Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Sterling, CO

It’s a wildlife refuge so it’s a little different to stay than say North Sterling Reservoir. For now anyways...

This is the perfect place to go to stay close to our home and not a long road home. You are able to schedule time with friends and head down and save your camping spot a day or two in advance.

Pets and fires are allowed. Just keep them on a chain and put them out!

They recently restricted up by the water camping which is awesome for parties that have lots of kids! They aren’t running into traffic unknowingly!

There is practically no beach but if you know that going into it, it’s fine!! You pick your passions!!

Full of dirt and nasty bugs owners are not good. They run over cats and kill dogs seen it happen. Old man jimmy doesn’t care about anything but drinking beer and killing animals. 600$ plus to stay there a month without hookups. It’s full of sand. Don’t stay here.

Well maintained grounds, restrooms and showers are clean and easy to access. Unfortunately there are trees but none are mature enough to provide adequate shading. Gas and convenience , shopping, and food located close by. Cabela's Sydney store is across the parking lot with plenty of things to browse for. Easy on and off I-80 access for RVs, vans, and tent campers with a nice playground for the kids and running room for your pets. Easy access horse Corral 🐎 for the equestrian motivated individuals. Overall when the trees mature to provide shade this will be a 10 for passing through and short stay campers. There aren't any sewage hookups but it does have a black and Grey water dump. Electrical rv hookups are in each spot and there's plenty of green grace to go around.

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.

North Sterling State Park is completely open and the reservoir is full and the fish are jumping. Inlet Grove campground has lots of water spigots throughout the campground (every four or five sites) and a dump station with water at the entrance. Camp host has firewood and is available every day. If you also boat, check with PJ’s Marina to rent a covered slip in their little marina for $15 a night. They have live bait and Jim is super friendly and knowledgeable about the reservoir. Best sites waterfront IMHO are 117, 119, and 121 and 123. If you fish, you can do it right from your campsite in a few of these (I’m dreaming of a lake-to-Blackstone in 15 minutes kind of dinner...). This campground is well laid out so you don’t feel like you are right on top of your neighbors. Sites are decently level and the dirt doesn’t get muddy in the rain, must have a lot of sand Innit? Pictures from the camper door in site 119. Water spigot within long hose reach at the campsite across from us.

We stayed May 5-7, 2021. We travel in a small camper, and our dogs. Place was very quiet and mostly empty. Bugs were mostly not a problem this time of year. We did find a few ticks.

There are bathrooms with plumbing and vault toilets. All of the leantos are set up so there is no view of the lake. My dog kept getting sanburs in her paws because they were everywhere. This is a one night place. $36 to camp

I was pummled by the wind when it was fron the north and south. The water is not individual hook up it is shared with the campsites around you.

At 8a the ranger was banging in my door to explain the water situatuon since I had hooked directly up to it. There were no other campers at the site but she felt it critical that I unhook my hose. The ranger from the previous day and campsite host never seemed to care.

Basic “at large” camping here with vault toilets and dumpsters provided but NO POTABLE WATER. Suitable sites for tenting, van and RV parking lie along the verge of the reservoir high water line. Generally a quiet camping area but big RVs translate to loud generators that run all night when it’s warm and the A/C units are running. Birding is good here most of the year even during goose season which opens the first Saturday in October (Herons, grebes, white pelicans, ducks and peeps). It’s possible to SUP or kayak here, even as late as October with easy launching near the dam; late season creates a wide sand flat on the southwest end of the reservoir that is pleasant to let the dogs romp on

We were here in mid April and there was one other RV there. The campground allows views in all directions, that seem to go on for a hundred miles. Located in northeast Colorado, it is a nice “stop-off” for the road-weary traveller. Water, showers, flush toilets and power hook-ups are provided.

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.

This is a very convenient place to stop while road tripping east west across Colorado off of the I-76 Highway. Looks a lot like most of the campsites are for RVs and most of those places are occupied during the summer. There wasn't much available in terms of tent sites, nor does this place really cater to the tent camper. Tent sites I did see were not very level were very small. They did have a picnic table and maybe a barbecue pit but they were pretty unkempt and no fire pits at sites I saw. It is pretty great that they have a pool and hot tub on site, but it has not been maintained and was closed for what looks like a while because I saw a lit of debris build up in the hot tub. Their bathrooms are open and available, and are an upgrade from a porta potty, but they are nothing special. There is a dump station with non-potable water available and also sites that were full electric hookups. Even though I tend to sleep in my roof top camper, I usually can book tent sites with that arrangement. This place was very cheap and allowed me to do so, but next time I need to road trip I'll look for a site with a few more working and available accommodations like a fire pit.

Bathrooms were large and clean. Plenty of hot water in the morning. Has a laundry room. Friendly staff and neighbors. Had many many painful plant spurs imbedded on the tent floor and coming through. There was a wasp nest in the electrical outlet as well. We were tired and just wanted to sleep. No other camp was available so we delt with the spurs.

The correct website for the camp is Buffalobillsrvparks.com

Stayed one night, I would not stay again. Grateful we had a place to hook up and rest but this park is extremely neglected and run down.

Great place to stop!

This was my first ever real stop in an tv park. Rustic but friendly, and easy to check in over the internet. My spur of the moment decision worked out for the best and I was able to run the furnace and enjoy a hot shower!

Nice folks. Ok for a nights stay with full hookups. Sites are close together. Also a MH park.

We stopped here for the night on our way to the Mountains. (Tent Camping!) The manager was very friendly. Reserving was easy, it is place quiet and open. There’s a small play area for kids.

For an overnight stay this suited its purpose just fine.  Clean restrooms and sites. Treeless campsites with a shelter for sun and wind protection. But in October, the weather was accommodating.   Would definitely go here again for an overnighted on my way to the Rockies from the east on 80.

No shade other than picnic shelter. A bit windy. Beautiful views, sites spaced out well. Vault toilet not in great shape but main restroom/shower house clean.

We stopped overnight and loved the pull-through sites of the inlet grove sites. Last night we awoke to a chorus of howling coyotes.

I would stick to the sites furthest from the water because the geese were very loud and honk non-stop.

Very tidy campground. No running water in the bathrooms but lots of spigots around the grounds.

I think our site was the best (140) because we didn’t face any other site, were at the end, and it felt private. The other sites weren’t too private.

The dump station was a dream with potable water at the end of the islands and totally separate from the sewage area.