Lake Deweese state wildlife area

This is posted as a free dispersed camping area. However I think a fishing license or other wildlife passes are required. Plenty of areas to choose from. We decided on a non wooded area on the north side of the lake for a great view of the mountain range. The views of the aspens turning were spectacular.

Views were nice and plenty of spots but the spots are pretty close to each other and there was a decent amount of trash left behind. We picked up as much as we could. The reservoir is nice but signs saying no swimming due to algae.

This is a great dispersed camping spot with outhouses around the lake for convenience, well kept and clean! DO NOT let kids or dogs in water, as there is a level red warning for toxic algae!!

The directions from this app didn’t exactly take me to the campsites. The campsites are along Lake Deweese Rd at the NE end of the reservoir. There are several sites all in very close proximity. There is virtually no privacy from neighbors but it worked from me for a night. It looked like some campers may be permanently occupying the sites.

We stayed at a campsite here on 5/14/2021. We felt that we weren’t too close too neighbors and could stay up as late as we wanted without worrying we were keeping people awake nearby. Our campsite had trash, bb bullets, and tons of broken glass everywhere from some idiots who didn’t clean up after themselves. While it was a beautiful site, we had some concerns about the dog and our tires with the nails and glass. The reservoir is really beautiful, but again there was broken glass EVERYWHERE to the point that we couldn’t wade in the water or hang near the edge without shoes. If the glass problem (which seemed to be prevalent everywhere) was resolved we would definitely return.

There were stone fire pits (so these can’t be used when there are stage 1 fire bans), vault toilets, and while there was a stone patio table, no chairs so wouldn’t call it a “picnic table.”

Have been here many times. love it. Tons on camping with varied scenery around the lake

Clean, beautiful site by the lake. Summer nights during the new moon is a great time to visit. You can see the Milky Way. Nice spots for fly fishing and hiking.

Westcliffe is right up the road, a small absolutely adorable mountain town.

It’s a must see :)

This is dispersed camping. There are pit toilets but no other services or amenities. Colorado State wild life areas (SWA) require a permit that’s ~$40 a year, or if you have a year fishing or hunting lisence you camp for free. The road around the lake is a little rough but we got out 25’ travel trailer back here no problem.