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People

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Camping

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Activities

Established Camping

North Rim Campground — Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

18 Reviews

About

National Park Service

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

The North Rim campground is remote and has just 13 sites dispersed among pinyon and juniper trees. It is first-come, first-served all season. The last 7 miles of the North Rim Road and the campground road are unpaved. Services are limited. To protect vegetation and forest resources, please use designated tent pads and do not tie, hang, or attach anything to trees. This campground fills quickly during the summer, especially on weekends. Maximum combined length of RV, car and/or trailer is 22 feet.

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Location

North Rim Campground — Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is located in Colorado

Directions

The North Rim is 11 miles southwest of Crawford. From CO Highway 92, turn west on Black Canyon Road approximately 3 miles south of Crawford. Follow the road signs to the park. The last 7 miles are unpaved. Once you reach the rim, turn right toward the ranger station and campground. The campground is past the ranger station. The North Rim is closed to vehicles in the winter.

Coordinates

38.58518325 N
107.70942882 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Unknown
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Group
Tent Cabin

Features

For Campers

ADA Access
Trash
Picnic Table
Phone Service
Reservable
Drinking Water
Toilets
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

For Vehicles

Pull-Through Sites

For information regarding reservations, contact this campground directly.

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Contact

General Info

Oliver V.

Traveler

Reviewed Aug. 8, 2023

Dry forest

First come, first serve. About 15 sites, close together. 16 USD fee (honor system). Fire pits, picknick tables, bear box (saw black bear cub hanging around one afternoon). Lots of yellowjackets which was an annoyance. Chasm trail starts from camp site with amazing canyon views. Stargazing at night. Water available in summer.

Site3

Month of VisitSeptember

Joshua D.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 1, 2023

Peaceful Forest

This campground is at the North Rim of the canyon in a Pine and Juniper forest. It was rather quiet and peaceful considering most sites were occupied. I don't remember hearing anything at all. The trail to the rim is right behind the campground. It's a nice and cool spot during a hot summer. Great clear skies for stargazing.

Month of VisitOctober

Katie M.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 5, 2022

Muh

Cool looking campground.

Best feature: very reasonably priced. Worst feature: most of the camping sites are placed fairly close together.

Month of VisitSeptember

Brynn V.

Guide

Reviewed Oct. 13, 2021

Quiet and quaint

I showed up during off season so it was free! It has such a quiet and tree-lined vibe that I loved!

Site4

Month of VisitNovember

Whitney L.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 10, 2021

great views, drought year = yellow jackets

This campground is on NPS land, so there is a fee ($16 in season+ water/$8 off season no water) that can be paid at the nearby ranger's station on the honor system. All 13 sites are in a single loop at the end of the road on the North Rim and are all first come first served. Pinyon and juniper offer shade and some visual privacy, however sites are all close so there is little audible privacy. Pets are OK if leashed. There are nice sized BearSaver boxes at each site, plus a fire ring and large picnic table. Vault toilets and potable water are both in the center of the camping loop, where you can also find other tables and lots of shade. Chasm trail begins near the end of the loop and there are great views of the canyon a short distance from all sites. Beware: drought year, so lots of yellow jackets - they swarm vehicles in search of water! Also, water is a limited resource brought in by truck to this canyon, don't be wasteful :)

Site6

Month of VisitOctober

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laura S.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 9, 2021

Quiet, secluded, shady

Sites are spaced out nicely from one another and have picnic tables and fire rings. Pit toilets clean. We enjoyed camping and looking at the awesome stars. The short Chasm View trail has amazing views without a crowd. No Verizon cell service. Would stay here again.

Month of VisitJuly

Thomas B.

Legend

Reviewed Jul. 30, 2020

Off the beaten track

This campground is more remote than the South Rim campground, but similar in that your in among the scrubby oaks and don’t have much view. The good news is that the trees provide some privacy, although the sites are pretty close together. Vault toilets are fairly clean. The park entry fee was waived when we arrived in mid-July.

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Charles C.

Traveler

Reviewed Jun. 21, 2020

Nice campground in the heart of Black Canyon.

