ute trail

I have ridden this trail on my wonderful QH six times and love it. Its the north part of the Black Canyon and follows the Gunnison River and if you're lucky, you can see the rafters floating the river. There is a fee, but well worth it. Great for hikers too.

Getting to this trail takes you out onto a pretty bumpy road, which can be a muddy mess if there's been recent rain. The roads can be impassible, risking getting yourself mired in the mud out there. Locals might be able to tell you about road conditions. If conditions are dry, you can turn down Falcon road between Montrose and Olathe (see the brown sign for the Gunnison Gorge at the turn) and take this to Peach Valley Road and turn left. You will see signs for the turn offs for the access roads to get to the Chukar, Bobcat, Duncan, and Ute trails. The road out to the Ute Trail is 2.5 miles to get to the actual trailhead. I highly recommend a 4WD vehicle to negotiate these somewhat rough roads. There is a vault toilet at the trailhead parking lot. The trail descends steeply downward 1,200 feet in 4.5 miles, with some pretty good switchbacks toward the bottom. My friend and I have used this hike as a "training" hike, in preparation for longer hikes and mountain climbs planned for this spring and summer, so we descended to the river in 1.5 hours. For a more leisurely day, you can spend several hours, taking your time with rests as needed (and photo ops). The trail is well-maintained and fairly wide. There are a few narrow spots. If you like using trekking poles, they are handy for saving your knees going down. The views up-river are amazing. As we did this hike a week ago, the water levels of the river are still low. The spring melt off is yet to begin. We spent some time walking about a half-mile up-river at the bottom, so adding another extra mile for a total of 10 when we completed our climb back up to the rim once again. I want to add that there is another vault toilet a short ways up-river, rustically enclosed on three sides. We completed the climb back up to the trailhead in an hour and 45 minutes. The brochure for the Gunnison Wilderness and Conservation Areas (managed by the BLM) is excellent. Here is the link: http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/co/field_offices/gunnison_gorge_national/brochures.Par.24819.File.dat/brochure.pdfYou should bring a light backpack or hydration pack with a CamelBak or similar water reservoir, or a fanny pack with a couple 16-20-oz bottles, to stay hydrated, as well as some high-energy snacks:/lunch and a simple first aid kit (just in case...). Don't forget your camera for the beautiful scenery. There are 4 campsites available for overnighters -$10pp for one night and $15pp for max of 2 nights only. I've only hiked here in the spring. i've been told that the temps down at the bottom of the canyon are HIGHER than above and it can be pretty buggy in the summer. We passed some people who came down for some fly fishing. Some of the country's best trout fishing is found here, and some folks will hike down the Chukar trail with their inflatable kayaks and travel down to Delta, enjoying some great whitewater in several places along the way. I highly recommend the Gunnison Gorge and the Ute Trail!