Morning Star Canyon
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| | Difficulty:3B III (v3a2 III) Raps:3-7, max ↨195ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:None Vehicle:High Clearance Rock type:sandstone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 1 May 2026
"A typical Pinon Mesa canyon with lengthy hiking for a nice, brief Entrada narrows followed by a big headwall rappel in the Wingate. If the team is up |
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| Best season: | any; hot in summer
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39.0830, -108.7694
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Introduction
Morningstar canyon is a technical canyon in the Black Ridge Wilderness.
It features an impressive section of sandstone narrows that must be rappelled into and out of, and a huge free hanging last rappel into a beautiful and secluded section of Devil's Canyon.
- Canyon distance & longer times in the time ranges are for parking at the gate blocking access to Black Ridge Lower Access Road. Using the closer parking during the fall, the approach and return distance would be shorter.
Approach
2026 update:
Drive up RimRock Drive through the western entrance to the Colorado National Monument. Just past the Upper Liberty Cap Trailhead, turn east on N 16 1/2 Rd at (39.05534,-108.74167). Take the next right onto Black Ridge Rd at (39.05483, -108.74462), which is a public use 4x4 road and may or may not be in great condition. Turn right at Radio Tower Rd and park at (39.0650, -108.7563), just before the gate leading to the Black Ridge Lower Access Road, which is only seasonally open from Aug 15 - Feb 15. If this is a trip in the fall and the road is open, drive a mile and half down the road to park at (39.07276, -108.78037), saving the distance and easy road walking.
Depart the road at the parking coordinates and Hike northeast to gain the Morning Star wash. Walk downstream 0.8 miles to the first series of optional short rappels.
Original beta:
Morningstar canyon is approached from either Lower or Upper Black Ridge Road depending on time of year. The Upper Road is open from April 15 - August 15, with the Lower Road being open from August 15 - February 15. Both roads are closed to motorized travel from February 15 - April 15
If approaching from the upper road, reset your odometer at the Black Ridge Road parking area just off of Rimrock Drive outside the boundaries of Colorado National Monument.
Drive Black Ridge access road for approximately 3.4 miles from the start, being sure to stay on the upper road. Look at the map closely (Google Maps works well) and park in the sage flats where the lower and upper Black Ridge roads are closest together. Follow the map. There aren't very many distinguishing features on the Mesas above the Black Ridge canyons, so good navigation and map reading skills are essential. If you parked on the upper Black Ridge road, find a way down the ridge to the north east of where you parked, cross the lower Black Ridge road, and enter the drainage.
Descent
A series of four rappels are available upstream of the narrows, which indicates the first mandatory rappel.
R1: 50' from a boulder in the middle of the wash or bypass DCL
R2: 40' from a juniper DCR or bypass DCL
R3: 35' fiddling a pine or bypass R3 & R4 DCL
R4: 25' from a small bush for a short drop
Walk in the wash for 0.15 miles, then bypass a 15' ledge on either side before a couple DCs over a few ledges
R5: 40' from a bush DCR for a 25' drop into the narrows
Original beta: "15 feet off a well established shrub in the center of the wash. There isn't much in the way of anchors for this short rappel aside from a couple of rocks and a small bush in the wash. Both have been field tested successfully."
The Narrows
Original beta: Arguably the best section of Morningstar canyon these sandstone narrows can hold a considerable amount of water. The water can be stemmed across, and avoided by traversing the narrow rock benches above the pools. In short order you'll come to the next rappel.
DCs
R6: 150' from a chockstone set back 40' from the edge for the 95' drop adding 15' extra for fiddle placement. Extending long webbing would reduce the required rope length. This is a stunning rappel, but in a narrow crack. A chockstone halfway down looked concerning in terms of pinching the rope or fiddle cord on the pull, but turned out not to be an issue.
Original beta: 104 feet off of a sturdy chockstone. During Morningstar's first descent in November of 2019, approximately 25 feet of new webbing and an 8mm quicklink was left behind for this rappel off a jammed chockstone in the watercourse. During a return trip in June of 2020 both the webbing and QL were found to be SEVERELY weathered despite only 8 months having passed. Examine this anchor/webbing closely. It will likely need to be replaced.
This rappel is just over 100 ft and lands you in a large room with a big pothole. There is ample room to avoid the pothole at the bottom of the rappel, but care should be taken with the rope toss. If you rappel out of the bag instead of throwing the rope, you can avoid getting the bag and rope wet. From the bottom of the second rappel, continue down canyon a few minutes downclimbing through some beautifully sculpted sandstone in the watercourse to the final rappel.
Walk another 0.2 miles to the final sequence.
DC (3) pretty drops around shallow potholes
R7: 195' from a large tree DCR, into a great overhung alcove landing next to a pool if there is water in the canyon.
Original beta: Final Rappel: 197 feet off a tree. You'll need every bit of a 60m rope to complete Morningstar's final rappel. The current anchor is from a medium sized tree just above the lip on canyon right. No webbing is necessary if you intend to do the climber's exit after the last rappel as the rope can be left anchored to the tree and retrieved during the exit.
Exit
Car Shuttle exit
At roughly 5 miles, exiting down Devil's Canyon to the Opal Hill TH is a long endeavor. Some mildly spicy downclimbs are reported in the gneiss/schist basement rock layer before linking up with the established D3 or D4 trails. The final 4X4 road leads back to the parking lot indicating civilization is near with more informational signs.
Morning Star climber exit
After the final rappel, exit the drainage DCR near (39.08540, -108.76818) gaining elevation up the loose slopes and aiming for the rock bands above. A key ledge (39.08656, -108.76563) is an easy avenue through a taller rock band. After this, trend upstream starting to parallel the Morning Star drainage. Tall walls will eventually give way to an easier slope to hike up. Follow the rolling hills through the pinyon pines and junipers much longer than anyone wants back to the Lower Black Ridge Road and the parked vehicle in whichever direction it was parked. The Morning Star climber exit does not present significant exposure.
Red tape
None.
A National Park Pass is not required to pass through the Colorado National Monument on park roads. Tell the ranger at the entrance gate you are driving up to Glade Park.
Beta sites
Trip reports and media
First explored Nov 2019 with a return trip Jun 2020 by Josh Ellis
2026-05-01 Beta updated. Ira Lewis, Chris Welsh, Kat Pearl Zalan