Best Dispersed Camping near Sterling, CO

The camping spots along Pawnee Butte Trailhead Road are absolutely perfect. They have wonderful views of the grasslands and the buttes. The biggest downside is there are a lot of giant windmills, oil pumps, and fracking operations in the area. Very difficult to ignore them as no matter where you look you’ll see something along the horizon.

In the spot I camped in, I had two bars of Verizon LTE service. But when I drove a half mile down to the trail head I only had 3G. So reception will be spotty.

There are no hook ups of any kind, anywhere. This is truly dispersed camping. The dirt road leading into the area was in fair condition. There were a couple of spots with very deep ruts that made pulling my 22 foot travel trailer slightly challenging. I can’t imagine anybody bringing something like 28 feet or greater into the area.

There were a ton of cows in the area, even walking right up into our campsite. Totally didn’t bother us though, in fact it was kind of fun. They were completely gentle and nonthreatening.

There is minimal hiking in the area. There was one trail that led into the buttes. But between May 1 and June 30 you cannot continue into the buttes. It’s closed to preserve wildlife.

GPS of spot I was in: 40.812312, -103.999513

If I go back, I’ll try a different area.

We were coming from Nebraska and heading West in a Ford F-150 pick up truck pulling a 22 foot travel trailer. We stopped in Sterling, CO to fill up gas. If you are taking road 14, just know that it is at least 60 miles before the next gas station, so plan accordingly. We left Sterling heading west on highway 14, until we got to county road 129 where the pavement ends and we headed north into the grasslands. We simply followed the Google maps directions to get all the way to the Pawnee Buttes Trailhead parking lot from there! It was pretty easy, honestly! The roads are all gravel, so just take your time. They were pretty well maintained, due to the industry traffic that goes through there. We came across a couple of eighteen wheelers. The gravel was pretty compacted and seemed pretty safe. There are several areas to pull off, and if you are pulling a trailer, or you have a big rig, there is a loop parking lot at the Pawnee Buttes Trailhead that you can turn around in if you need to. The picture of me and the dog is standing on County Road 110 just before you get to the parking lot for the trail head. Our camping spot was one of many flat areas off of road 110 that you can pull off on, as long as it is 300 feet or less from the edge of the road. Our spot was before you get to the trail head, but if you pass the parking lot and keep going up the hill on Pawnee Buttes Trailhead Road, there are tons more spots to camp up on the ridge about a quarter mile or so. There are a lot of cows, but they are shy, curious animals. We had our pit bull with us, and we didn’t feel threatened. Just make sure that if you go through any gates while wandering the grasslands, you shut them behind you. There are no garbage facilities, so please LEAVE NO TRACE! There are some vault toilets in the parking lot.

Multiple dispersed campsites approaching the Pawnee Buttes trailhead from the west and southwest. I camped (rooftop tent) on the bluff overlooking the trailhead parking lot, approached from the south. Chilly at night (10 degrees) but no wind.

Spectacular view of the Pawnee Buttes to the east. Perfect spot to catch sunrise and sunset. This area is also a “dark site,” so on clear, moonless nights the stars / Milky Way are phenomenal.

During winter snow often drifts onto the roads. If snowy, 4-wheel drive / high clearance helpful for accessing some of the dispersed sites.

Trailhead restrooms are open year-round.

Consistent 3 bars 5G (AT&T). 200 Mbps down / 16 Mbps up.

It's a decent camp spot. We went on memorial weekend and we were able to find a spot. His Subaru outback made it and we saw sedans get up there just fine.

Cows do use the area and may wander into your site. Cactus are a thing and it can get really windy. Our tent was staked down and we angled it so the side wasn't collapsing on us. Cooking during the wind was nearly impossible but doable with some engineering.

Neighbors were quiet and the terrain made it so that we didn't see who camped in the next spots nearest us.

It's decent if you want to get away for a day or two, wander around at your leisure, and read.

Pit toilet available at the Buttes trailhead.

Verizon service is spotty but I was still able to use maps.

We came at the tail end of January to test out our new Airstream. It was very nice and secluded but REALLY windy. Not drop dead gorgeous but a great scene to stay at for a day or two. Wind was fine in the trailer but would be awful to tent camp this time of year. View is very nice and it’s really quiet. We were the only ones that we could see here. Cell service was spotty but still was pretty good. Spaces were clearly visible from the road and were very spacious to park. Roads were a bit bumpy coming in but definitely easy to get through. Would love to come back here in the summer. Picnic area/trailhead looked to be very well maintained.

Took advantage of this past warmer weekend to camp here. It’s about 2 hours from Denver. There were a couple spots on the road you might want higher clearance, but mostly smooth and all easily passable in a stock Outback.

