Looking for the best Keenesburg dispersed camping? Find the best information on dispersed campgrounds near Keenesburg, including photos, reviews, and tips. Each dispersed site offers quick access to one or more of Keenesburg's most popular destinations.
NOTE: Campers who build any fires face fines up to $5,000 and/or up to six months imprisonment for open fire violations.
Leave No Trace must be observed, as in any outdoor space.
In any season this area is prone to very strong dry winds that can pick up a hot coal from a campfire that has lain dormant for as much as three days and ignite dry vegetation, causing horrific devastation. People from outside Colorado may not understand how tinder dry this area can be. 197 homes in this area have been destroyed by wildfires. All of these fires were started by humans.
Local residents overlook this area and if they see visible flame or smoke they will call the Boulder County sheriff. Any campers who require a campfire are recommended to disperse camp near Sugarloaf Mountain where fires are permitted.
Dispersed camping is prohibited within ¼ mile of either side of South St. Vrain Creek beginning at the Ceran St. Vrain trailhead and ending ¼ mile from the intersection of South St. Vrain Creek and National Forest System Road 252.1. MAP: https://trails.colorado.gov/trailheads/ceran-2341
The easy Ceran Saint Vrain Trail follows the South Saint Vrain Creek downstream for 1.9 miles. The trail ends at National Forest System Road 252, a rough four-wheel drive road. This road climbs 0.5 miles northwest to a four-way intersection from which it is a steep half-mile to the left up to Miller Rock. Miller Rock is a scenic high-point that offers 360-degree views.
Motorized vehicles prohibited. Dispersed camping is allowed at sites that are least 200 feet away from the trailhead, trail and creek. Campfires are permissible unless seasonal restrictions are in effect (contact district office). Fishing and hunting are allowed in accordance with regulations established by the Colorado Parks & Wildlife.
$1 / night
Free camping (dispersed) is allowed on most national forest lands except in highly developed areas - such as trailheads, campgrounds and picnic sites - and in some of our most visited places. Be sure to check for regulations in advance and look for signs in the area to indicate if camping is allowed.
Some areas allow camping in designated sites only.
Know Before You Go
Check the weather and road closures before heading up. Follow Leave No Trace principles. There are no facilities or trash receptacles. Pack out what you pack in. Make sure camping is allowed. Many lands within the national forest boundary are private or otherwise owned. Check that you’re on National Forest lands: maps. Don't stay too long. Camping is limited to 14 days.within any continuous 30-day period. at any location within the same 20-mile radius. see Order Plan on building a campfire? Campfire restrictions can occur any time of year. Check for fire restrictions and if you build a campfire, know how to extinguish it.
Not easily accessible by many vehicles - clearance and AWD is recommended.
Dispersed camping is also allowed on the Pawnee National Grassland, year-round. This provides an alternative to campground camping for those who want to experience the grassland the way people did in the past. No fee required. A Motor Vehicle Use Map will help you determine if you are on private or public land.
Scout
Drove more than 35 - 45 mins from boulder expecting a decent dispersed camping area like normal, but don’t let this fool you!! It is all residential and private land! I honestly don’t know of any dispersed camping near the city of boulder and so far this app is deceiving. Read the reviews before you head out!
TravelerIt was a little hard to find however, once we found it we didn’t want to leave. Plenty of dispersed camping, hiking and climbing.
RangerOnly knocking this site a star for busyness and difficulty parking. However, proximity to Boulder is a huge plus if you are looking for a quick and easy get away. Be warned that though it is relatively close to town, weekends and probably in the peak of summer season, parking may be completely full. This is also a huge spot for recreation like climbing and fishing, so almost everyone we saw were there just for the afternoon and we had the dispersed camping areas almost all to ourself. There are plenty of flat spots to set up, close to the parking area of a bit of a trek through the woods. Views of the canyon are spectacular.
ScoutThis camping spot is about a 30 minute drive from Central Boulder. I’m seeing a lot of reviews about the spot saying its not an actual campsite, but I had no trouble finding the campsites. I parked in the Dream canyon parking lot and followed the trail by the large sign near the entrance. While this spot is by some residential land, if you go down the trail enough it’s not a problem. 
Scout
This is one of my boyfriend and I’s favorite places to camp. You have to park in the lot and then walk down the hiking trail to get to the camping spots. The camp spots are pretty spread apart. They are set up along the river with fire pits and plenty of trees around. The only thing that im not to fond of is the first few camping spots on the trail or so close to the trail that in the eary morning when hikers start coming in it can get pretty loud and had woke me up. Other then that I love it here!
TravelerI absolutely love this campground! This camping is spread along a hiking trail that follows the St. Vrain river. in order to get to the camp spots you have to park in the parking lot and then walk over a bridge and about a .25 mile down the trail until you hit the first camping spot. There are about 10-12 tent spots here. They are spread out pretty well to where there is a good amount of privacy between camps but in the morning the hikers start to come through. Tons of trees here andonhe river is absolutely breath taking.
TravelerThis campground is awesome if you're not trying to go to far. I went on Memorial Day weekend so there were a lot of people so I'm not sure how crowded it would normally be. Eventhough there were a lot of people, you feel pretty isolated in your campsite and would see hardly anyone at night. We camped on a pseudo island between the two streams and the running water helped drown out any noise too.
ScoutA short hike downhill to many dispersed campsites along the creek. Beautiful and easy! A must-see.
