This area is located east of the Arkansas River between Johnson Village and Cotopaxi. A herd of Rocky Mountain bighorns estimated to be around 80 bighorns can be found in the San Isabel National Forest.

Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area has thousands of visitors every spring, summer and fall, but there are less visitors about a mile east of the river. Invest time in glassing during the summer to locate a couple of different bands of rams in different areas of the unit. This strategy will give you flexibility if the weather turns hot or cold, extremely dry or wet.

The Browns Canyon is a rugged cliff area along the Arkansas River. Badger Creek, Sand Gulch and Aspen Ridge all have hills, draws, dry gulches and open ranges. The terrain from Salida to Cotopaxi on the north side of the river is made up of flats, rimrock, hills and gulches. Bald Mountain and Kaufmann Ridge are steep timbered slopes.

Aspen and ponderosa pine are seen on elevations above 8,500 feet. Most of the lower elevations along Arkansas River are covered with pinyon/juniper with some areas of ponderosa pines. Sagebrush, oak brush and mountain mahogany cover the flats up into the foothills and gulches. Cottonwood and willows line creek bottoms.

Hecla Junction, Ruby Mountain, Pointe Barr, Rincon and Vallie Bridge are all AHRA campgrounds. The Arkansas River communities of Buena Vista and Salida offer a variety of motels, cafes,restaurants, medical care facilities, a regional airport and 24/7 gas and diesel fuel. Motels in Salida include Silver Ridge, Salida Inn and Mountain Motel. Buena Vista has many places to stay including Best Western, Pinon Court Cabins and Mountain Inn B&B.

The San Isabel National Forest joins with BLM lands and the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area to offer thousands of acres of public land. From the Kaufman Ridge to Aspen Ridge a number of county and forest service roads head south of U.S. 285 & 24. County Roads like Bald Mountain Gulch, 187, Little Cottonwood Creek and Aspen Ridge lead towards Bald Mountain, Castle Rock Gulch and Aspen Ridge. Bighorns can be found in Badger Creek off of U.S. Highway 50.