South Rim Campground — Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Spent 3 nights at the South Rim campground in Black Canyon of the Gunnison Np. Great location for exploring the park. Just a Mike from the visitors center, and just off the rim drive. This is a dark sky park. Took photos of the stars. Our site was right on the road, so we couldn’t use our slide out.

We stayed here mid-summer. We had site A9 and it was a pretty snug spot, as is typical with national park campgrounds. The bathrooms/ pit toilets were pretty clean. This location is great for if you're planning to do any inter-canyon travel as it's close to the entry points. We did the Gunnison route and started early, so we were happy to have a close spot. It's a bit noisy because of how close sites are to one another, and there's not a ton of shade, but that's pretty typical for this part of the western slope. Bring a shade tent or shelter!

A well put together and nice national park campsite. Picnic tables and bear boxes at each site. A little rocky but able to drive tent stakes. Seems to have a bit of a wasp problem at the moment. Dark sky is no joke - awesome stars and night view of the Canyon within walking distance.

Camping is the way to experience the beautiful NP. Sites are well maintained and bathrooms extremely clean. Highlights are the proximity of trailheads to campgrounds and the nightly ranger talks and dark sky observing. Experience couldn’t be better.

General: There are three loops on the East Rim; Loops A and B are reservable, and Loop C is first come, first available. Loop B has electric hookup sites (50, 30,& 20 amp) while Loops A and C do not. Sites are rated by size of vehicle/camper they can accommodate (less than 25 feet; between 26 and 39 feet, and over 40 feet). Only one set of dumpsters and recycling bins are located nearest the A loop. All of the sites in Loop C are for small campers. The one handicap-accessible site is in Loop B. 

Site Quality: Gravel driveway, most looked level. Sites are generous in size and while they are separated by foliage, you will hear your neighbors. Each site has a fire ring and a small picnic table. For some reason, all the sites in the B loop except ours (B6) also had a tent pad. 

Restrooms: Two vault toilets in the B Loop and both were clean. 

Activities: There is a one-mile hike from the campground to the visitor center along the rim. Although it is not a long hike, make sure to bring water as it is at elevation (8,500 feet). There are several other hikes, including some that are very short (less than a quarter of a mile) to various viewpoints. This is also a dark sky area for those interested in star gazing/photography (There is a telescope viewing area). 

With so many well-known national parks not too far away, Black Canyon seems less visited, but it is just as beautiful as all the others. The campground was full but quiet. Beware of the poison ivy that was everywhere – both in the campsite and along the trails.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Outside of Montrose Colo a few miles. South Rim CG is at 8200 elv. Loop C is all FCFS and only $8 nite senior rate. Loop A and B are all reservation and in addition Loop B has electric hookups.

Only three stars as the sites are tight and most are not easy setup for larger RVs. and most are side pull in so vehicles are passing you very close by and not good for kids and dogs. CG is in dense oak shrubs. Only one water spigot in C loop and sign notes no RV fill-up. Dumpsters at the CG pay station parking area.

No TMobile cell up here so my Starlink RV setup is working great.

The cost was low and the location was great: inside the park! It’s mostly for tents, so it’s not as sleep-in-car friendly. If you’re sleeping in a vehicle I’d suggest the BLM spot literally right down the road outside the park. But this had bathrooms and was paved so it was great for our old sedan.

Beautiful campground located on the South Rim of Gunnison National Park. The roads in the campground are paved, with large parking spots at each site. I was able to use my rooftop tent without any problems. The high elevation prevents large trees from growing so be prepared for a lack of shade, on a plus side it allows for unparalleled night sky viewing in this Dark Sky Park. Each site has it’s own private bear box, and the vault toilets are clean and as odor free as one can help. The camp hosts on A loop were very friendly. I’ll return next year with a telescope!

A bit tight quarters. Which made it challenging with loud rambunctious neighbors. Ours had a separate driveway to park our vehicle. Picnic table and fire pit were cleanest I have ever seen. Close to toilets and trail towards the visitor center. Nice to have a bear box for food placement.

We stayed in the winter off season in Loop A, since it’s the only loop open. They plow Loop A and all pull through sites. There was no fee for the campsite, just the park entrance fee. There’s no power in this loop and there’s no water since it’s shut off in the winter. There are pit toilets which are pretty clean for pit toilets. There were a few campers but they were spread so far apart since everyone needed pull through sites cause it snowed a lot recently. Some places the snow is up to your thighs and some places it’s up to your waist.

Even without amenities, we were happy a campground was open in the Colorado winter.

[Internet. Verizon via iPhone has no signal. However, with our booster Nighthawk MR-1100 - 25 mbps down and 1 mbps up with 200 ping.]

This campsite was beautiful, with a light dusting of snow all around. The bear lockers were nice, and the fire ring was also very nice. I went during the off season (winter) so the only fee I had to pay was 30 dollars to get into the National Park. Otherwise, this campsite is about 20 bucks a night during the on season. There were people around, but very considerate and quiet.

Black Canyon did not disappoint! We checked out loop A and Loop B before deciding on Loop A, as we didn’t need power. No cell service for T-Mobile. All power for Loop B will be cut off on Oct. 28th, so make sure you mind that if planning on camping this fall/winter. Some sites had wheelchair access and all toilets had wheelchair access. Each site had a bear box for food and the dumpsters near the pay station had recycling as well. Worth the visit!

