North Rim Campground — Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Beautiful but small FCFS campground. Do your research on which Black Canyon Park campground you’d prefer before starting your drive, as the east and north campgrounds are at least an hour and 45 minutes apart.

The North Rim campground was pretty and quiet. I arrived right at 1 to make sure I could get a spot the Friday of Father’s Day weekend. By 5:30, all the spots were full and were full earlier the following night, so be sure to arrive early. Cool drinking water access was a nice surprise, and there are bear boxes for each site as well as two clean vault toilets and a dumpster. There is (limited) WiFi at the ranger station but zero service anywhere in the park or campground, so plan ahead.

The campground is down a long dirt road, it was well maintained but be prepared to be in a remote location.

As locals, we love the North Rim of BCNP. It's closed from November through April/May. Can be surprisingly cold in May with temps below freezing. Lots of interesting fellow campers as many are big wall climbers from all over the globe. The nature trail in the campground offers nice viewpoints. The trail to Explanation Point is a level and very beautiful 5k hike, BUT no dogs. Same goes for Green Mountain trail past the point. The SOB trail starts from the road near the campground and is a difficult route dropping a few thousand feet, rocky, and steep with poison ivy to greet you near the bottom. Rewards are in store for the hearty hikers with great trout fishing a super river access. Campground is tight for spaces, some are not pull through. Gravel biking during winter closures on the roads in BCNP is full of wildlife and wonder.

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.

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.

Cool looking campground.

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

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

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 :)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!