North Rim Campground — Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

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

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.

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!