Road improvement projects at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park will begin in 2024 and continue through 2025. These much-needed improvements will create significant impacts in accessing the park. Visitors should plan on delays of up to 30 minutes during their visit and a significantly reduced number of parking spots available.
A road improvement project will begin on the South Rim in late March 2024. This project will include road rehabilitation from the park boundary on Highway 347 to the visitor center, approximately 1.8 miles (2.8 km) of roadway. This work will last approximately seven months. In 2025, there will be continuation of road rehabilitation work from the visitor center to the end of the South Rim Drive and a pavement preservation project that will impact access to and parking at overlooks along the South Rim Drive and South Rim campground availability.
This year the project is funded through the Federal Lands Transportation Program (FLTP). Next year's project is funded through the Federal Highways Administration's Pavement Preservation Program. After the summer of 2025, all paved roads at South Rim will either be completely resurfaced or have a preservation treatment such as crack sealing and patching and then a chipseal or micro seal applied. The result will be a greatly improved roadway for visitors to the national park.
Please use extreme caution and patience while traveling on park roadways, especially during construction. Plan extra time for visiting the park during the roadwork. Crews will be working Monday through Friday in daylight hours and roads will be alternating one-way traffic.
Consider alternative recreational areas during construction. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is co-managed with neighboring Curecanti National Recreation Area, encompassing Blue Mesa Reservoir. Curecanti also has numerous hiking trails, all of which are dog friendly. Several trails lead into the gorge to the Gunnison River and to the reservoirs. Besides being well known for its fishing and kayaking, the recreation area offers a variety of camping experiences and spectacular stargazing. The National Park Service thanks you in advance for your patience during construction activities.
More information about camping and recreational opportunities at both parks can be found at www.nps.gov/blca and www.nps.gov/cure.
Jeff
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