Cross Fissure Trail

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado

The Cross Fissure Trail, located on the South Rim, leads down to an overlook that delivers awe-inspiring vistas of the southward facing walls of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. The Cross Fissures lookout offers views of the rocky spires, rugged cliffs, and crevices - deep crevices in the rock, caused by faulting, are also called fissures. The white bands are pegmatite dikes - igneous intrusions of super-heated water that contain dissolved minerals of feldspar, quartz, and muscovite.

Begin the hike from the parking lot, following signs for The Cross Fissures Trail - at the junction, you can go either way to complete the lollipop loop and get to the fenced-in vantage point. Sweeping views of the Black Canyon, sans the Gunnison River, reward the hiker – craggy cliffs, towering hoodoos, and banded canyon walls topped with rolling hills form the panoramic landscape laid out before you.