The last 6 miles are dirt roads. This road is very well maintained, especially once in the National Park. This can be done in a passenger car easily. We did it in the rain and the roads weren't slick or difficult.
Location
This is located at the Black Canyon of the Gunnision National Park.
Trailhead
The turn-off is located on Highway 92, 3.2 miles south of Crawford, CO. The turn-off will be to your right (West). It is immediately after the Crawford State Park.
GPS coordinates of the turn-off are 38°39'49.8"N 107°35'40.0"W (38.663820, -107.594450)
Description
This is the route you take to access the north rim of the Black Canyon National Park. This is a small national park, but it is spectacular. The north rim is closed during the winter months. The north rim offers some spectacular views and is more "intimate" than the south rim. The traffic is less on this side. There is no bridge across the canyon, so if you want to see both sides you need to plan on a 2 hour trip to go from the South Rim to the North Rim. The only access to the bottom of the canyon is either by hiking or a road on the South Rim. The road to the bottom is a paved, steep road (16% grade) that is worth the trip.
Black Canyon is narrow, deep canyon. There are many views of the high cliffs. Often the view areas take you right to the edge of a cliff. There are often railings that allow you to hang over and look down at the river 1,800 ft below. The highest cliff in Colorado is located in this canyon, and is 2,250 ft high.
There are many hikes in the area, and most of them are short. Many of the view points are just off the road or are only a few minute walk to the edge. If you want longer hikes, they are available as well.
Here are the GPX and KML files for the trip.
It was a rany, cloudy day. The clouds made for some neat views!
The cliff to the right of the picture is Painted Wall, the tallest cliff in Colorado at 2250 ft!
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