San Isabel National Forest
Little Brown's Creek Trail #1430

This foot and horseback only trail is rated as difficult for its entire 7 mile distance. Most traffic is in the summer and early fall.

Elevations:

• Trail beginning: 8,800'
• High Point: 12,400'
• Trail ending: 12,400'

Access: Between Buena Vista and Poncha Springs on US 285, take County Road 270 west to a stop sign at a 4-way intersection. Continue west on County Road 272 (just go straight ahead at the stop sign) for another 2 miles to a cattle guard marking the National Forest Boundary. Continue another 2 miles to another intersection where CR 272 turns left. Follow it left and go south for 1.5 miles to the Browns Creek Trailhead. Follow Browns Creek Trail for 1.5 miles to the junction with the Colorado Trail, then go north on the Colorado Trail for 1/2 mile to the clearly marked junction with Little Brown's Creek Trail.

Notes: This trail follows Little Brown's Creek up through the valley between Mt. White (to the south) and Mt. Antero (to the north). It's a beautiful but sometimes steep trail. The creek serves up some pretty good brookie fishing, and the views are great, too. If you go to the end, you'll be above timberline. This is an area to watch out for thunderstorms: a standing human above timberline makes an excellent lightning rod.

USGS Maps: Mt. Antero