Browns Creek (South) Dispersed Camping

The road past Browns Creek trailhead is a bit dicey. It’s very rutted. If you have a low vehicle you may bottom out. However, if you can make it! It’s totally worth the drive. Verizon worked fine.

Very pretty area with well maintained road. Comfortable distance between campsites, yet still many to choose from! Convenient hiking just down the road as well.

Gorgeous place lots of trails no bugs .nice Creek

Took my wife and daughter for a few nights and we enjoyed the spot we chose. There was no one near us so we got a great experience camping in solitude. The views of the mountains was amazing and great hiking.

Got here late at night on the 4th of July weekend, was able to find a spot. Stayed the whole weekend. Super relaxing. Lots of trees. Stayed near the browns creek trail head. Restrooms there, along with a few temp toilets around.

Make sure you get here early in the weekends. There are many sites if you keep driving, but some better than others. Brown's lake hike is tough, start early.

I pulled in here around 8 PM on a Tuesday and had intentions to stay for multiple nights. Upon waking up the following morning, I was surrounded by 8 to 10 inches of snow and unfortunately had to leave since I wasn’t prepared for it. For the night that I stayed, it was extremely quiet and there were probably 5 to 6 other campers I passed long away. There are pit toilets by the trail head if needed and an abundance of camping spots. I had decent AT&T service in the location I was at. Definitely would recommend visiting brown dog coffee in Salida. The roads to get extremely muddy whenever there is rain or snow so be prepared to have four-wheel-drive or chains on your tires if you’ll be there during storms or snow.

We backpacked Browns creek and Little Browns Creek Trail in the beginning of August. There were great spots for camping along the way- some of the best camp sites I've stayed at. If you start the loop going 'clockwise', there is a wonderful first campsite with a view of a lake and the mountains. There is water (streams, waterfalls, lakes) near and on the way to this campsite. I suggest filling up here, as water is sparce/hard to find beyond this campsite. Our last campsite just past Mt. Anterro was my favorite. With a view of the valley at one side and mountains at the other… it was breathtaking. Highly recommend! There was some evidence of bears, so I'd suggest planning accordingly with bear spray and bear bags. There is also no camping allowed at the trailhead.

We camped here for 4 nights in August 2020. It was so peaceful. Big wide dispersed camping spaces. Plenty of nice hiking - especially Brown's Creek area. Great location with easy drive to Buena Vista & Salida & Mt. Princeton. The only drawback was, well, August dryness & no water nearby. This was our first dispersed camping experience and we realize no facilities. There is one bathroom near the Brown's Creek trailhead about 2 miles away from where we camped, but we had a camper. Also, no picnic tables at all. AND cows roam freely throughout the area - drive slowly & respect them - listen for moos & coyote howls. Great bird-watching too. We enjoyed it so much!!

Awesome location between Salida and Buena Vista. Keep driving thru the gate and find your own piece of paradise. We have a 24’ RV and out spot, buried in the tall pines, was an easy in and out. Very quite with only one other camper you could see in the far distance thru the trees. Ample space between sites for privacy. With the easy in and out we popped into Salida for dinner one night. Highly recommend!