05. Fisherman's Bridge access to Stone Bridge access

Brown's Canyon is arguably the best Class III run in the state of Colorado. It is a beautiful little canyon with lots of smoothly rounded granite, on the hills and in the river too. The only sign of civilization is the railroad on river left. Canyon Doors is one of the first rapids and is generally considered the best playspot on the run. At high water, around 3000 CFS, you have to surf it on the fly because there is no eddy. The biggest rapid is Zoom Flume, about 1/2 way down the run, it kind of approaches Class IV in difficulty. At 1200 CFS it still has a big water feel with some swirlies to negotiate. Browns Canyon run is very popular for commercial rafting. Avoid the weekends if you can, especially during peak tourist season. To Get There: For the put-in at Fisherman's Bridge take Hwy 285 to mile 144.7 and turn east down to the river on County Road 301. Cross the bridge and make an immediate right to the public access downstream river left of the bridge. For the take-out, return to Hwy 285 and head downstream/South. Your first option (generally used when flows are low or if you're looking to shorten the run) is Hecla Junction. The turn-off for this access is at HWY 285 mile 135.5 where a left on County Rd 194 takes you down to the public access on river right. For the alternate access that gives you a bit longer run, continue to Hwy 285 mile 133.9 and turn onto Hwy 291. Before you cross the river, turn Left onto County Hwy 191 and follow it to the Stone Bridge public access. The State Parks system manages river access and requires a day-use fee. Check out The Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area (AHRA) to take care of vehicle pass and daily fees. Because this is a high use, high traffic area, Park Rangers are particularly aggressive when it comes to enforcing parking permits and fees. Check out Julie Keller's great photos of this reach. See *Colorado Rivers and Creeks II*, by Banks and Eckardt *(The Bible)*, for info on this and most of the other runs of Colorado. Lat/longitude coordinates are approximate, from TopoZone. See also: Pinecreek (Class IV/V), The Numbers (Class IV), Fractions/ Frogrock/ Milkrun (Class III), Buena Vista (Class III), Browns Canyon (Class III), Salida (Class III), Rincon (Class III), Pinnacle Rock (Class III), Royal Gorge (Class III/IV).