Black Canyon Dispersed Camping

Lots of spaces for vans, trucks, small rigs. Anything bigger may want to stay at the turnoff into the area. Road is a little rutted as you go up, but we got to our spot with our 22’ lifted AWD van with no problems.

Great T-Mobile (316/16) and AT&T (113/13). Starlink was good from this area but many sites have trees so that could be a problem Starlink is your main connectivity method.

Peaceful, quiet, lovely. Can’t ask for more.

We ventured in looking for a spot and pretty much all roads were a muddy mess with deep ruts and the further you go rocks.

We looked at 4 spots and all were pretty unkept, trash left at all sites, and even a burnt down truck with trash around it.

Used our sporatic 1 bar of Verizon to find a new dispersed spot to find.

Not sure why this spot has such high reviews. I'd avoid.

Right near entrance to Black Canyon of the Gunnison! Traditional campsites with firepits but no picnic tables. Road pretty easy to drive with a Prius though we didn't go far before picking a site. Plenty of wood to scavenge on the ground for fire.

It's gorgeous up here! I camped at the first spot in the turnout to avoid mud. After a walk I found more sites that were down the right hand road that I could have gotten to with my low clearance vehicle. There were old beer cans and trash that I picked up along the way. Some defunct fire pits and some used ones. Pretty busy but everyone was polite and quiet!

Just a few minutes down the road from black canyon of the gunnison NP. This is dispersed camping with no amenities and some nice and tight spots. Was definitely muddy when i visited and wouldn’t recommend driving thru here in those conditions in something that’s not AWD/4WD. Nice views in the morning and decently quiet when i visited in December.

I grabbed a spot at the beginning of the road and it was pretty washed out with deep grooves. I made it into the spot. There was a residence within view. It was indeed very close to the park entrance!

Took some careful maneuvering to get our 36ft Class A in, but is certainly doable. Went in the off season, so wasn't too hard to find a spot.

Bigger rigs are kinda confined to the main entrance area. Pretty ruff and not very level.

Tons of spots scattered down various trails for small rigs like vans and tent camping.

I wouldn't risk pulling in the lot if there's been any recent precipitation, It looks like it would get incredibly muddy.

Only minutes from the park!! I'd definitely visit again!

A few easy spots right off main road and then it gets real tight and 4WD

This was a great spot just outside The Black Canyon of Gunnison NP. When we arrived there was not anyone there. By the morning there was only 2-3 other campers. Seems like there are quite a few spots. Some better than others. Road is not too but I would recommend a higher clearance vehicle but we never had to use 4WD.

We drove down a million trails before we found a spot tucked right off the main road here.

There is a lot of open space here, but it does fill up fast and several of the deeper paths aren't specifically marked and can be hard to find when camper vans and sprinter vans block the line of sight to them. Some paths are also very muddy and shouldn't be challenged unless you have AWD or 4WD.

It's a bit dirty with broken glass and litter here and there, especially cigarette butts, so shoes are a must at all times. First night we stayed close to the road which wasn't bad at all, and second night we got in under some tree cover. It's quite pretty and you can make out some of the milky way on clearer nights. It also makes for a great camp spot just outside of the national park.

Tons of open spots even getting in on the afternoon of the 4th of July. Great views & lots of space! I have Verizon & had decent cell service.

Loved it Stayed for 2 nights. The site we were on was great for us but they can be tight to move around in. As you approach the turnoff for the location take the second ramp in it is much smoother. We were on the the second site in on the right side.

Great location right next to the park! There are plenty of sites and the views are beautiful. Entrance was slightly rutted so make sure you can off-road just a bit!

This is a nice spot. Even better since the campgrounds inside the park are currently closed. But the access is bumpy. Looks like a muddy road with deep mud tracks dried up and it’s difficult to navigate. We have a travato and bounced all over but we could make it and find a level spot.