Guide
Great camping about 31 dispersed spots most with tables and a fire ring decent trout fishing a great kayaking feels remote without being so remote. Would recommend higher clearance and confident driving skills to get further towards the peninsula would not bring camper past site 10 gets a bit more sketchy driving. No Verizon service very spotty T-Mobile rangers are pretty chill.
ScoutHonestly, beautiful day for camping. Got really windy at night. Definitely need a high clearance vehicle. I saw a low clearance vehicle at site 6 & no idea how they got there.. they had to have gotten scraped up. Going up past site 6 is a steep hill where 4x4 is highly recommended. We ended up turning around there but probably could have made it if I picked a good line. Campsites looked clean and maintained. Will be back to try getting past campsite 6 again :)
ScoutMust pack in to camp sites from parking area. Good trails and lots of hiking. Great views.
TravelerWe camped a very short walk from the parking lot. Amazing camp site with not many people around.
TravelerThe campsites were not accessible by car. Nice area though, nice and private. We had to turn around to find somewhere else, since we’re traveling with a van.
ScoutRolled in around 5 on a Friday and got a great little spot. Clean campsites and there were a number open Saturday morning when we drove to the end of the trail. Drove around the reservoir to kayak from the north end Saturday morning.
TravelerThere is a car park just south of the location marker on the dyrt, there are some campsites very close to this, one of which we used. They are still fairly private but the best are likely deeper down into the canyon. We were able to access this in a Toyota Corolla although there was a fairly deep "ditch" to cross when entering the car park.
TravelerGood removed campsites. Once past site 6 I highly recommend suv or truck. Getting up to site 6 is possible in a sedan if you’re careful. I stopped at site 8 without too much trouble in my 06 Honda crv with AWD just need go take it slow and pick a good line. With your tires. Only complaint was we’re right over one of the departure routes of Denver international so you I’ll hear them on their initial climb out. If you like planes no issue and it is not super loud but it’s there. Got down to the 30’s overnight. No snow yet but in the forecast.
TravelerWe went here with our 2 dogs for a quick overnighter-only about 45 minutes outside of Boulder. It was a Sunday morning and the lot was almost full when we got there around 9am. We packed it in and walked the whole trail looking for the best spot and ended up backtracking about half way to a site we saw across the St. Vrain. We crossed the creek by foot and set up right under what we later learned was a mountain lions apartment. We were far enough away from the trail that we were not bothered by day hikers. The stars were AMAZING and the sky was perfectly clear. Lots of firewood around-we brought our hand saw and cut enough feld wood to last until around 4am. We were about to go to bed around 11pm when our dogs started barking. My wife went to quiet them down and when I shined my head lamp toward the tent I saw a mountain lion perched above where we were camping on some rocks about 30 feet away. We yelled and made a lot of racket but it didn’t phase the lion. We threw rocks at it (something we had laughed at when we read about what to do in the event of an encounter) and that got it to slowly walk off into the night. About an hour later it came back and our dogs alerted us again. This time it was closer. We did the same thing-made a lot of noise and threw rocks at it until it went away. We stayed up making noise and being scared until our wood ran out and then passed out in our tent for a few hours until the sun came up. It was a scary experience but the next time we camp here we will stay closer to where everyone else stays at the beginning of the trail. When we got back to our car there was a big dusty bear paw print on our passenger side door. Colorado nature folks!
ScoutClosed summer of 2024 due to restoration. Google maps took me the back route to this which has road closures. Went through the main entrance to find more closures.
ScoutPlease text 603 404 8514 if you find a phone at site 15 !
Great spacious spot with picnic table and walkable to the reservoir
ScoutThere is no discernible reason that the road is closed 2 miles before where this app says the site is. Internet search says it should be open til middle of November unless there is some weather or other issue. Lovely weather, locked gate.
ScoutOverall a very fun spot if you have a vehicle with some ground clearance to get to the nice sites by the reservoir. My Peak Edition Atlas handled it well. Only complaint is the damn project at Gross reservoir is a 24 hour site and the lights are ridiculously bright.
ScoutDuring our three-day stay, we were blown away by the serene and safe surroundings. It was like being in a dream, immersed in tranquility and peace.
TravelerNot sure if the directions led me to the wrong spot but plugging this into any nav app just led me to a very narrow pull off on the side of the road, too close to passing cars for me to really consider. Soo just beware if you’re counting on it after a long drive.
ScoutLike the last user the directions took me to a very small roadside pull off. There were plenty of pull offs on this and other roads surrounding that were bigger but on quite a slant. Checkout magnolia rd. Really neat pull up a way up that over looks the city, is flat and plenty of room for several vehicles even a larger RV/Van/Camper.
ScoutSafe for car camping. Make sure you follow the stay on road signs.
ScoutSite is beautiful
GuideNo true “sites”. Good spot to spend the night if you’re traveling through. Good views and lots of hiking spots.
Discover the beauty of dispersed camping near Keenesburg, Colorado, where nature lovers can find serene spots away from the hustle and bustle. With a variety of locations offering unique experiences, this area is perfect for those looking to immerse themselves in the great outdoors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Keenesburg, CO?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Keenesburg, CO is Dream Canyon Campsites - Dispersed Camping with a 3.8-star rating from 19 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Keenesburg, CO?
TheDyrt.com has all 6 dispersed camping locations near Keenesburg, CO, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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