Beaver Reservoir Dispersed Camping

An easy drive up with plenty of spots on your right. Open but with trees for your hammocks. Not buggy and not too busy. It was a quick 15 minute drive to the Brainard Lake Rec Area entrance. No cell service. The only real negative was the broken glass all around. Not sure if it was just the spot we picked or what. Didn’t change our experience much - just wore shoes and told our toddler to be careful.

We were there on a busy weekend in late September. A lot of people going by on UTVs and other sports equipment. Not really a bother for me though. Our site had a fire pit and was large and level enough for two large tents. No bathroom. No cell reception with Verizon either. Also the reservoir is private so don't plan on swimming.

The road in is rocky in parts but mostly just packed gravel. I will say, arriving in the evening with the combo of the low sun and dust from the road made it nearly impossible to see at times. Drive slowly!

I arrived to the campsite around 12:00 PM so there were plenty of spots available. My 2012 Ford Focus was able to make it on all of the dirt roads, though they were quite bumpy so I was being super careful. A decent amount of traffic on the main road, but nothing that bothered me. I slept in my car so I didn’t have any problems with noise. Thought it was nice that there were fire pits in almost every camp spot, mine even had a table left there. I also came here without a permit and didn’t run into any issues.

This spot was super close to Rocky Mountain National Park which is what I was there for! Just have your maps downloaded because there is no service.

We camped in the last dispersed spot before the dam at Beaver Reservoir. The view was spectacular but there was a lot of car and OHV traffic in and out of the private area just on the other side of the dam. Unfortunately the reservoir is not open to the public and the boundarys are well marked. The area is popular with the local crowd so most folks are there for the weekend. The site we stayed in was very level but there was a lot of trash left around the whole area. Kind of disappointing.

Such a beautiful place to stay. 50 minutes from Boulder and close to many hikes in Rocky Mountain NP. The dirt road is bumpy leading in but nothing our 30 foot class A couldn’t handle. Some driveways to spots are definitely more accessible than others but we found a nice open space towards the end near the reservoir. Really loved staying here.

Also recommend arriving before the weekend because it fills up fast! By Monday it was all cleared out.

No cell service even with booster.

I stayed for just one night on June 21st. This has to be the prettiest view in all of Colorado. I drove a Honda Fit for reference, and I was able to get to this spot. Just go slow. I drove all the way to the end at the water and found a spot to the right. It looks like a driveway, but it butts up against the rocks and it had a fire pit. It had the perfect view overlooking the mountain and the water. Being a Monday, there ended up only being myself and one other couple. It was as quiet as it could be. I climbed up the hillside a bit to hang my hammock that offered even a better view! The weather got nice and chilly inside of my car, but it made for the perfect evening/night. I’d definitely stay here again!