Black Canyon Rim Trail

The Rim Rock Trail runs a mile along the edge of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison between the South Rim campground and the visitor center, with the canyon 2,000 feet deep beside it the whole way and the Painted Wall, the tallest cliff in Colorado, in view from the far end. It is the walk most visitors take on the South Rim, 2 miles round trip with 200 feet of rise and fall, and one of the few national park trails in Colorado that allows a leashed dog.

From the South Rim campground, the trail follows the rim north through pinyon and juniper, close enough to the edge that the river is audible in the gorge below and far enough that the footing is easy. The 2025 South Rim Fire burned this stretch of rim; the trail reopened for 2026 through standing dead trees and bare ground, and the park warns of uneven footing and blowing ash. Overlooks along the way give the views: the Gunnison in its narrows, the dark walls of schist and gneiss, and the pink pegmatite streaks that name the Painted Wall.

The trail reaches the South Rim Visitor Center at Gunnison Point, where the main overlook and the exhibits are, at about a mile. The Uplands trail returns through the pinyon away from the rim for a 1.9-mile loop, or retrace the rim for the 2-mile out-and-back. The Oak Flat Loop from the visitor center drops below the rim for the next step.

The South Rim is 15 miles east of Montrose: US 50 east, then Colorado 347 north to the park entrance. The entrance fee is per vehicle. The trail can be started from the South Rim campground, which lost many sites to the 2025 fire and reopened with a reduced number, reservation only on Recreation.gov, or from the visitor center lot, which has toilets and water in season and fills by mid-morning in summer. The East Portal Road below the rim is closed until further notice for flood damage. The North Rim, across the canyon, is a separate 2-hour drive around.

Dogs are allowed on leash on the Rim Rock Trail, the Cedar Point trail, and the roads and overlooks, and nowhere else in the park. The trail is flat enough for any kid, with the edge the thing to watch; the overlooks have railings and the trail between them does not. Carry water in summer. The inner canyon routes need a free wilderness permit from the visitor center and are for people who like loose gullies and poison ivy. Montrose has every service. The Black Canyon region page covers the rest of the South Rim.