Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Nederland, CO

Getting here is easy, only a few miles away from Nederland and I had cell service (verizon) the entire time. The road is low maintenance and bumpy/rutted in places, but high clearance isn’t NEEDED for all campsites, but it helps. I had no issues in a stock Tacoma except going down towards campsite #1. And a low clearance Audi parked next to me.

My complaint is the campsites can accommodate 2-3 groups. So even tho I was at campsite #7 first at 6am, others showed up and used the fire rings 20-30ft away. But then again, I went camping on Memorial Day weekend and it got crowded. But I have to walk pretty far now to find a private place to pee.

There are a few messy campsites, I pass on 3 because of all the trash. And one of the groups near me is partying - blasting shitty music, parents/kids yelling, dogs off-leash, and up all night types.. But that’s not an issue specific to this campground.

I’ll probably come back on a less busy night/weekend.

West Magnolia was awesome! Not only is this pretty easy to reach, but Peak to Peak highway is great to drive. Just take P to P south from Nederland and turn right on HWY 132… Campsites and trailhead are about 1/2 mile down. 

Hiking/biking trails everywhere. Campgrounds were clean with a few exceptions. 

This is dispersed camping… Most of the sites are tucked away, without view of your neighbors. Fire rings provided, that's it, no amenities. 

We camped at site 15 and 11. Both offered a great experience, but different settings. 

15 is close to the main road (132), but tucked away in the evergreens. Really cool site, fire ring provided (but this area was under a stage 1 while we were there). You can still catch a glimpse of the mountains if you position your camp facing west. Plenty of space… You could get a group with 2-3 trucks setup in there no problem. 

Campsite 11 is one of the best (in our opinion). Nice and wide open. You could also get a group of 3-4 trucks/tents on this site. Facing east you can see mountains, sunsets/rises are incredible. Its a little off the path, so people rarely drove by our camp while we were at 11. 

During the day we hiked around and checked out all of the other campsites, they all looked great and had their own pluses/minuses. We'd like to camp at site 13 in the future. Pictures don't do the views around Magnolia justice. 

We will absolutely be back here down the road.

What a great campground!  This is less than an hour from our house, perfect for a quick night away.  I'm camping for the first time in decades, hoping to give my toddler a love of the outdoors.  Reverends Ridge is perfect for family campers.  In spot 86 (Loop I), we were close enough to the flush toilets (yea!) but far enough away from neighbors.  We were able to explore easily from our site and my daughter had a great time checking out the campsite. The drive-up site was very clean, the tent pads have nice tie-down points and the fire pit and grill gate were fully operational.  We were able to buy wood from the main office. I really appreciated the dishwashing station next to the bathrooms.  The campground is about 20 minutes from Nederland, a nice escape for ice cream and the short rain storm that came in during the afternoon.  

There were tons of families around and it was very quiet by 10 pm.  Not so much the next morning!  If you like to sleep in, I would bring some earplugs, there were lots of early risers.  But I prefer that to loud music and rowdy groups at night.

The selling point of this campground is location. It’s as close to Rocky Mountain National Park as you can get without actually camping on NPS property. You are completely surrounded by the mountains and the views are amazing. There’s a beautiful river flowing nearby. Easy access to Estes Park. I biked into downtown and back easily. Close to a great little market and several restaurants. Sites are very tight with no privacy unless you are along the edges of the park. Nice laundry facilities, mini golf, and a small pond. There’s a small dog park but I’d recommend taking your dog to the city’s dog park about 10 minutes away. It’s worth the drive and your dog can go swimming on a beach.

This is one of my all-time favorite places to hike and camp in Colorado. I have not yet stayed in any of the campgrounds but have backpacked to the top of the American Lakes Trail. Not only is this hike fantasticly beautiful and full of wildlife (tons of moose especially) but there is great dispersed camping along the trails. You simply cannot find more scenic and free camping in Colorado. I would highly recommended camping anywhere in State Forest State Park!

Also, there are quite a few huts, cabins and yurts that can be rented year round in SFSP!