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Free Camping Collection

Dispersed Camping

Buffalo Creek Recreation Area

20 Reviews

About

USDA Forest Service

The Buffalo Creek Recreation Area contains over 50 miles of multi-use, non-motorized trails that tie into the Colorado Trail in several places. There are numerous options available for riding or hiking. Some of the old logging roads provide two-track while connecting trails offer single track. It takes about an 1.5 hours to drive to this area from Denver. Please know and respect local area restrictions including; parking and camping in designated sites only. Developed camping is available at nearby Forest Service campgrounds including Buffalo, Green Mountain, Kelsey, and Meadows Group Campground.

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Location

Buffalo Creek Recreation Area is located in Colorado

Coordinates

39.34428173 N
105.257432 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Unknown
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Good

Site Types

Dispersed

Features

For Campers

ADA Access
Phone Service
Reservable
Toilets
Alcohol
Pets

For Vehicles

Big Rig Friendly

Enjoy dispersed camping on government land and leave no trace. Pack in and pack out. No (or limited) services at this camping area. Permit may be required.

PERMIT might be REQUIRED

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Nathan C.

Traveler

Reviewed Mar. 2, 2024

Dispersed camping paradise

My son and I wanted to get away for a night close to home, this was only about an hour away for us. I have ridden bikes at buffalo creek many times, but didn't know it had so many dispersed camping sites. I forgot to bring the camping stove, so the firepit with grill top saved the trip! Most of the sites are quite spread apart, so even the neighboring campsite is a good distance away to feel like you're out there alone. Instantly this area has become my go to camping location this coming spring. Being close by to awesome singletrack to mountain bike is an added benefit, but I'd be just as happy to go out to enjoy nature and hiking. I feel guilty even writing this review because I feel like I'm giving out a secret spot. Luckily, there seems to be plenty of sites for everyone. At on March 1st.

Site17

Month of VisitApril

Taryn D.

Traveler

Reviewed Sep. 26, 2023

Beautiful!

Fantastic views and a wide variety of trails for all levels. This area has both isolated & community-style campsites with facilities.

Site#528E #2

Month of VisitOctober

(5) View All

andrea C.

Scout

Reviewed Jul. 24, 2023

Great Spot!

Came here around 3pm on a saturday after failing to find a spot at kirby gulch and was able to snag a great spot! Couldn’t pull our car in all the way to site but it worked out. Was able to climb some boulders and got a great view of the sunset! Easy road to drive on too!

Month of VisitAugust

Seth H.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 2, 2023

Great open spots

We've camped here a few times during the summer and the beginning of fall. About 40 dispersed camping spot, first come first serve. Great trail to ride down going to stony pass and wellington lake. Pretty maintained road for a dirt road. Most camping spots can fit quite a few tents, with privacy from the next campspot.

Month of VisitNovember

(5) View All

Russell Z.

Traveler

Reviewed Apr. 15, 2023

Quick get away

Went for a quick trip on my own during Spring Break (work with the school district). As it was during the week and not the weekend I had zero issues finding an open spot. The nights were a bit chilly due to the time of year but, the time alone and being able to do some self reflection in a beautiful area more than made up for it.

Site7

Month of VisitApril

(7) View All

kevin H.

Scout

Reviewed Mar. 3, 2023

Great place and not hard to get too

Awesome place that was actually easy to get to and had fire pits

Month of VisitMarch

Michael K.

Traveler

Reviewed Nov. 5, 2022

Great camping in early November

So many wonderful spots along the road. Each has fire pit and the spots are spread out. We arrived 5:30ish on a Friday and there were several available spots to choose from. The sites were clean and had very nice woods around.

Site17

Month of VisitDecember

(4) View All

Jinho T.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 13, 2022

Quick weekend get away

Easily accessible and a quick trip from Denver over the 4th of July weekend. Amazing views, there was a little more traffic and people then I like to see camping, however we wanted to stay close so I found these spots amazing!

Month of VisitAugust

(9) View All

Sam P.

Traveler

Reviewed May. 30, 2022

Best dispersed camping!

These sites are amazing! About as good as it gets for drive up dispersed, free camping. Well marked, spaced out, large campsites and not too far from Denver. We love coming here for quick weekend trips. Most sites have a fire pit with a grill grate.

Site5

Month of VisitMay

Matthew P.

Traveler

Reviewed May. 6, 2022

Great primitive sites

The camp sites are on Redskin Creek Rd (550) and spaced out generally well enough that you do not see other campers. Perfect weekend spot but it definitely can be hard to find a spot so an early Friday would be recommended.

Month of VisitMay

(4) View All

Mandi K.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 30, 2021

Beautiful camp sites

You can never go wrong with camping here. The sites are large and so far from other sites, you think you’re alone in the wilderness.

Does get quite crowded on weekends!

Month of VisitJuly

Cameron C.

Scout

Reviewed Oct. 27, 2020

Great spot, beautiful area

Nice dispersed camping sites. Our only complaint was the couple that decided to join us at our site without asking, saying please, or even thank you for allowing them to stay. They also had a dog which agitated our dogs for the rest of our stay. Get it together folks!

Laura A.

