Arkansas,
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06. Fisherman's Bridge access to Stone Bridge access (Browns Canyon)
Class III
Avg Gradient 31 fpm
Toilet Bowl, Brown's Canyon
Toilet Bowl, Brown's CanyonPhoto of Toilet Bowl Rapid at 800 cfs by Brad Goettemoeller (www.allaboutrivers.com) @ 800 cfs
Gauge Information
River Description
Brown's Canyon is arguably the best Class III run in the state. Brown's is a beautiful little
canyon with lots of smooth rounded granite, up 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, say 3000cfs, 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 kinda sorta approaches Class IV in difficulty. I ran this at 1200cfs and it still had a
bigwater feel with some swirlies to negotiate, I can only imagine that would be much more
pronounced at higher water. Even though I ran it on a weekday, it was June, it was very crowded
with guided rafts. If you do run this it is highly reccomended to avoid weekends 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 take an immediate right to the
public access downstream river left of the bridge. For the take-out return to Hwy 285 and head
downstream. 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 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 onto County Hwy 191 and follow it to the Stone Bridge public access. The river access is
controlled by the State Parks system and requires a day-use fee is required. Considering the
massive number of users State Parks collects a lot of money here and the rangers are notorious
for being very aggressive in making sure you pay the fee.
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 kewl runs of Colorado.
Lat/longitude coords 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).
StreamTeam Status: Not Verified
Last Updated: 2009-07-27 04:22:53