Really nice forest sites on BLM land very close to Black Canyon NP. Roads are very rutted, particularly the one straight in. I opted for the road off to the right as you pull in. Easy to navigate in my Outback but would use caution if muddy or heavy rain forecast. There were signs of a vehicle that needed to be pulled out at my site. Very quiet, very wooded. Quite a few deer bones around, so definitely predators in the area.

We enjoyed the campgrounds all to ourselves. Was quiet and snow all around, stayed near the entrance since we are solo and aren’t sure of the trails under the snow

It is a little bit of a maze of roads, some are gonna need vehicles with higher clearance, careful not to commit too much on a road if you're unsure about your vehicle's offroading capability.  If you get to a site, most have room for 1/2 vehicles and tents.  Beautiful trees, each spot feels pretty secluded from others.  Plenty of downed trees for firewood if fire danger is low.  Will definitely come back.

Some of the roads were really rutted out, but we were lucky and everything was dry so we were able to get thru in my forester. There are some spots at the beginning of the property but there are more if you follow the dirt road back another two miles or so. Beautiful views, quiet and secluded. We did find a few deer legs left behind, so keep an eye out for Mountain Lion

Visited the first week of October 2024. Had beautiful weather, no bugs and few campers. Sites are dirt so I can see it be being messy when wet. Only few sites at entrance for larger campers. We got into with a Bean teardrop np.

Very close to Black Canyon park, nice private spots, road was a little gutted out but the corolla made it through no problem 🤟. some coyotes howling at night and my site was pretty close to the road

Nestled right on the access road to Black Canyon of The Gunnison NP, camps did not require a ton of dirt driving to access. Camp sites are neatly nestled into the trees to provide a decent level of privacy, the trees also provide protection from the wind. Given that this land is adjacent to a National Park, be aware that less than friendly wildlife can be in the area. Overall the campground was easy to access, there was not trash any where in eyesight. I was also able to locate a camp site at 9:30p on a Saturday without much issue.

Drove to the end of Jones Draw. Large fire pit already established. The site I chose was large enough to handle two jeeps and two large tents. I felt there was adequate separation between sites. The trail had few spots with deep ruts, but very manageable when dry. The location of this dispersed camping area was about a mile from the entrance to Black Canyon, which made it ideal for getting into the park first thing in the morning. Only stayed for one night, but was not displeased. Met my expectations.

This was a really nice stay that was very close to Black Canyon National Park. The first few spots were easy to get to but the ones farther back you have to take a fairly rutted up road, other than that it was very nice

Great spot for an overnight visit to Black Canyon. Many spots largely inaccessible without real 4WD capability. Sites closest to road and accessible are certainly adequate and some will support a mid size camper.

This is a really pretty campground near Montrose and Black Canyon NP entrance. We are in a Honda accord and didn’t have trouble accessing the first front sites, but the dirt road is very rutted if you continue straight and I wouldn’t gamble it in a low vehicle or in rains! Great spot, simple and scenic with a lot of wildlife heard (turkeys, chickadees, woodpeckers and the like!)

This spot was easy to find, but driving was a little rough to actually find a spot. I drove around the area for about 20 minutes trying to find the spot right for me. But there are great options. Got there around 6 pm on a Saturday and found a stunning overlook. There was definitely trash from old camps around some areas. No bathrooms or amenities

Hard to get into if it rains, but a really beautiful place to camp. Lots of sites, decent roads at the top of the hill.

We arrived at 6pm on a Saturday and were able to find a spot! Super convenient to the national park. Highly recommend buying wood from corner store on the Hwy 50 turn off.

Easy to find the entry, we took the road to the right since the other option was deeply rutted.

Sites are all dirt, spaced out from each other, and nestled in the trees. Size varied but we found one large enough for our Wawona 6. Extremely quiet, only crickets and traffic/generator (until 10ish), very few signs of life otherwise, not even birdsong aside from a few crows.

Wasps a plenty! We had to bail on cooking breakfast because they were all over the cook station 5 minutes after firing up the stove.