Black Canyon of Gunnison, Montrose, Colorado

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We have traveled a lot across Colorado and covered around 80% of places in the state. But, this is the first time for us visiting Southwest Colorado.

We visited Mesa Verde national park, Great Sand dunes national park, Mahalakshmi temple in Crestone, and Pagosa Springs but never ventured beyond that.

We have heard a lot about Telluride, the Switzerland of America- Ouray, and million-dollar highway,  so we were planning for this dream trip for a long time. But, we don't want to do a quick trip as well. As usual, we plan to cover all the beautiful places around whenever we visit one place.

Black Canyon of Gunnison is known as a less visited national park in Colorado. 

Here is our travelogue - Day 1 and Day 2

Day 1 is mostly dedicated to traveling to Montrose from Colorado Springs. This time, we chose to go through Salida, driving along the river. We crossed Salida, driving through the scenic Collegiate Peaks byway. It's our first time watching so many peaks together in Colorado even though we are not new to the mountains.

We crossed through Monarch Pass, and the drive was splendid. The road between Monarch Pass and Montrose was beautiful too. We could see the vast waterbody - The Gunnison River along the route. 

Lovely beaches and scenic bridges!

Day 2 - Black Canyon of Gunnison

We rested for that night in Montrose at Hampton Inn. The hotel was very good and they provided excellent cleaning services in the light of Covid. 

Black Canyon of Gunnison National park in Western Colorado is a steep canyon known for it's highest cliff 'Painted wall'. The Black canyon got its name as some parts of the canyon don't get any sunlight due to its depth and look black. The entry fee is $25 per vehicle.

We reached Black Canyon of Gunnison by 11 AM. The South rim visitor center was open and the Park official guided us on kid-friendly trails and tips to save time to cover more in one day.

Our plan was set! We wanted to cover almost all overlook points in South rim Scenic drive, drive down through the winding East portal road, have lunch at Montrose and drive to North rim.

This is the first overlook that impressed us. Tomichi Overlook.

Some great overlook points are Devil's lookout, Chasm View, Painted wall view, Dragon point, and Sunset view. 

See the Gunnison river in between the canyon walls and the beautiful red colors of the rocks.

We did a kid-friendly trail - Warner point nature trail which is around 1.5 miles round trip, but we were not too satisfied with that trail as it wasn't very scenic. We would have tried oak flat loop trail instead. It's 2 miles round trip.

Driving through the East Portal road is a great experience. It's a dirt narrow winding road, so you need to drive in low gear slowly, but it's completely worth it.

Here is a photo from the river up close after reaching down!

Then, we finished our lunch on the way to North rim. The drive to North rim from South rim takes 2 hrs and it is mostly boring and not scenic(through Hotchkiss). But, I definitely recommend the other route along Curecanti recreational area which will take around 2.5 hrs, if you have the extra time. That is the scenic alternative.

The overlooks / View are much better from the North rim than the South Rim, but you should set 3 to 5 hrs of your time just to drive and cover them. 

Can you see the little heart-shaped land between canyon? Isn't it cool?

In the North Rim, the Exclamation point gives the best view. We also did a small hike which offered amazing views. The North rim visitor center was closed. Due to covid, only limited facilities are open. 

We were exhausted by the end of the day with many hikes and relaxed in our hotel.

Stay in touch with me on my blog / Instagram (@ramyaelr) / Twitter (@mahathi_ramya)/ Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/fantasticfeathers.in) so that you don't miss Day 3 and Day 4 of our travelogues :-)

Use this interactive map to find accommodations to stay in Montrose.

Until next time,

Linking this to #MondayMusings hosted by Corinne. 

Tunnels in a row #WordlessWednesday

 

Midland Tunnels, Buena Vista, Colorado

Until next time, 

Linking this post to #wordlesswednesday hosted by Natasha and Esha.

M For Mesa Verde National park #A2ZChallenge

#Day13 of A2Z Blogging Challenge where I am posting some best places to visit in Colorado.

M For Mesa Verde National Park 

I was debating in my mind if it should be Manitou springs or Mesa Verde for M.

But, Mesa Verde won because of the way it preserves the Ancient peublo dwellings and allows us to experience their way of life even after 600 years.

Mesa Verde National Park 

It's fantastic that this national park preserves around 5000 archeological sites including 600 dwellings. The drive to the national park is scenic too as it curves and climbs up an elevation of 8500 ft.

Read my travelogue for more details and photos.

Until next time,

Other Posts from A2Z:

A for Aspen
B for Breckenridge
C for Colorado Springs
D for Denver
E for Estes Park
F for Frisco
G for Glenwood Springs
H for Hanging lake
I for Idaho Springs
J for Jefferson County
K for Keystone
L for Loveland

E for Estes Park #A2ZChallenge

#Day5 of A2Z Blogging Challenge where I am posting some best places to visit in Colorado.

E For Estes Park

Estes Park is a beautiful town at an elevation of 7500 ft from Sea level. This is also a base station for Rocky Mountain National Park.

Lake Estes in Winter

Downtown Estes Park has wonderful charm. I love the homemade Icecream and chocolate shops in downtown. 

The walk around Estes Lake is very scenic. The Estes Park Aerial Tramway and Stanley Hotel are a must-visit. I hope, you might have heard about the Ghost tours in Stanley Hotel (Featured in 'The Shining' Movie). 

Until next time,

Other Posts from A2Z:

A for Aspen
B for Breckenridge
C for Colorado Springs
D for Denver

Innovative and unique castle - Bishop Castle, Rye,Colorado

Bishop Castle is 2.5 hrs drive from Colorado Springs and it is good for a day trip in Summer.

This America's biggest one man- physical project is built by John Bishop in Custer county in the middle of beautiful mountains at Rye, Colorado. This castle is open to public and free to visit.

Innovation, uniqueness and determination are the words that come to my mind when I talk about this castle. This is the result of a single man's hardwork and his effort for his whole life.

The stainless steel dragon, spiral stairs, protruding bridges , glass windows caught my attention. John Bishop calls his work as "A monument to hard working people".

I suggest you to visit this place in summer so that you can reach every nook and corner of the castle which are otherwise slippery with snow.

Kids really loved the castle. It is challenging and interesting for them to take spiral staircases to reach to the top of the castle and walk on the protruding bridge at such a height.

 It seems scary at a few parts and kids below 5 yrs might find it difficult and need more help from adults. The railings are very cold in spring and water melting from snow is falling on us while climbing. So, I suggest that you visit this place only in summer if going with kids.

I am planning to write a post on my suggestions for day trips from Colorado Springs. Bishop castle is one such place where you can spend 2 hrs.

While returning from the castle,  we saw a beautiful lake on the roadside -Lake Isabel. You can take a quick stop for a photo.  The drive was very scenic and there are several campgrounds near by.

If you have time, you can cover Peublo river walk, Lake peublo state park while returning back to Colorado Springs/ Denver.

Let me know if you like this castle.

Until next time,