The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is the steepest, deepest, and narrowest canyon in North America; no other canyons combine such depth, narrow opening, and sheer walls. In hindsight, it would have been much better to wait until at least May to visit this park, as much of the South Rim Road, with views overlooking the canyon, was closed. The road is not plowed in the winter past the visitor center to allow for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Even in late March, there were several inches of snow on the road past the visitor center as well as on some of the trails. We were still able to see the canyon from Gunnison Point as well as Tomichi Point.
We were still able to get a good sense of the beauty and spectacular vistas of the park. We hiked the Rim Rock Trail and combined it with the Uplands Trail to form a loop back to the visitor center. The Upland Trail was mostly covered in snow and ice and we fortunately had Snowtrax boot grips with us to help provide traction.
We stayed in nearby Montrose, which offered several brew pubs. We enjoyed trying San Juan Brews (coffee and craft beer), Horsefly Brewing, and 2 Rascals Brewing. Good beers at all!
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