Scout

Reviewed Aug. 23, 2020

Nice lrg sites & well spaced(careful-don't confuse with area campgrounds)

The "Buffalo Creek Recreation Area" is ONLY the 35 designated dispersed campsites that start just west of the intersection marked on the map(Redskin Rd/County road 550 AND Deckers Road/hwy 126). It does not include the formal Buffalo Creek Campground. The Rec Area runs almost the full 5 miles between that intersection and the formal Buffalo Creek Campground. There is no firewood for purchase at Buffalo Creek Recreation Area (but likely is at the formal Buffalo Creek Campground), no trash, and no fires allowed currently (due to covid). As some other reviews stated, there were several port-a-potties along the 5 mile road, maybe 6. Closest phone signal we could find for AT&T & T-Mobile was back at the east end of the road, near & in the Day-Use parking lot (for charge). Have fun & be respectful of others around & the people that will use your site next :)

Site35

Month of VisitSeptember

Anthony P.

Ranger

Reviewed Jul. 8, 2020

big and busy

We headed out to these spots on memorial day weekend and it was busy. So busy that we had to go in the middle of the week to get a spot, so plan ahead here and expect crowds. That being said, each spot is unique and we loved it. We ended up staying as far up the road as possible and found a large spot big enough for a trailer and a few cars.

Keep in mind there is buffalo creek campground ($) and buffalo creek rec area that is free with dispersed camping. The dispersed camping is where we stayed and i believe there are over 40+ spots if you explore all the roads. A lot of the spots are large enough to accommodate a trailer or small RV. No bathrooms on site ad fire rings are made of rocks. Most spots are near the road, as you can see from my photo but the further up the road you get, the traffic will calm down. We did not see this as a problem at all. This are is prone to wildfires and has been in a fire ban since the winter.

Plenty to do up here as well, hiking, biking and world class fishing just down the road in Deckers.

Get here early and find a spot that fits you.

Month of VisitJune

Hayley K.

Legend

Reviewed Jun. 8, 2020

Free camping but fills up fast on weekends

This place is great for outdoor enthusiasts. We stayed here a couple weekends in a row and we were able to try out some different spots and trails close to those spots. This free campground is perfect!

There are some sites that are better than others for group sizes and it isn’t very RV friendly. 550 is a washboard road that ends up at Wellington Lake. You can get here from the Pine junction side or the Bailey side.

Our site on this trip was#27 and we really loved it. It was downset from the road so we had a little privacy and the sites are large and far apart from each other so we were able to socially distance within our own group. There was plenty of tree coverage for rainstorms and shade but not too much to where you couldn’t find a tent site easily.

There is an active fire ban in the area and the neighbors were lighting 5ft tall fires with gasoline which put us at risk. If you are going to be camping in BLM or Wildlife Areas please follow the restrictions and don’t put others at risk with no cell phone service.

The trails and stream aren’t too far from the site so you can easily hike or bike there. We hiked out to the 96 burn area to explore and we ended up doing a nice 7 mile loop to get down to the creek for a cool down.

There are no bathrooms so the first day we got there we did a trash clean up of the backwoods of our site from toilet paper left out there.

This "campground" is not super large RV friendly so if you are in a large RV try and get site 13 or head to one of the established campgrounds down the road or try for the group camping area that you can see in my pictures.

Site27

Month of VisitJuly

(22) View All

Ben B.

Traveler

Reviewed May. 11, 2020

Great area!

Had a blast at this place. We arrived early Friday morning and most spots were already claimed. There are a total of 35 free camp sites but if you continue down 550 there are some paid camp sites as well, but those were closed for the time being. Sherif came through a few times. Sites were big and far enough away from neighbors. Would recommend.

Amber M.

Scout

Reviewed Aug. 25, 2019

No water source

Nice big clean camping sites. There are port a potties but they are all far away from each site.

Matt T.

Traveler

Reviewed Jun. 6, 2019

Good, Larger Sites

There’s about 30 or so sites. First come first serve but are free. Nice large sites many have room for RV’s. Good distance between sites for privacy as well. Fills up very fast on the weekends.

Marissa K.

Guide

Reviewed May. 29, 2019

Lots of dispersed camping with access to trails

Although there are a few actual campgrounds in the Buffalo creek area, there are also quite a few designated dispersed campsites along the road. They are clearly marked and were pretty full on a Saturday of Memorial Day weekend (but what isn't?). There's several creeks that run through the area and a network of trails that intersect the Colorado Trail and the road. The area is popular with mountain bikers.

It was completely snow free when we visited for Memorial Day, and the creek was flowing high. There were some fish in the creek, but nothing big enough to catch. We chose to park at a designated parking area and hike a short distance on the Colorado Trail to camp. We found a nice spot that had clearly been camped in before as there was already a fire ring.

Overall, lots of space to camp and play and a good option for the shoulder season when higher options are under snow.

Month of VisitJune

Sara K.

Scout

Reviewed Jun. 19, 2018

Very nice area with open space outside of the main area.

The area was well kept and obviously beautiful, it's Colorado after all. There was no running water, however the camo host drives an ATV around offering water from giant containers. I loved it.

Site33

Month of VisitJuly