Browns Creek Dispersed Camping

We camped at 38.675802, -106.163629 on the west side side of 272 because of good cell service on Verizon. We explored further along the road and although we liked the sites better than the one we finally picked, the further we went the less service we managed to get. We liked the sites along the creek after the trailhead the best, although they are very tight and probably only large enough for a tent or a van; there was no service on Verizon near the creek

This site is a bit off the road and has two very large firepits and plenty of space, although it is sloped and would be a challenge to level large rigs on. There is a nice view of the mountains to the east.

We arrived Friday evening and were able to snag a spot on the 272a loop - it was absolutely gorgeous! The sky was clear and we saw the Milky Way and lots of shooting stars. We were all able to set up our hammocks and there was no fire ban so that was nice as well. Browns creek trail is closeby and it goes up to a beautiful waterfall. We def enjoyed our time here, sucks to leave.

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.

Easy access to area from highway. Go slow down the dirt roads and watch for washboards on road.

If you go further past the trail head, sites are bigger and more spread out. It is also quieter back here without all the traffic just going to the trail head.

Wonderful views of Mt. Antero, etc. Cooler temperatures than Salida or Poncha Springs.

Safe spots, doesn't seem like anyone is living out here full time which we appreciate. Mt. Shavano BLM land has many people living full time, and it shows.

If you have a bigger rig or big motorhome, I'd suggest camping in the sites before the trail head parking lot. The road does get rocky and narrow after the trail head for a 1/4 mile - but if you can manage it, I would highly recommend coming past the trail head lot.

This place was as close to perfect as it gets for boondocking. Beautiful spacious sites with pines and aspens everywhere. The road is fairly washboarded but not terrible - we were able to get our 35-foot class A there without any issue.

Before you get to Browns Creek there are plenty of other boondocking locations — but we found it quieter and the sites even larger and prettier the further you go. If you have a toad, use that to explore site options first.

The only reason this wasn’t the *perfect* place to stay was the spotty Verizon coverage. Some spots closer to the entrance of the road had decent cell, but it gets much worse back in Browns Creek. Our phones said we had one bar of LTE but it was closer to 3G speeds. I had to drive to the front of the road to get enough service to work.

Overall, really gorgeous spot.