Colorado

Here is one of Colorado’s best-kept secrets—its cliffs looming big over the river below. For perspective, the Painted Wall outstrips both the Eiffel Tower, France, and the Empire State Building, New York City, in height.

Staring into the Black Canyon elicits a dizzying sense of the earth moving. You can’t always see to the bottom—the name comes not from black walls, but because sunlight scarcely reaches the river below. That river, the Gunnison, is responsible for the canyon’s existence, patiently carving it into surrounding volcanic rock over eons.

Play of light and shapes

Most people approach the park from the paved South Rim Road, but the North Rim is equally spectacular. Both sides have campgrounds, hiking trails, opportunities for kayaking and rock climbing, and jaw-dropping views. Trails on the canyon edges run through an arid landscape of fragrant juniper and pinyon pine to vertiginous viewing platforms—peer into the chasm onto a seemingly tiny river below.

Every inch of these sheer cliffs is fascinating, with ribbons of vivid pink and black, plus a spectrum of colors that changes as the light shifts. There are even different shapes discernible within the walls, from square blocks to triangular chips to paperlike layers that resemble neat stacks of books.

As you study the cliff walls, keep an eye out for peregrine falcons and their nests. These raptors are often seen from the Chasm View nature trail on the North Rim, as well as from Tomichi Point Overlook and Chasm View Overlook on the South Rim (both wheelchair-accessible). You might see them nesting on rocky ledges or hunting by swooping down on other flying birds. The imaginative visitor may also see a camel—that is, the Kneeling Camel, a rock formation visible from the North Rim.

Visitors stand on a pinnacle that seems to hang precariously over the void

This out-of-the-way gem in western Colorado has some of the steepest cliffs, oldest rock, and craggiest spires in North America