Campground · Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
A remote North Rim campground beside the short Chasm View loop.
Overview
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 Chasm View from the Campground“Ahead is the North Rim Campground, where the Chasm View Nature Trail leads to North Chasm View. Allow about thirty minutes for the roughly half-mile woodland loop, with rocky footing and a noticeable descent and climb.”
Plays as you drive up to North Rim Campground in the Parkwolf Black Canyon of the Gunnison Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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
North Rim Campground is a remote, 13-site campground among pinyon and juniper trees at 7,767 feet. It works well if you want to stay near the North Rim viewpoints and walk to Chasm View from camp. There are no reservations, and privacy varies from site to site.
From Crawford, take Black Canyon Road west from CO Highway 92; the campground is about 15 miles southwest of town. The final 5.6 miles are unpaved. The road and campground usually close for winter, reopening in late April or early May depending on conditions and closing around mid-November.
These are unpaved, unimproved sites, with vault toilets open year-round and potable water available seasonally. There are no showers, electric hookups, food sales or cell service. Payment uses Scan & Pay in the Recreation.gov app, so download it before you drive in. Each site allows up to eight people and two vehicles; a vehicle with its RV or trailer must be no longer than 22 feet combined. Generators are prohibited, and fires are allowed only in designated rings when conditions permit.
The easy Chasm View Nature Trail starts at camp, passes through pinyon-juniper woodland and opens at North Chasm View toward Painted Wall and Serpent Point. North Rim road and campground improvements were underway by 1955; the park developed this self-guided nature trail in 1958.
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
ModerateChasm View Nature Trail0.5 mi · 30 min · 0.1 mi awayA short woodland loop reaches two very different canyon views.
ModerateNorth Vista Trail (to Exclamation Point)2.9 mi · 1.8 hr · 0.3 mi awaySage and juniper lead to an unrailed view of the river bend.
ChallengingNorth Vista Trail to Green Mountain6.4 mi · 3.5 hr · 0.3 mi awayA long climb earns a canyon panorama and views of four ranges.
EasyCedar Point Nature Trail0.4 mi · 30 min · 0.8 mi awayPlant signs on the way to two canyon overlooks.
ModerateWarner Point Trail1.6 mi · 1 hr · 2.3 mi awayThe river is a long way below this short rim walk.
ModerateDeadhorse Trail5.2 mi · 3 hr · 2.4 mi awayAn old service road ends above Deadhorse Gulch.ModerateDeadhorse Trail with Loop6.6 mi · 4 hr · 2.4 mi awayA North Rim hike with a stock pond and two canyon overlooks.
ModerateUplands Trail0.9 mi · 36 min · 2.4 mi awayA short upland connector, not a canyon-rim walk.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayNorth Chasm ViewThe canyon narrows to 40 feet at the river below.
Ranger station · 0.3 mi awayNorth Rim Ranger StationFee and permit kiosks sit beside the North Vista trailhead.
Sight · 0.4 mi awayChasm View Overlook (South Rim)A short walk to the Gunnison, 1,820 feet below.
Sight · 0.5 mi awayPainted Wall OverlookA 2,250-foot cliff marked by pale pegmatite veins.
Sight · 0.6 mi awayExclamation PointA 1.6-mile hike each way to a close canyon view.
Sight · 0.8 mi awayNarrows OverlookSee where the canyon narrows to 40 feet at the river.
Sight · 0.8 mi awayDevil's Lookout OverlookA short unpaved walk opens onto the Gunnison River gorge.Sight · 0.9 mi awayCedar Point OverlookTwo rim stops frame the Gunnison River and Painted Wall.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.
