Kelly Dahl Campground

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.

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.

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.

Trailer next to us ran their generator all night. Toilets clean, nice little playground. Many sites difficult to back into. Some folks not attentive to their dogs that came into our site and left a deposit.

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.

Nice campground, so close to the metro area. Very, very clean bathrooms- they actually smelled better inside than out! Sites are nice and well appointed with a picnic table, fire pit, and bear box. You can get water on site and buy firewood.

Beautiful spot! Was quiet, no cell service. Clean bathrooms! Camp host/manager was nice and friendly

Beautiful, well maintained with great variety of sites. Playground for the kiddos. Supper close to The metro area. Loop of first come sites available!

Absolutely wonderful campground. VERY well kept grounds, clean pit bathrooms. We stayed in late August and it was so quiet. The playground was such a nice surprise for our kids. We will definitely be back! Thank you Kelly Dahl for the wonderful stay.

Beautiful camping in the Nederlands! Bathrooms were on site and very clean. No showers but town is 15 minutes away..... or the river. Very quiet when we were there. They were listed as filled but when we got there, there was no one around except 1 moose . Only downside is there is no water available at each site. Thus, no fires, ( grills or small heating) were allowed, and i would be concerned as there is alot of wild vegetation there, although on pictures it shows people with them. It is a little misleading to families who may not have propane. Can't beat the price though very, very reasonable and the huge plus, is the sites are large which is nice. I did not have my vehicle right up aside my tent or near pit feeling closed in. I'd take the ride. It's beautiful. ❤

Clean campgrounds...big spaces and good view will be coming back to this one for sure

Great campground. Some sites have little shade. We were at #34 and it had shade, close to bathrooms, potable water, short walk to playground.

Very clean and well run. Friendly staff that is subbed out to private "Land Company", be forewarned it is $25 a night and they do check.
They have very nice bathroom... *** No Running Water, showers, or electricity. They do have some amenities for RVs as far as dumping waste. There are only 20 sites that are open without reservation. And beautiful backdrop of the Rocky mountains.

Camp grounds were amazing, bathrooms were the cleanest campground bathrooms I have ever seen. The staff was friendly and helpful. We will be back

Stayed there in 1975, just after it opened. I was hitch hiking across the country and decided to explore the Rockies above Boulder. Found this place and stayed a couple days in my tent (before RVs took over). Great group of hippies hanging out. Big fire and music at night, and shared meals.
Went back for a look see in the 1980s. It's been developed a bit more, but still a nice spot.

Great place to camp bathrooms were very clean not far from the Rockys water is available

Great camping area on public land. So much area to hike and explore, we'll certainly be back again.
The elk and mule deer are awesome to see, and we came across a few grouse as well.
Glad to see they're doing some tree thinning, though I wish it was in narrower sections (the elk prefer not to travel more than 50 yards or so from escape cover).
Excited about a public campground so near the front range.

This is a Very nice place. The sites have nice shaded areas. The manager takes Very well care of the Bathrooms. Very clean and don't smell to bad.... They also sell wood on site for camp fires. Love it.... a definite place to book a camping weekend. A shout out to the manager taking part care of the place. U da Man....

Great place to camp...
Suggest wed. Or Thursday arrival...booked on weekends...25.00 a night

Great campground! As others have said, only water available, and not at sites. Easy access for RVs. Nice sites. Clean pit toilets well located. Staff the summer of 2020 was absolutely amazing. Thank you to all!!