Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Campground
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park · Colorado · 84 sites
Photos: National Park Service via Recreation.gov
Overview
Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Campground is a National Park Service campground in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado, with 84 sites in 3 loops. A mix: some shady sites, some open. No carrier reports coverage at any site.
33 of 84 sites shaded
48 of 84 sites in full sun
79 of 84 sites with clear sky
Map of the campground
Every site from the Recreation.gov listing. Choose a layer to see it across the campground; tap a site to open it in Roam.
Layers
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Questions
Which sites at Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Campground are the shadiest?
About 40% of them. 33 of 84 sites have good shade and 51 are mostly open.
See the tree canopy in RoamWhich sites at Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Campground get the most sun?
Some. 48 of 84 sites are open to the southern sky, good for solar panels, and 18 more get some sun.
See the tree canopy in RoamWill Starlink work at Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Campground?
Easy here. About 79 of 84 sites have open sky for a Starlink dish, and 4 more have a partial gap. Satellite texting on a phone needs less open sky, but still works best from the most open spot you can find. This is our estimate from tree heights — check with the Starlink app's obstruction check when you arrive.
See the tree canopy in RoamWhich sites at Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Campground are the most level?
1 of 41 sites is flat, and 7 more have a gentle slope most RVs can level with blocks; 33 are steeper, better for tents. Sites that take RVs or trailers fit rigs up to 65 ft. These counts cover the 41 of 84 sites with a mapped location.
See the slope at each site in RoamDoes Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Campground have cell service?
Not really. None of T-Mobile, Verizon or AT&T reports coverage at any site at Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Campground, so plan to be offline here. That's the coverage each carrier reports to the FCC, not a measured signal, so under trees or below a ridge it can be weaker.
See the coverage map in RoamWhen is the best time to see fall color at Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Campground?
September. In a typical year the leaves around Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Campground are at their best in mid to late September, though any one fall can run a week or two early or late. Much of the forest here stays green, so expect color in patches. Roam’s fall foliage map shows how far the color has come this week, free every September through November.
See this week’s fall color in RoamWhat’s the weather like at Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim Campground in October?
In October, expect highs around 59°F and lows around 34°F, with about 1.8 inches of rain over the month and 2 inches of snow. Every month’s averages are in Roam Premium.
Open Black Canyon of the Gunnison South Rim in RoamCampground facts
- Sites
- 84 in 3 loops
- Kinds
- 83 for RVs or trailers · 1 tent-only
- Hookups
- 22 with electric
- Longest rig
- 65 ft
- Accessible
- 2 sites
- Elevation
- 8,384–8,418 ft
- Every site
- Pets allowed · Check-in 1 PM, check-out 11 AM
- Managed by
- National Park Service
- Booking
- Reserve on Recreation.gov
How we know Sources and limits
Shade, sun and Starlink are our estimates from Meta and the World Resources Institute’s canopy-height model (about 2 m pixels, from satellite imagery calibrated with space lidar; CC BY 4.0). From 2 m above each site we trace 72 lines out to 60 m and note the tallest tree in each direction. Shade counts trees overhead, the canopy within 30 m and how much of the afternoon sky is blocked. Sun counts how open the southern sky is. Starlink needs open sky above 35°, with the northern half counted twice because US dishes tilt north, and we keep the best spot within 8 m of the site’s post. The model sees tree heights only, not trunks, buildings or hills, so check with the Starlink app when you arrive.
Slope is the ground at each site’s post over about 4 m, from USGS 3DEP 1 m lidar: level under 2%, gentle to 4% (most rigs level on blocks), sloped to 8% (fine for a tent), steep beyond.
Cell coverage is from the FCC Broadband Data Collection (carrier filings as downloaded May 2026): each site is tested against each carrier’s modelled outdoor 4G/5G coverage. It is what the carriers report, not a measured signal.
Fall color is the typical peak from NASA’s MODIS satellite record of when leaves change (2001–2023), limited to deciduous and mixed forest with USGS land cover (NLCD), calibrated to the USA National Phenology Network’s ground reports of colored leaves (CC BY 4.0). It is an average of many autumns, so the page gives a window, not a date.
Weather is NOAA’s 1991–2020 climate normals for the campground. Sites and facts are from Recreation.gov’s open data (July 2026). Map imagery: USGS The National Map. Photos: Recreation.gov.
From the campground’s Recreation.gov listing: “Campsites are open year round, but drinking water is only available mid-May through mid-October. Electric hookups are in Loop B and available year around. Perched on the South Rim of the Black Canyon, this campground is surrounded by scrub oak forests and sits atop ancient hard rocks. Deer, grouse, bears, and bobcats are known to frequent the area.”
Page data as of October 15, 2026. Full source notes are in each layer’s info in the app.