
Plays as you drive up to Green Mountain in the Parkwolf Black Canyon of the Gunnison Tour Guide.
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“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
The round trip is 7.2 miles on an unpaved, narrow, steep trail, and the park rates it strenuous. This is not a drive-up viewpoint. Long switchbacks lead toward a rock bench near the summit, then the view opens out. The trail is not wheelchair accessible, and pets are not allowed.
Exclamation Point is about 1.5 miles from the trailhead. Its spur looks into a bend in the canyon, with Painted Wall and the Gunnison River far below. If you want a closer canyon view without committing to the summit, stop here and turn back; it is a worthwhile outing on its own.
Green Mountain gives you the broad, almost aerial view of Black Canyon, with the San Juan Mountains, West Elks, Grand Mesa, and Uncompahgre Plateau beyond. For a phone photo, keep some of the near canyon rim and walls in the frame with the distant high country behind them. That gives the canyon depth instead of flattening it into a distant ridge.
The trail leaves sage and oak brush for pinyon and juniper woodland, with canyon overlooks along the way. The walk is known for its scenery and birding, and the trail was built by Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado. Give the changing vegetation a look as you climb; the summit is not the only part that changes the view.
The walls expose metamorphic rock about 1.8 billion years old. The Gunnison Uplift raised that ancient rock roughly 60 million years ago; volcanic deposits later covered the area, and the river began cutting through them as early as two million years ago. From Green Mountain, you can take in the scale of that long erosion story without mistaking the summit for a single named rock formation.
From Crawford, take Colorado 92 and turn onto Black Canyon Road; the last seven miles to the North Rim are gravel. The road typically closes to vehicles in winter, from around mid-November until May. A restroom and a water fill station are at North Rim Ranger Station near the trailhead; water is available there in summer only. The North Rim has limited services, so take care of the basics before setting out.
Wildlife
50 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
68 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
11 sightingsRed-tailed HawkMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
10 sightingsCooper's HawkMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
66 sightingsCollared LizardMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
164 sightingsFence LizardMost seen around 10 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyCedar Point Nature Trail0.4 mi · 30 min · 1.5 mi awayPlant signs on the way to two canyon overlooks.
ModerateChasm View Nature Trail0.5 mi · 30 min · 1.6 mi awayA short woodland loop reaches two very different canyon views.
ModerateNorth Vista Trail (to Exclamation Point)2.9 mi · 1.8 hr · 1.7 mi awaySage and juniper lead to an unrailed view of the river bend.ChallengingNorth Vista Trail to Green Mountain6.4 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.7 mi awayA long climb earns a canyon panorama and views of four ranges.
ModerateWarner Point Trail1.6 mi · 1 hr · 2.3 mi awayThe river is a long way below this short rim walk.
ChallengingRed Rock Canyon Route7 mi · 5.5 hr · 3.4 mi awayA permit-only descent through a rugged creek canyon to the river.
ModerateUplands Trail0.9 mi · 36 min · 3.7 mi awayA short upland connector, not a canyon-rim walk.
ModerateDeadhorse Trail5.2 mi · 3 hr · 3.9 mi awayAn old service road ends above Deadhorse Gulch.
Sight · 1 mi awayExclamation PointA 1.6-mile hike each way to a close canyon view.
Sight · 1.3 mi awayPainted Wall OverlookA 2,250-foot cliff marked by pale pegmatite veins.Sight · 1.4 mi awayCedar Point OverlookTwo rim stops frame the Gunnison River and Painted Wall.
Sight · 1.5 mi awayDragon Point OverlookA west-facing overlook that makes sunset a smart time to stop.
Sight · 1.5 mi awayChasm View Overlook (South Rim)A short walk to the Gunnison, 1,820 feet below.
Sight · 1.5 mi awayNorth Chasm ViewThe canyon narrows to 40 feet at the river below.
Campground · 1.5 mi awayNorth Rim CampgroundA remote North Rim campground beside the short Chasm View loop.
Ranger station · 1.7 mi awayNorth Rim Ranger StationFee and permit kiosks sit beside the North Vista trailhead.Parkwolf’s Black Canyon of the Gunnison ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
