Confluence Park, City of Delta:
Confluence Park, located on Gunnison River Drive off of Highway 50 consists of 265 acres of parkland. The Bill Heddles Recreation Center, Ft. Uncompahgre living history musesm, picnic shelters, a seventy acre lake and waterfowl viewing areas. At Confluence Park there are 5 miles of trails.
Sweitzer Lake State Park:
If your at Sweitzer Lake State Park besides boating and fishing, there are 1.5 miles of hiking on dirt roads around the lake. Sweitzer Lake State Park is located on the east side of Delta off of Highway 50.
Crawford State Park
At Crawford State Park there are 1.3 miles of trails along State Highway 92, access is from the swim beach to the Iron Creek Campground. The Indian Fire Nature trail, on the west side of the lake is .5 miles, and has no ADA access.
North Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison:
Chasm View Nature Trail
Moderate – 1/3 mile round trip
This trail is located at the end of the one-way campground loop, follow the trail to the North Chasm View, some 1800 feet above the river. Continuing near the rim, the trail reaches a second overlook with excellent views of Painted Wall and Serpent Point.
North Vista Trail
Moderate to Exclamation Point – 3 miles round trip
Strenuous to Green Mountain – 7 miles round trip
This trail starts at the North Rim Ranger Station. At 1.5 miles you come to Exclamation Point with some of the best inner-canyon views. If continuing to Green Mountain, an additional 4 miles round trip, one will be rewarded by panoramic vistas, including the San Juan Mountains, the West Elks, Grand Mesa, the Uncompahgre Plateau.
Deadhorse Trail
Easy to moderate – 5 miles round trip
Park at the Kneeling Camel Overlook and walk a few yards east to a spur road that leads to the old Ranger Station. The trail, actually an old service road, begins here. After 3/4 of a mile the road passes a stock pond. This pond is fed by one of the few springs found on the rim of the Black Canyon. Continue on another 1 1/2 mile until you encounter a stock fence. Turn right (south) here and walk 1/4 mile along the fence until you come to the canyon’s rim. Deadhorse Gulch is the large side drainage located just east of the overlook (and the fence).
Gunnison Gorge Wilderness Area:
The Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area consists of 62,844 ares of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Within the NCA is the Gunnison Gorge Wilderness Area, with a total of 17,784 acres of wilderness lands. Bounded by a fourteen-mile stretch of the Gunnison River extending from the northwestern boundary of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park north to a point approximately one mile downstream from the confluence of the Smith Fork and the main stem of the Gunnison.
Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area:
The Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area is a 209,610-acre National Conservation Area located in Delta County just south of Highway 50, west of Delta, Colorado. Contained in the National Conservation Area is the Domingues Canyon Wilderness Area. The Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area consists of 66,280 acres, providing opportunities for quiet recreation and solitude.
Grand Mesa National Forest:
Grand Mesa Visitor Center
Located along the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway
2002 AA 50 Road, Cedaredge, CO
970-856-4153
Open 7 days a week from 8 am to 5 pm during the summer. Visitors will be able to purchase maps, nature products, Recreation Passes (Annual, Senior, Access Passes), and Forest Service fuelwood permits. In the Grand Mesa- Uncompahgre National Forest there are over 3500 miles of hiking trails. The Grand Mesa has a good number of trails for day hiking, extended backpack trips, horse riding & camping, and OHV riding & camping. The link below is to the hiking page on the Forest Service web site:
Peaks:
The top ten peaks in Delta County:
Mount Lamborn at 11,396 feet
Crater Peak at 11,327 feet
Mount Hatten at 11,310 feet
Mount Darlene at 11,306 feet
Crag Crest at 11,189 feet
Chalk Mountain at 11,146 feet
Un Named 11,106 at 11,106 feet
Un Named 11,010 at 11,010 feet
Priest Mountain at 10,982 feet
Un Named 10,980 at 10,980 feet