Black Canyon of the Gunnison is one of the most underrated National Parks. Granted there isn't a ton to do if you aren't a great climber. But I can promise you that the views do not disappoint. It is amazing to see the contrast of the clear blue water against the black rock. Standing at Exclamation Point you realize how amazing rivers really are. They carve amazing canyons and continue to shape them each year. Since we weren't going there to climb a multi-pitch that is chossy and a super hard grade, we went on an amazing hike. But this only took a few hours so we explored other areas around Colorado. We had a 3-day weekend and it was the perfect getaway close to home and to check another NP off the list!
We went over Memorial Day Weekend and the south side of the park was closed. So we decided to take the North Vista Trail to Exclamation Point, which is 3 miles round trip and views the entire way. But the end of the trail is breathtaking. You can keep going on this trail and get to the top of Green Mountain for an even better view. That hike is 7 miles round trip. Not bad at all and there is very little elevation gain to Exclamation Point, so if you are in the mood for a good hike I would keep going to Green Mountain. We, as always, had other things on our mind, I'll give you 3 guesses? Yup, you guessed right, beer! Montrose is the biggest town closest to the Black Canyon and there are a few local breweries you can check out.
Horsefly Brewing Company looked like a great place to grab some lunch and they had some good beer that we were interested in. They had a blonde ale with raspberries and a red ale. They only have crowlers so if you aren't able to dine-in be prepared for some big beer cans. That worked for us though, because we could share each of the different beers. We took our beers back to the AirBnB that we stayed in, which was in Delta. It is a super small farm town, but we stayed in a tiny house on a farm that had horses and goats with a river right behind it. It was so fun to stay in a tiny house. We are seriously considering buying property of our own and building one of our own.
The next day we wanted to take our bikes out and explore some trails in Colorado. This was my third ride so we didn't do anything too crazy. I am sure next time we'll have some bigger trail adventures. But Dry Creek Trail was perfect. There is a longer bike trail that is more technical, or you can ride the ATV trail for a bit wider of a road and a shorter ride which was perfect for us. We love to go hard on vacations but we also like to spend time relaxing. It's good to have a good mixture of both. This trail was beautiful. You can take rests by the creek and take in the views. The hill to get down into the canyon is a climb to get back out. If you are a Utah local and familiar with the Crest Trail, it is another Puke Hill.
Last, but not least, on the drive home we decided to pit stop at Colorado National Monument in Fruita. These trails are super short, and you can even drive through the monument. This was the perfect way to end our getaway. It feels so familiar to Southern Utah, our happy place. I know I say this every time, but it is so amazing to be able to explore so many beautiful places in this world. I can't believe places like this even exist. I highly recommend checking out Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Colorado National Monument if you have a chance for a weekend getaway.
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