July 2013 Crested Butte Vacation
One of the best ways to see the Black Canyon of the Gunnison is to take a boat tour. Tours, given by National Park Service rangers.
To take the boat tour, you have to be able to handle stairs and a hike. And with 4 kids, you have to be able to handle all their stuff too. The adventure starts at Pine Creek , and steep, rocky, narrow road down. I think all the kids panic a little. The hike starts with a walk down 232 steps, not so bad down but the way up after a long day was something else. Some of the steps are made of stone, some are dirt and some are made of wood. There are two landings with benches along the way in case you need a break, thank god. While you may not need it on the way down, you may need it on the way up.
At the bottom of the stairs, you'll hike a wide, mostly flat, dirt path. This is a nice area to walk, because the trail is right along the Gunnison River. There are signs along the way that explain some of the history of the area and give you an excuse to stop and catch your breath if you need to (really because I needed a break from holding EVERYTHING).
The hike ends 0.9 miles from the parking lot at the boat dock. It took us 45 minutes down and 1.5 hours going up.
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