Sight · Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
An easy first look down the canyon before the drive gets dramatic.
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 area
South Rim Visitor Center and Gunnison Point“Up ahead is the South Rim Visitor Center, with Gunnison Point a short walk behind it. This is a useful stop if you want help choosing overlooks or hikes: ask a ranger, pick up a map, and look through the exhibits.”
Plays on the road 0.3 mi from Tomichi Overlook 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
Tomichi Overlook is the first viewpoint on South Rim Drive, looking into the upper end of Black Canyon. It's an accessible, easy roadside stop that gives you a first sense of the canyon before later pullouts bring you closer to its darker walls. I'd stop here as an introduction, then keep going if you're after the park's more dramatic views.
From the rim, look east down the upper canyon toward the Gunnison River and opposite walls. This is a broad, open introduction; some visitors prefer the tighter views later on, so it's a quick stop rather than the one to spend the whole overlook budget on. For a photo, put the river near the bottom of a wide frame; it gives the rock walls a clear sense of depth.
The canyon exposes very old metamorphic rock. The Gunnison Uplift brought rock about 1.8 billion years old to the surface around 60 million years ago; volcanic eruptions buried much of it roughly 30 million years ago. The Gunnison River began cutting through that volcanic cover at least 2 million years ago. From Tomichi, you're seeing the canyon at its broad upper end before it tightens farther along the drive.
Wildlife
49 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
67 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
163 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
ModerateUplands Trail0.9 mi · 36 min · 0.3 mi awayA short upland connector, not a canyon-rim walk.
ModerateRim Rock Trail1 mi · 45 min · 0.4 mi awayOne mile on the rim links the visitor center and campground.
ModerateDeadhorse Trail5.2 mi · 3 hr · 0.9 mi awayAn old service road ends above Deadhorse Gulch.ModerateDeadhorse Trail with Loop6.6 mi · 4 hr · 0.9 mi awayA North Rim hike with a stock pond and two canyon overlooks.
EasyEast Portal Trail0.8 mi · 45 min · 2.5 mi awayA short, rough river walk between steep canyon walls
EasyCedar Point Nature Trail0.4 mi · 30 min · 2.6 mi awayPlant signs on the way to two canyon overlooks.
ModerateChasm View Nature Trail0.5 mi · 30 min · 2.7 mi awayA short woodland loop reaches two very different canyon views.
ModerateNorth Vista Trail (to Exclamation Point)2.9 mi · 1.8 hr · 2.7 mi awaySage and juniper lead to an unrailed view of the river bend.
Visitor center · 0.3 mi awaySouth Rim Visitor CenterStart here for ranger advice, canyon context, and a quick view.
Sight · 0.4 mi awayGunnison Point OverlookA quick first look into the canyon's dark, jagged walls.
Campground · 0.5 mi awaySouth Rim CampgroundA high-elevation base one mile from the South Rim Visitor Center.
Entrance station · 0.7 mi awaySouth Rim Entrance StationSort your park pass here before the South Rim drive.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayBlack Canyon of the Gunnison National Park Entrance Sign (South Rim)A wood-and-stone welcome sign on the South Rim approach.Sight · 0.9 mi awayKneeling Camel OverlookPick out a camel-shaped rock above a quick, steep canyon view.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayIsland Peaks OverlookA short walk brings the fractured Island Peaks into view.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayPulpit Rock OverlookStep onto a natural ledge above the Gunnison River.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.
