Black Canyon of the Gunnison & Million Dollar Highway, colorado
Attractions Guide

Spend some time at the incredible Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Western Colorado. This national park is centered around a deep and rugged crag-spire canyon gorge, which was carved out millions of years ago by the Gunnison River. The southern rim of the canyon is the more popular and developed side of the canyon, which also hosts the main visitor center.

The itinerary begins with a visit to Black Canyon of the Gunnison (the main attraction), after which you might like to drive along the extremely scenic Million Dollar Highway (or Highway 550). This highway ventures through the beautiful mountains to the south of the national park, passing through the stunning towns of Ouray and Silverton, before ending in the popular toursit town of Durango. Along the highway are the challenging Island and Ice Lake Trails, which require most of a day to hike (due to the high elevation).

Just before reaching the Black Canyon of the Gunnison's visitor center you'll encounter the national park's first viewpoint, Tomichi Point. Just beyond this point you can enjoy the majestic views at Gunnison Point, located behind the South Rim Visitor Center. Next you can stop at the Pulpit Rock Overlook, and then take a short but rewarding 0.7 mile (1.1 km) round-trip walk to the nearby Devil's Lookout.

Continue to the striking Chasm View, followed by the Painted Wall View that overlooks a stunning part of the canyon where it looks like the massive walls have been painted with giant lines. Other notable nearby viewpoints include Cedar Point (which requires a longer walk than the other viewpoints) and Dragon Point.

Afterwards you can continue to the end of the road along the southern canyon, where you'll find the 1.4 mile (2.3 km) round-trip Warner Point Nature Trail. This trail leads to another viewpoint over the canyon after walking through a forest. If you're trying to see part of the Million Dollar Highway or other attractions in the same day as visiting this national park, then it's highly recommended that you skip this trail.

After enjoying the Black Canyon of the Gunnison you can drive south along Highway 550, which is named the Million Dollar Highway for its incredibly beautiful scenery.

Consider stopping in the extremely scenic town of Ouray, which is tucked in between the mountains along the highway. Among the town's top attractions is the Ouray Hot Springs Pool, a large complex of pools and waterslides surrounded by stunningly majestic scenery. Along the highway in town you can also admire the lovely historic buildings that line the street, with the most notable being the Beautmont Hotel.

Box Canyon Falls

Ouray also hosts the Box Canyon Falls Park, a remarkable canyon gorge with small waterfalls and rapids. Box Canyon is very developed with stairs and pathways allowing you to explore this small canyon via a short 0.4 mile (0.6 km) round-trip walk. As you drive up the mountains south of the town, be sure to stop along the highway to enjoy the amazing views overlooking Ouray from above.

Along the Million Dollar Highway south of Ouray is the most scenic section of the drive, which passes through the San Juan National Forest.

Be sure to stop for views of the beautiful Bear Creek Falls along the highway, and definitely stop at the Idarado Mine loop parking area, from which you can walk up a tiny hill to enjoy incredible views over the historic abandoned Yankee Girl Mine, which is quite photogenic. From this parking area you can also view other abandoned mining structures.

A bit further along the highway are several gorgeous glacial lakes you might consider hiking to, including the breathtaking Island Lake and Ice Lake. You can see both of these lakes via a challenging 7.6 mile (12.2 km) round-trip trail with an elevation gain of about 2,600 feet (800 m).

The Island/Ice Lakes Trail can be extended to a 9.1 mile (14.6 km) round-trip trail with an elevation gain of about 3,100 feet (950 m) if you'd like to continue on to Fuller Lake and several other tiny lakes. Note that parking for this hike is very limited, and due to the extremely high elevation of the trailhead and lakes, this hike can be extremely difficult.

Along the highway just after the Ice Lakes Trailhead is perhaps the most scenic corridor of the Million Dollar Highway, as it leads into a tiny valley surrounded by several massive mountains. At the center of this valley is the tiny town of Silverton, which is extremely picturesque, especially when viewed from the highway.

Silverton hosts a lovely historic downtown district, lined with many shops and restaurants. Walking through Downtown Silverton you can appreciate the majestic mountains that tower high above the city.

Pinkerton Hot Springs

Before reaching Durango, you might consider a quick stop at the unique man-made Pinkerton Hot Springs structure, which is difficult to describe but quite interesting and located just along the highway.

The Million Dollar Highway concludes in the lovely town of Durango, where you'll find a lovelt historic downtown area filled with great restaurants, bars, shops, boutiques, and many hotels. Durango is often used as a base city from which to visit Mesa Verde National Park, and the Durango Welcome Center even sells ranger-led tour tickets which allow you to visit the most impressive protected cliff dwellings within the national park.

If you're in Durango during the day you can visit the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which hosts a museum with interesting rail exhibits. This museum also offers an extremely scenic train ride along the railroad, which journeys through the Colorado wilderness.