Visited on a fall day, not too busy, many sites available.  Most fairly private with the gamble oaks. Clean bathrooms, water available but they ask that you only use it for consumption. Electrical hookup available at about 1/3 of the sites.  Check before you select a site that the electrical works.  First site we tried it did not.

Had a lovely night here, safe clean not too busy or noisy!

Great campground. Inside the park and easy to get to the sites. Campsites where spaced apart with trees and bushes between them. Rest rooms and drinking water available. Plus electric if you need it.

Very nice campground. Each site has a bear food storage locker. Restrooms were clean, but not enough of them - lines formed in the morning. Very nice to be in the park and get an early start to beat the crowds.

This camp was located at a high elevation with close campers divided by plots. The campsite had everything we needed with bathrooms and firepits. Take a ride to the viewpoints which were all breath taking. The scale of this place is unbelievable, almost unreal. The area is well preserved with wildlife everywhere. 

Try the hike at the end of the view points!

Stayed here one night on a weekday. Many first come spots were available at loop C. Hiking available trail from campground to the canyon rim.

We stayed here May 1, 2021. This particular weekend it camping was free and only loop A was open. We arrived around lunch time and there were several camp sites open. The sites are nice and secluded by trees. Fire rings and bear lockers are provided. There are several mule deer that roam the campsites. While we did not see any bear activity, we did hear what was thought to be a bear in the middle of the night rumbling a bear locker some ways away. There are vault toilets on site, which were surprisingly clean. Overall this campsite is nice!

We camped here in January and found that there was no charge for camping there during the winter season. Came with our pup and had most of the campground to ourselves since there was just one other family camping there as well. The snow on the campsites was pretty deep so we had to clear some of the area to get a tent up. Did the dog friendly hike to the visitor center which was lovely in the snow.

Very peaceful campground near spectacular black canyon. The B loop has electric hookups. When we were there, it was First Come First Served. We arrived in late Sept on a Sunday for one night, arriving around 2:30 pm. We found a site easily but in the hour after that there were no more sites in B Loop. Ranger was super nice and she shared interesting info about black canyon. Nice hike directly from the campground to many of the canyon lookouts and visitor center. Beautiful sunsets and evening light!

Great place to camp, they only have electric for RV, no water or sewer hook ups due to altitude of 8200ft. Limited on RV sites need to call ahead. Great hiking trails around the south rim. No internet or cell service at all, but was able to pickup 9 air tv stations crazy. Better for smaller campers say under 35ft, but I was able to my 40ft into a side road spot. Great place to see the stars at night, never seen them brighter..

Great location for seeing the canyon, but no cell service. We stayed in loop b

Absolutely beautiful!! If you can camp at the east portal, it's a must!!! Also hikers get to oakwood loop near visitor center, difficult and beautiful.

Great campground. Fairly secluded, pretty quiet. Our spot had a short walk behind it to the bathroom. Heads up that the only bear box we saw was near the bathroom and it had a padlock on it, so it could not be used.

This was a lovely stay! My partner and I saw a few electric sites that people have reserved but no one showed up to but there was also plenty of first come first serve camping. There were some loud neighbors but it was still quite spacious for a national park campground. No trash, bathrooms pretty cleans, great easy hike with views of the canyon on the way to the visitor center. Totally recommend! Check the rules about dogs before going, it changes with deer fawning season

Stayed here on two separate trips. It is convenient for the south rim view points. Most of the outer sites are tucked into the forest so there is a decent level of privacy. Lots of deer frequent the area, we saw several on each trip. They like to bring the fawns to the portion of the park. A nice hiking trail to the canyon is at the edge of the camp which is great for evening walks. As of 2020 toilets are not flushing like other national parks, but decent for pits.

This is a nice, clean functional campground that is close to one of the most beautiful places on earth. Unfortunately you can’t see that place, since the sites are surrounded by trees and bushes. However, those trees and bushes provide some shade and privacy, and it’s a quick walk/drive to the canyon. Anywhere else it would be a three-star property. Nice overnight stopover. The $20 park entry was waived due to COVID. Most people wearing masks at viewpoints. We got a site no problem in Loop C, which is all first come, first serve, on a Friday night in July. There are picnic tables, fire rings and bear boxes in every site. Some sites in Loop C have tent clearings, and others have pull-ins that would work for a small RV. Only Loop B has electric. No Verizon service in the campground, but we did discover a good signal at the very end of the South Rim road.

We were passing through the area and decided to make a quick stop at Black Canyon of the Gunnison and are so glad we did! We enjoyed exploring the canyon and enjoying the many overlooks. We stayed at South Rim Campground and were really happy with it! It is a great location right in the park. We were able to work from our hot spot with our booster just fine as well. We didn’t have cell service though, fyi. We were in Site 2B (electric only) and it was a pull through (sorta– kinda just pull off on the side of the road) spot and there was a tent spot at the site too. There aren’t any stores near the park, so make sure to stock up before you get there!

Small sites with views of cars. Don’t stay here.