Browns Canyon National Monument

Just know, there is no main gate or welcome center. If you're looking to get the stamp in your National Parks Passport book, you'll have to go to the Visitor Center in Salida. The canyon is best enjoyed by those white water rafting. However, there is a small parking area with trailer parking and an outhouse. It also has some picnic tables which made for a great spot for us to eat lunch. There is some hiking trails that offer nice views. Trails are well established and the elevation gain is easy to moderate. There is a road that we thought we could drive on, but it's really meant for ATV's. It was a little too narrow for my truck.

Beautiful views of mountains and plains. Great 'Colorado Parks and Wildlife' managed campsite with well laid out camping spots with benches and barbecues. There are a few off-road trails leading off into the hills. Apparently, it's a famous spot for viewing stars - we didn't time it very well for stars but we got some incredible views of the moon.

We took the river access trail from the parking lot. It ended up being almost 6 miles out and back. There are a lot of ups and downs. Elevation gain was around 1189 ft. The first mile and change from the parking lot was the hardest. Then you get to the plains and hike to the Arkansas River, and it's fairly straight and level. We sat at the river for a while and soaked our feet before hiking back. It was a good afternoon! The trail was pretty well marked. There are rocky parts in some places but you should always have good hiking shoes which makes it no big deal.

Nice area for walking, superb views. If you decide to walk up Ruby Mountain make sure you have good grips on your shoes as it's slippery coming back down. There's a long drop toilet. Take all your trash home with you.

The entrance to the monument is a 3 mile county dirt road that, since it had just rained, was slightly washed in places and some washboarding. There were several trails for hiking and bikes. The mountains in this park resemble piles of boulders bit yet beautiful in their own way. On the way to the monument was an overlook that was similar to a state park about 5 miles north. These mountains are beautiful even with snow clouds over them.