Denver, Black Canyon and Colorado National Monument Tour
This was a 3 day, 2 night tour we did over Labor Day 2011. We left Denver on Saturday morning then rode to Gunnison and camped on the Blue Mesa Reservoir at the Stevens Creek campground.
On Sunday we rode to the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Forest via US 92. This road is extremely curvy and there's a bunch of wildlife and extreme drops off the side of the road with no guardrails. The actual north rim drive is unpaved for about 12 miles. It's groomed gravel and was in good condition. The Black Canyon is extremely deep and has some great views. The south rim is more aimed toward tourists if you want to go that route.
On Monday we left the Gunnison area and headed north-west to Grand Junction to go through the Colorado National Monument. The scenery here was really nice. A lot of sculpted sand stone that made for a great 26 mile ride through the park. Again, there are several hundred foot drops next to the road without guard rails in some spots.
After that, we headed back to Denver via I-70 and got stuck in some major traffic between Silverthorne and Idaho Springs. We were going anywhere between 5-50mph for the entire stretch.
On Sunday we rode to the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Forest via US 92. This road is extremely curvy and there's a bunch of wildlife and extreme drops off the side of the road with no guardrails. The actual north rim drive is unpaved for about 12 miles. It's groomed gravel and was in good condition. The Black Canyon is extremely deep and has some great views. The south rim is more aimed toward tourists if you want to go that route.
On Monday we left the Gunnison area and headed north-west to Grand Junction to go through the Colorado National Monument. The scenery here was really nice. A lot of sculpted sand stone that made for a great 26 mile ride through the park. Again, there are several hundred foot drops next to the road without guard rails in some spots.
After that, we headed back to Denver via I-70 and got stuck in some major traffic between Silverthorne and Idaho Springs. We were going anywhere between 5-50mph for the entire stretch.
Ride Characteristics
 Curvy Roads: Frequent |
 Gas Stations: Average |
 Restrooms: Average |
 Food: Average |
 Scenic Areas: Abundant |
 Elevation Change: Abundant |
 Off Road: Some |
 Traffic: Some |
 Animal Crossings: Some |
 Hotels: Average |
on May 19, 2012
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