Plenty of dispersed sites; we camped on an overlook a quarter mile or so from the Pawnee Buttes trailhead which had beautiful, clear views of the sunrise and sunset. We only saw one other site in use and some folks camped at the trailhead parking lot, but neither were visible from our site. The night sky is beautiful and full of stars, though not completely dark since we could see lights from nearby private lands.

The only negative was wind. It was very windy, especially at night (the wind rocked the car most of the night). It wasn’t an issue for us sleeping in the car, but I wouldn’t tent camp. Pawnee Buttes Trail was a great way to start the day the next morning and it was nice to have use of the bathrooms.

Overall a beautiful site, plenty of solitude (at least in the winter) and nice change of pace from the mountains. I would return.

Loved this spot! Stopped on my way east through NE Colorado for the night and watched the sun set over the buttes. Absolutely lovely. Can see the windmills in the distance but I don’t mind that. Found a spot tucked in right off the road. Easy camping and a lovely spot for a night or two.

It’s a bit of a drive out here over some iffy gravel and dirt roads. Was worried about bringing my 25 foot Jayco out here as it’s a standard unit. Pulled it with a one ton Ford 2 wheel van.. some steep inclines in, but did just fine.. very peaceful and quiet. Have heard the sky watching is great, but so far have had clouds and storms. I have a spot on top of a hill facing the buttes. Love it.. cows in the distance and saw pronghorns on the way in. No facilities here, only have seen the one outhouse here by the parking lot to the trails. Long way to anything including gas, so fill up and bring your own water.. even thru the tornado warnings, I’ve enjoyed my stay. Bugs are minimal probably due to the ever present wind. My AT-T service was better than in Longmont at 3 bars. No problem there. 👍

Bathrooms and picnic tables available, not too crowded. Great sunsets and sunrises.

This is an unexpected gem very close to our house where you can't see a tree for miles. It's peaceful and not crowded. Be sure to check the forecast because it can get very windy at times.

Very remote area, no water, power, tables but absolutely stunning views. I would advise using a motor vehicle usage map to get out to the trail. I used one and had no problem. Our camping neighbor’s said they had a hard time finding the spot with just google maps. Whoever camped before us left some trash but we took it with us when we left. Great night sky’s and good trails all around for hiking. Planning to go back!

great distance from denver/fort collins if you wanna get away for a couple nights. decent trail and plenty of spots within walking distance of a bathroom. you can see the windmills but i don’t mind!

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This place is definitely off the beaten path and so worth it! I managed to get a spot on a cliff overlooking the picnic, bathroom, and trail head area with a great view of the buttes. I could see other campers, which made me feel a bit more comfortable as I was alone, so if anything happened, there were several people within earshot, but far enough away to be alone with nature. Met a fellow traveler as well, and we enjoyed the trail together with our pups. Will definitely come back and stay more than one night to explore the trail more.

Lots of nice sites with fire pits. There are pit toilets at the trailhead as well. Pretty good Verizon service at most spots. My only complaint is that when I was there it was super windy!

I showed up Monday evening. There were two cars in the parking lot, but there were two groups of people coming down the trail also, so by the time I had all my stuff situated to start hiking, I was the only one there. I found an awesome spot inside a ravine (it was very dry so I wasn’t worried about flash floods (still not smart) so wouldn’t do so in the winter) where I was visited by a badger, a porcupine, some antelope and many birds. I also found Mouse Bones so I’m sure there are mice. BUTTE-iful sunset, BUTTE-iful stars, BUTTE-iful sunrise, again everyone left by the time my camp was set up so I was all alone. 10/10 would recommend to campers, bikers, hikers, photographers, bird watchers, and just anyone who loves nature!!!!!🤘🏽

Nice views, but a lot of cactus.

Easy drive to the campground area even towing a trailer. A bit dusty but at the end you can find nice grassy area (after all, it is a National Grasslands). Very windy place (hence the windmills in far distance) but we were lucky to get some breaks in between and set up the trailer to shield us against the wind. Stayed couple of nights and did the hikes to both of the “buttes”. From the second one you can get nice areal views if you climb a bit. It took us 3h in a very easy pace, lots of photo and views stops. It can probably be done in and 1h to 1.30h.

Very windy area but nice enough for a quick stop driving though.

You have to drive for several miles on some bumpy roads, but my Ford transit handled it fine. There are a couple spots with fire rings before the main trailhead, and then many options if you keep driving. Really beautiful but verrrry windy. My van rocked me to sleep every night. Overall peaceful and pretty. Also there was an adorably stubborn cow blocking the road on my way out. Really added to the ambiance :-)