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The campground offers 46 single-family sites that will accommodate tents, trailers or RVs. Campsites #1 through #20 are first-come, first-served. Each site is equipped with a picnic table and campfire ring with grill. There is a maximum of eight people per site. Vault toilets, drinking water, and trash collection are provided throughout the campground. Firewood is for sale in campground. The road through the campground is gravel/dirt.
A playground suitable for small children is located within the campground.
Kelly Dahl Campground is located adjacent to the Peak-to-Peak Scenic Byway, near the historic mining towns of Nederland, Rollinsville, Central City and Black Hawk.
Although no formal trails exist in the campground, a few closed roads offer campers the opportunity to explore the surrounding area. West Magnolia and East Portal Trailheads offer trails within a short drive. The Rollins Pass Road (Moffat Road) and other off-road routes can be found in the vicinity.
The lakes across the highway are on private property and access is prohibited.
The campground is situated among ponderosa pines, on a gentle slope, at an approximate elevation of 8,600 feet.
Due to the mountain pine beetle infestation and consequent hazardous tree removal, the campground offers little to no shade.
For facility specific information, please call (801) 226-3564.
The town of Nederland, which is four miles north of the campground, offers grocery and hardware stores, restaurants, gas, a post office, bank and Barker Reservoir.
From Denver, go north on Interstate 25 to US Highway 36 west to Boulder. Take Colorado Highway 119 (Canyon Boulevard) west for 22 miles to Nederland. Continue south for 4 miles to the campground.
Excellent! The sites are really well spaced-out. Even though it was fully booked over the weekend, we felt very private and secluded. It was very quiet and peaceful at night. Bathrooms are very clean and don't stink (a miracle with pit toilets). Water spigots are never too far away. Nederland is an easy 10 minutes up the road if you forget anything. I love that each pitch has large bear locker, big sturdy picnic table and fire pit with cooking grates.
Even though the NFS website states there's "little to no shade", it's not a barren wasteland or anything like that. Most pitches seemed to have trees for shade, and you still felt like you were among the forest.
Don't show up at 9:30 on a Saturday and expect to get a spot. Pitches 1-20 are FCFS.
Two things to know before you go: firewood isn't as plentiful to gather as we thought it might be. You might be able to gather enough if you're really dedicated and have an axe/saw, but otherwise plan on purchasing. Or maybe there's better on other parts of the campground, I don't know.
Do NOT book pitch 29, as it's almost on top of the playground with zero privacy. All other pitches are generally great (a few are too close to the bathrooms for my taste), but this one is truly awful.
I love this place! They have ample campgrounds for RVs, trailers, and tents as well. The rates are very reasonable and the hiking/ climbing opportunities are bountiful. Be wary of bears, and use the free storage bins for any food that may attract wild animals. There are excellent views of the Rocky Mountains and a large lake on the other side of 119. They have picnic tables and cooking pits at every campsite, and several unisex restrooms. The camp is patrolled, so don't try to "freeload". Registration is required and very simple. There is a drop-box to deposit cash or a check, and the park rangers come by to make sure everything is ok and acceptable on a regular basis. There are ample felled trees that you may chop into firewood, but DO NOT chop down any live / or still standing trees.
This place is sort of a hidden gem because it is centrally located to serve as a base camp while you can conveniently explore a good bit of Colorado. Close to a beautiful little town called Nederland. There is a great playground for kids to enjoy at this campsite. You can take a short hike from there to an abandoned gold mine. They have quite a few first come first serve sites. Some campsites are well shaded, some are not. My daughter and I stayed there July of 2021 and we got along with the camp host Stefan and Tyler. We had dinner with them on our last evening. I can understand how a couple of folks have given Stefan a bad review but I have observed how often Stefan went beyond his way to accommodate guests without complaining.
It's a really beautiful place. We camped here in September 2021. Two adults and two dogs. The campground is set up nicely. There are restrooms and water. It was windy at night, and we woke up to low temperatures and snow. We had a great time . It was our last camping of the year. We have a small camper but stayed warm. There are metal storage containers at the sites. It's well taken care of. The site had enough trees for shade. Many others don't have enough shade; make sure to bring one. We had our dogs on a leash all the time.
