Browns Canyon National Monument, National Monument in Chaffee County, Colorado, US
Browns Canyon extends over 21,589 acres of federal and state lands, featuring granite outcroppings, wooded drainages, and the Arkansas River flowing through its center.
Native Americans inhabited this region for 11,000 years, leaving behind stone structures and artifacts from the PaleoIndian period through late prehistoric times.
The gold discovery of 1859 brought miners to the area and led to the construction of the Stagecoach Road and Denver Rio Grande Railroad in 1880.
Visitors need a Colorado Parks and Wildlife park pass to use the parking facilities at Ruby Mountain Recreation Site and Hecla Junction.
The Arkansas River within Browns Canyon earned Gold Medal Trout Fishery status in 2014 for its populations of brown and rainbow trout.
Location: Chaffee County
Inception: February 19, 2015
Operator: BLM;USFS
Website: https://fs.fed.us/visit/browns-canyon-national-monument
GPS coordinates: 38.61190,-106.06000
Latest update: March 2, 2025 20:16
Colorado features natural areas and historical sites away from common routes. The locations range from sand formations at Paint Mines Park to Zapata waterfalls. Bishop Castle displays hand-built stone architecture in the forest, while Devil's Causeway presents narrow rock bridges in the wilderness. Fossil discoveries, dinosaur tracks, and abandoned mining towns document the state's history.
Mount Antero
17.6 km
Mount Princeton
22 km
Antero Reservoir
43.4 km
Mount Shavano
15.6 km
Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area
10.1 km
Mount Columbia
38.5 km
Tabeguache Peak
16.7 km
Cronin Peak
20 km
Agnes Vaille Falls
19.4 km
Carbonate Mountain
19.6 km
Morley Bridge
27.4 km
F Street Bridge
10.2 km
Grace Church
26.3 km
Bridge over Arkansas River
22.8 km
Alexander House
10.6 km
Heister House
9.9 km
J. M. Bonney House
26.7 km
Chaffee County Courthouse and Jail Buildings
26.4 km
Salida Regional Library
10.6 km
Gas Creek School
12.5 km
East Buffalo Peak
42 km
Poncha Springs Schoolhouse
10.9 km
Maysville School
13.9 km
Bode-Stewart House
10.6 km
Valley View School
8.6 km
E.W. Corbin House
10.7 km
Rouch Gulch Bridge
22.2 km
Badger Creek Bridge
23.8 kmReviews
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