Brown Mountain is situated midway between the towns of Ouray and Silverton, on land managed by Uncompahgre National Forest.

The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names.

[3] According to the Köppen climate classification system, Brown Mountain is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.

[6] Due to its altitude, it receives precipitation all year, as snow in winter and as thunderstorms in summer, with a dry period in late spring.

Hikers can expect afternoon rain, hail, and lightning from the seasonal monsoon in late July and August.