Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Chadron, NE

Factoid: When I stayed here I learned that the Nebraska National Forest is manmade! It is the largest hand planted forest in the US. it felt like a green oasis in the “desert" of Western Nebraska!

I spent 3 days hiking in this Forest and enjoyed every minute on each trail. This area has such differing geography. I’d begin the hike in the Forest, climb up to the ridge and catch views all the way into the vast, flat Buffalo National Grasslands area. 

My home base was in Chadron State Park where I camped. The park itself has 6 miles of hiking trails which connect with several other trails in the Nebraska National Forest. The video is a section of the Black Hills Overlook Trail in the National Forest. A definite must! There was evidence of old wildfires on the western slopes, but otherwise the lodgepole pine trees were beautiful. Steamboat Butte Trail is another good hike.

Chadron State Park is located in the Nebraska National Forest off Hwy 385 south of the town of Chadron which has a Walmart for supplies.The park has pretty much everything: a fishing pond, A trading post for basic camp supplies and some food, swimming pool, seasonal horseback trail rides, archery range, tennis court, disc golf, sand volleyball, horseshoe pits, softball field, playground, AC/heated cabins, group camping with a group lodge,  and campsites with 30 amp HU, no water so fill up at the bathrooms and there’s a dump station on site. 

The site I was in was level, but there was no shade. Shade trees are sparse in the area where I was camped. It was quiet and the stars were great at night, and made for a good home base from which to hike in the Nebraska National Forest.

We were told through an email from the campground(CG) that there was road construction in town with length restrictions. Between the CG instructions and looking at Google Maps, we found an easy route around the construction and arrived with no issues. Check-in was quick and easy. There’s a$3.50 CG fee along with tax. This is a small CG so finding pull-through site 5 with FHUs was not an issue. There was however a tree on our door side that was a potential problem for our slide-out, but the camp host came by and made a suggestion to place our 39’ 5th wheel at the back of the site so slides etc. did not get involved with the tree. The site was plenty long enough for our RV and F450. The water and electric are towards the back and there are two sewer connections, one in the middle and the other at the back that’s handy. Currently, there is no WiFi or cable television. There are essentially no OTA channels but we had a clear shot of the southern sky for satellite. We got 2 bars each on Verizon and T-Mobile. The sites here are very close together. The back-ins do provide a little more site spacing but in the big scheme of things not enough to make a difference. There is no formal dog park but plenty of areas to walk your dog to include an off-leash area on the other side of the small lake. You can also fish(catch& release) in the lake if you purchase a CG license. There’s a flock of wild turkeys that wander around the campground plus mule deer here and there.

We're in the midst of a week in our 26' travel trailer along this beautiful 1.5 mile-long dirt Forest Service road 714-A, directly above Chadron State Park. We're guessing that most folks who stay in the State Park campground below are unaware that dispersed camping is indeed permitted within 300 feet of the center line of this road, for even though the popular State Park campground remains closed for another day due to a delayed COVID-19 opening, and is booked solid thereafter, there's absolutely no one else camping up here!

You actually have to drive through the State Park to access FR-714-A, and the park does not lock their gate overnight so access remains unrestricted. The road is in excellent shape and negotiable by any trailer or motorhome, but is only a single lane wide. We're 700 feet of elevation above the plains below, with stunning views stretching off to the horizon. Much of this area has burned in the past, but the area where we're camping is lush and grassy with some stately pines around. This isn't the Nebraska that you know!

Cell service on Verizon is a solid 3+ bars - 54ms ping, 13.6 Mbps down, 3.5 Mbps up. The Verizon tower is visible about 5 miles to the south of our campsite.

There are numerous hiking trails that depart from either end of FR-714-A, including some in the State Park. Fresh water, an RV dump and a camp store are all located within the park, along with an archery range, sledding hill, fishing pond, playgrounds, picnic areas and more.

One star is deducted only because:

• There are only a couple of sites that would work with a vehicle, for there's a well-hidden drainage ditch dug on each side of the road; and
• There's a bit of daytime traffic due to people accessing the hiking trailhead at the end of the road. Vehicles are forced to camp right along the road, as any side spurs visible on satellite imagery have been marked "No motor vehicles" by the Forest Service. For tent campers, though, it's a short walk right to the rim of Pine Ridge for even more spectacular views.

The phone number provided is for the Nebraska National Forest Pine Hill Ranger District in Chadron, in whose jurisdiction this road resides.

I rated this high, because of the activities, wilderness, and beauty around Crawford and the food and the availability of the campground when all else is closed, made it worth it.  Also, you can use the Dairy Sweety's rest room, WiFi and the close proximity to the highway, and a convenient store all must count for something.  But as a campsite itself, it has hookups and is affordable, otherwise it is a parking area behind a Cafe.

Crawford has so much going for it.  We went to camp and catch trout.  Unfortunately, due to COVID and wet weather, even grassland boondocking was forbidden.  A local pointed us to the dairy sweet.  Behind the Dairy sweet she has 4 hookups and room for about 6 campers.  We set up late and just got food there- WOW!

This is one of those places that aren't anything to look at but put amazing food on your plate!  The beef is locally raised.  The Ruben I had had thick slabs of corned beef they process themselves.  The BBQ I had on my last day could have fed a small village.

While their visit Fort Rob, but don't miss Sowbelly Canyon, Toadstool SP, and the Museum of the Fir Trader in Neighboring Chadron. AND if you can, enter Crawford from the South, you will be glad you did.

One of my favorite towns in Nebraska is Harrison.  It is the largest town in Sioux County which is itself larger than the state of Delaware.  Do you want to guess the second largest town in Sioux?  There is no other town in Sioux County!  That is how remote this area is…enjoy.