This is a decent campground. It’s conveniently location close to town and in the center of the park but it’s nothing special. We did really like how private the sites were. There is a nice hike from the campground to the visitor center and around down a little ways into a canyon. A wilderness permit is required to go further into the canyon however.

Deborah C.

Ranger

Reviewed Jul. 23, 2019

Black Canyon north rim campground , July, 2019

This is a nice solid campground, no cell service, vault toilets and water is available. We had no problems. The amphitheater is across the street where they have nice ranger talks every night. There are lots of mule deer in the campgrounds, the fawns were nursing when we were there.

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Hamen L.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 20, 2019

Views are unbeatable

Lots of spots, but very spread out and quiet. There are toilets in the center, water available, and a short hike to the rangers.

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Anna R.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 1, 2018

Sites pretty close together, although our site was on the end and larger.

This campground is sold on the surrounding areas, which are breathtaking. The sites themselves, however, weren't anything too exciting to me, personally.

Month of VisitSeptember

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paul R.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 1, 2018

campground is not the greatest

the view is what you take away from this campground, camping is not the most enjoyable

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Crystal C.

Legend

Reviewed Jul. 31, 2018

Why is this site less advertised??

Driving through Colorado in the fall there is nothing which can compare. Mild days and cool nights equate to perfect camping for those who are a bit adventurous and that is a term which suits me to a T!

I found myself in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison area in early October. As I happened to be driving I noticed signs for the National Park, which otherwise I didn’t know was even there. I took a turn and drove up the winding paved path, used my park pass and loved what I found. It was like a dark canyon of steep embankments. I could see for what seemed like forever downward to the waters which cut through the canyon.

I went on the short distance to the visitor center before deciding I wanted to check out the camping at this facility and when I did so I was so excited. The campgrounds just were a continuation of the amazing views and because it was fall, the site was not full.

Sites were average size and offered great views. It looked like mostly a tent zone which was nice, although it did look like perhaps it could accommodate an RV, though there were not any present when I was there.

The campground had several bear boxes around, which kind of made it all seem so real about the wildlife presence in the area. There were also a few water spouts available and vault toilets nearby. Picnic tables were scattered and in good condition.

Something that makes this site unlike many in Colorado area was that I didn’t see any scheduled closures posted. Many sites in the state close with weather and do not offer services, this one might do the same but I saw no obvious postings to indicate such.

My site was $16, which was not bad considering the views and access to trails. You could easily follow the roads and find something of interest is you were not wanting to hike and had a lot of information available just a short distance ahead at the visitor center.

TIPS:

This is not a fill up station for your water reserves as water is limited at these points.
Check out a trip down to the river if you have an opportunity, it is amazing from above but the access below displays an entire different ecosystem of vegetation and animals.
Drive slowly on roads leading up to your turn, this area is heavily patrolled and it is easy to miss speed limit signs in the area.

Month of VisitNovember

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Jon H.

Traveler

Reviewed Jul. 9, 2018

best camping inside the park

we stayed here 2 nights after spending 1 night on the south rim. camp sites are much bigger and way more shade here. not near as much traffic either. several overlooks along this side of the canyon and there are 2 really nice ones on the short nature trail that starts at the campground. there is also the trail to exclamation point and the top of Green mountain that begins at the ranger station just down the road if you are into hiking or trail running.

Brandi F.

Traveler

Reviewed Sep. 11, 2017

Breathtaking

One of the most beautiful camping experiences we've had. Camped one night on our road trip throughout southwestern Colorado. Campsites over look the canyon.

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Noah L.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 19, 2016

Great camping spot, close to the black canyon

We camped here before hiking down the black canyon that night. Great place to be close to the canyon. Lots of great views, fishing, etc. Highly reccomend going to this area.

Hannah K.

Traveler

Reviewed Jun. 14, 2015

Paradise

An exceptional camping experience for our family. We go every summer and camp (in a tent) for about 10 days. The weather is superb and the trout is plentiful.

Hannah K.

Traveler

Reviewed Jun. 14, 2015

Paradise

The greatest camping experience a family could possibly have! We go every summer and camp (in a tent) for about 10 days. The weather is perfect and the trout are plentiful!