Colorado · published-coordinate region

Kelsey Campground

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USDA Forest Service
17Supported overnight records
2Published site categories
17Sites with a reported party limit
A useful starting point, not a fit guarantee. Site-specific warnings are absent from this export. Published lengths may include a tow vehicle. Check the official site page for current notes, restrictions, approach and configuration before booking. No live availability is shown.

A closer look at the campground

Overview Kelsey is one of two campgrounds within the Buffalo Creek Recreation Area, about an hour's drive southwest of Denver, Colorado. Visitors enjoy a variety of recreational opportunities, including hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking and trout fishing. Recreation The Buffalo Creek Recreation Area is home to a 40-mile trail system most popular with mountain bikers, but hikers and horseback riders enjoy the area as well. Several trailheads are within the area, including Little Scraggy Trail, just 3 miles north of the campground. Access to the Colorado Trail and the Buffalo Burn Trail begin from this trailhead. Shinglemill Trail is also nearby. Buffalo Creek is a popular fishing stream for brook trout. The area offers great wildlife viewing opportunities for turkey, elk, mule deer, chipmunks and porcupines. Facilities The campground offers single-family sites, some of which are designated for tent camping only. Each site is equipped with picnic tables and campfire rings with grills. Vault toilets are provided. Drinking water is available from a hand pump, but hookups are not available. Kelsey Campground has 17 single-family campsites at an elevation of 7,400 feet in Pike National Forest. Campsites can accommodate tents, trailers and RVs. Each site has a parking spur (up to 30 feet), table fire ring and grill. You can have up to 8 people and 2 vehicles per site. Campground amenities include drinking water, vault toilets and trash collection. Firewood is also available to purchase from the camp host. Cell service is poor in the area. Natural Features The campground sits at an elevation of 7,400 feet in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Summer temperatures are mild and range from 75-80 during the day to 55-65 at night. The Kelsey Overlook is just north of the campground along County Road 126, offering beautiful views of the valley below. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (303) 647-2366. Nearby Attractions The drive along County Road 126 southwest from Pine Junction affords magnificent views of the valleys below. Pikes Peak, at 14,110 feet, can be seen in the distance and other prominent rock formations present themselves throughout the scenic drive.Charges & Cancellations Cancellations Individual Campsites: Cancellations up to 2 days before a reservation start date incur a $10.00 cancellation fee.  A visitor who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee including tax and applicable add-on for a campsite. Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. No-Shows A no-show visitor is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's rate, taxes and applicable add-on for a campsite.   Refunds Visitors may submit a refund request through their Recreation.gov profile within 7 days of the end date of their reservation. Refunds will not be issued after the 7 days has ended. Refunds for debit or credit card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank or credit card used to pay. For check or cash purchases, Recreation.gov will mail a Treasury check for refunds of cash, check, or money order payments to the address associated with the reservation. Treasury check refunds may take up to 6-8 weeks to arrive.  In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team or facility manager will refund all fees and will attempt to notify you using the contact information within the Recreation.gov visitor profile.

Full operator-supplied campground description · Scroll within the panel for more · Amenities may be shared by the campground, not present at every site

How much is documented?

Reported fields across the 17 supported campsite records here. A reported value can still need interpretation; missing values remain unknown in the planner.

Party limit
17
Vehicle limit
17
Vehicle length
15
Driveway entry
17
Shade
1

Bars show counts, not a quality, accessibility or suitability score.

The campsite mix

Standard Nonelectric
15
Tent Only Nonelectric
2

Operator directions

From Denver, take Highway 285 southwest to Pine Junction and turn south on Jefferson County Road 126. Travel approximately 17 miles to the campground.

Campground-level source text. Confirm the current route and road conditions with the operator.

THE ACTUAL SITES

17 published campsite records

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Raw published values are shown below, including zeros and ambiguous text. They are not validated capacities. The planner keeps missing, zero and questionable dimensions unknown.

View all 17 published site records
Select a site number to check its official current details
SITE / LOOPTYPEEQUIPMENT LIMITSPEOPLE / VEHICLESDRIVEWAYELECTRIC / SHADE
Site 001
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Standard Nonelectric
Rv: 35 ft
Tent: 35 ft
Trailer: 35 ft
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Back-In
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Not reported
Site 002
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Standard Nonelectric
Rv: 40 ft
Tent: 40 ft
Trailer: 40 ft
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Back-In
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Not reported
Site 003
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Standard Nonelectric
Rv: 45 ft
Tent: 45 ft
Trailer: 45 ft
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Back-In
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Not reported
Site 004
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Standard Nonelectric
Rv: 40 ft
Tent: 40 ft
Trailer: 40 ft
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Back-In
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Not reported
Site 005
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Standard Nonelectric
Rv: 40 ft
Tent: 40 ft
Trailer: 40 ft
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Back-In
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Full
Site 006
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Standard Nonelectric
Rv: 20 ft
Tent: 20 ft
Trailer: 20 ft
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Back-In
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Not reported
Site 007
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Standard Nonelectric
Rv: 35 ft
Tent: 35 ft
Trailer: 35 ft
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Back-In
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Not reported
Site 008
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Standard Nonelectric
Rv: 40 ft
Tent: 40 ft
Trailer: 40 ft
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Back-In
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Not reported
Site 009
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Standard Nonelectric
Rv: 40 ft
Tent: 40 ft
Trailer: 40 ft
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Back-In
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Not reported
Site 010
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Standard Nonelectric
Rv: 45 ft
Tent: 45 ft
Trailer: 45 ft
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Back-In
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Not reported
Site 011
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Standard Nonelectric
Rv: 45 ft
Tent: 45 ft
Trailer: 45 ft
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Back-In
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Not reported
Site 012
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Standard Nonelectric
Rv: 40 ft
Tent: 40 ft
Trailer: 40 ft
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Back-In
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Not reported
Site 013
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Standard Nonelectric
Rv: 60 ft
Tent: 60 ft
Trailer: 60 ft
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Back-In
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Not reported
Site 014
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Standard Nonelectric
Rv: 45 ft
Tent: 45 ft
Trailer: 45 ft
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Back-In
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Not reported
Site 015
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Standard Nonelectric
Rv: 50 ft
Tent: 50 ft
Trailer: 50 ft
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Back-In
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Not reported
Site 016
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Tent Only Nonelectric
Tent: limit unknown
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Pull-Through
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Not reported
Site 017
KELS
Source updated: 2025-12-18
Tent Only Nonelectric
Tent: limit unknown
Numeric screening only
8 people
2 vehicles
Pull-Through
Not reported
Not reported
Shade: Not reported

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Straight-line distances between campground points, not driving distance or route advice.