Black Canyon BLM

We arrived after several days of rain, which made the site extremely muddy and slick (bentonite clay, for those familiar). We foolishly headed down the hill, around the loop, not a wise choice, given the mud. We made it out the other side of the loop, without 4WD truck, we might still be stuck there. Off that loop there was a spur road, but we didn’t investigate.

So, back to the main turnoff, which offers minimal options for RV’s/trailers. There is a spur road to your immediate right, which is suitable for tent/car campers only. There are only 2 or 3 sites tucked into the trees that would fit rigs of no more than 30 feet. Any bigger than that, you are just parking in the flat, open area.

The site we backed into took a lot of leveling and just fit our rig. You are also camped right off the road into the park, so a bit of noise by day, but quiet by night. We had a long chat with the BLM LE for this area, who did say that there are issues with homeless/transient folks using this area once the busier season for the national park quiets down. It was reassuring to hear that he does come up and check out the area often though.

Note: someone uploaded photos showing a wide open, flat space for their travel trailer, if this was at this site, we could not find it. The photos are no reflective of what we found at this site.

Most sites will accommodate tents or campervans only, but we were lucky and found a spot for our 31ft Class A near the entrance just off the road leading to the NP (SH 347) since a fellow camper volunteered and moved his small van to another spot so we could use the only site that our RV fit in. Sites are pretty unlevel but nothing that could not be addressed with some leveling blocks. Stayed over memorial day weekend, so the place was pretty busy (plenty of space when you drive down the dirt roads, but off road vehicles only!) and some folks thought it's a great idea to crank up the radio at 1am. Other than that great people around. Awesome views down south towards snow covered mountains

Site is very convenient to the Black Canyon National Park, gate is a mile or so up the road. There is a pretty long steady uphill climb to above 8,000’ to get to it. Keep the elevation in mind if depending on propane alone for your fridge.
We accessed the site easy enough with our 38’ travel trailer and were able to turn around at the road. Would not advise attempting to venture any further back with anything not for off road. There was what looked to be an abandoned RV backed into one of the sites.
We stayed at the end of October and did have lots of hunters coming in and off loading ATVs starting around 5 am.
The view was pretty nice of the San Juan Mtns in the distance. Would stay again if in the area.

Views are great. Surfaces are uneven. There are only two spots ideal for big rigs 30-36’ ft so get here early enough to take them since this is the closest BLM land right before the park. It tends to become a popular spot. The two spots I’m referring to are to your immediate right once you enter.

After that. There are plenty of spots (around 15) for small camper vans but please, if you are in a camper van. Be kind enough to leave the two large sites for bigger rigs. Enjoy!

We stayed in the first spot on the right as soon as you pull in. It had an amazing view of the mountains, but was extremely unlevel.

We were able to use leveling blocks to get “close enough” and all was going well until around 10 at night. Winds started picking up and the whole camper was shaking. Neither my wife or I got much sleep due to the winds shaking our camper all night.

Pros:

• incredibly close to Gunnison National Park, about a mile away from the entrance.
• insanely beautiful Mountain View’s, at least from our site.
• lots of available sites if you arrive early-ish in the day, around 2 or 3pm.

Cons:

• few good sites for trailers/RVs. We were able to get one right by the entrance to the campground, and there looked to be another 1-2 good trailer spots in that area, but that’s all we were able to find.
• other spots were accessible further back down various roads but due to recent rains were inaccessible to low clearance vehicles or anyone with a trailer.

TL;DR: we would absolutely stay here again, but with a trailer we’d have to get here early enough to secure a spot that we can fit into/will be level enough, otherwise would have to stay in the park. If we were tent camping, there are many more options.

This campsite is about a 10 minute drive from Black Canyon of the Gunnison. It has spectacular views and sunsets. The sites overall are REALLY un-level (more so than other boon docking spots we've stayed at), and the sites are small. We are a tall 36 ft. fifth wheel and were able to find as pot tucked between two trees, but it was tight. There are a few other spots, but mostly for smaller Class Cs, Vans, or small travel trailers. It's definitely do-able for a big rig, but always scout it out first.

We would stay here again, but it wouldn't be our first pick.