Hiking the Warner Route in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Distance (Roundtrip): 4.3 miles / 6.9 km
Elevation Change: ~2,700 ft. / 823 m
The Warner Route in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is one of the most beautiful, but also popular, routes to the bottom of the canyon, due largely to the fact that the Warner Route is considered to be the route best to camp and fish—especially during the Salmonfly hatch!
That being said, it should be noted that, of all the routes that descend from the rim to the river, the Warner Route is often seen as the most challenging.
However, some might argue that the Tomichi Route is harder because it’s more technical, but, the Warner Route is farther downstream than six of the other seven routes, making the elevation change the most significant, as the Warner Route begins from High Point.
A ranger we spoke to on the hike out agreed, citing these reasons alone.
Black Canyon Wilderness Permit
A free wilderness permit is required for all routes that descend into Black Canyon, which can be easily obtained at the South Rim Visitor Center or the North Rim Ranger Station. Note that wilderness permits on the North Rim can be self-filled when the staff isn’t present.
This is all to say that wilderness permits are not only necessary to limit the number of hikers and campers per day, but they also serve as a safety and accountability method, given the inherent risks and difficulty associated with all seven routes.
Therefore, be sure to return your copy of the permit at the end of your hike either to the South Rim Visitor Center or North Rim Ranger Station, or a rescue may be triggered the following day if the National Park Service is unable to contact you.
Warner Route Trailhead Parking
Parking for the Warner Route Trail is located at High Point, at the very far end of South Rim Road, about 6.0 miles (9.7 km) west of the South Rim Visitor Center.
The parking lot serves as a joint trailhead for not one, but three different trails that all begin at High Point, meaning the parking lot can be busy during the mid-summer travel season.
Google Maps Directions: High Point Trailhead
Hiking Checklist - Black Canyon
Obviously, for camping, you will need general backpacking gear. For this reason, I wrote a separate post about what backpacking gear is worth the money, from my experience, and what the best alternatives are to save you money.
Read My Separate Post: Best Ultralight Backpacking Gear
That being said, Black bears are known to be found everywhere from the plateaus along the canyon rim to the steep routes that lead down to the Gunnison River, and everywhere in between.
Here is a complete list of must-have things that you will want for any hike in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
Hiking the Warner Route into Black Canyon
The Warner Route into Black Canyon begins on the same Warner Point Nature Trail for the first 0.7 miles (1.1 km).
To skip ahead to the Warner Point-Warner Route Trail split, click here.
These markers placed along the trail are intended to be used with the Warner Point Nature Trail guide.
However, if trail guides aren’t readily available at the trailhead, you can follow along with the electronic version using the link below.
Download: Warner Point Nature Trail Guide
Warner Route-Warner Point Junction
After 0.7 miles (1.1 km), the Warner Point and Warner Route Trails split.
Here, go left to stay on the Warner Route Trail, which is the beginning of the trail that requires a permit to hike.
Read My Separate Post: Warner Point Nature Trail
From the Warner Point junction, it’s about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) to reach the start of the gully, which begins the steep descent into Black Canyon.
Don’t forget about these beginning sections for the hike out, because just when you think you’re done with the steepest parts, there’s still another 460 ft. (140 m) to climb to get back to the Warner Point junction.
The steepest sections down the Warner Route begin when the trail reaches the low point between this hill and the hill off in the distance.
After hiking 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from the Warner Point junction, the Warner Route begins its steepest descent down the gully to the bottom of Black Canyon.
From this low point, it’s a roughly 2,220-ft. (677 m) descent in just 1.0 mile (1.6 km) to reach the Gunnison River.
Reaching these switchbacks is always a nice sight on the hike back up!
At really no point does the steep descent let up, which is why some may prefer to use trekking poles when possible.
However, there are many sections where carrying poles isn’t practical due to the Class 3 scrambling required to navigate certain areas, particularly in the lower elevations of the Warner Route.
Some of these photos may make the trail look harder than it is, but know that the Warner Route is not technical.
It is mostly a very steep and slippery Class 2 route, with a decent number of Class 3 sections required to move up and down certain areas.
This is all to say that good fitness is what’s most important when deciding to hike this or any route into Black Canyon.
These loose rocks on the trail are what make the Warner Route so slippery!
If you’re looking for some good, sturdy shoes for an adventure like the Warner Route, consider the ones I trust for scrambles like this, linked below.
All of these steeper ledges are why trekking poles wouldn’t be as helpful from the halfway point down on the Warner Route.
This is where the Gunnison River truly starts to feel closer than ever before!
However, it doesn’t become visible until the bottom third of the gully.
At the bottom of the Warner Route, all of the best fishing, swimming, and camping areas can be found upstream to the right.
Gunnison River
Once at the Gunnison River, there is about 1.0 mile (1.6 km) of shoreline to explore up and down the canyon.
However, this can vary widely because of how the water levels change from early to late summer.
Additionally, there is a restroom at the bottom of the Warner Route, which cannot be said about other routes into Black Canyon.
The one good thing about the Warner Route is that, for the most part, Poison Ivy is not present until the bottom of the canyon; which, again, cannot be said about routes in the park, like Pinyon Draw.
On a different note, if you are day hiking the Warner Route, be practical regarding how much time you want to spend at the bottom of the canyon, as the rangers told us that an average Warner Route descent is 2-4 hours, and an average ascent is 4-6.
In my experience, our descent was right at 2 hours, and our ascent out was just over 2 hours. That being said, don’t use our times to gauge how long it may take you, as we were passing many groups on the way up that had already began their ascent when we were still coming down.
I believe that the rangers use these long timeframes to try and discourage the wrong people from attempting something like this, and I would back this up by saying that a hike as steep as the Warner Route is not for everyone.
