Pine Ridge Dispersed Camping

Stopped here on 9/26/22 to spend a few nights based on Campendium reviews. Drove through Chadron State Park and found the forest service road to the trailhead. The road is a smooth gravel road but narrow and you can't pass another vehicle. We drove to the end where the trailhead is and there were a couple cars parked and assumed people were hiking or backpack camping. Which appears to be the type of camping allowed here. The parking area with or without cars was barely enough room for us to turn around with a 17' travel trailer. So big rigs would have a hard time making the turnaround.

Driving in and out of the road we only saw one small pull off possibly for camping but no trees or shade of any kind and being on top of the hill would be very windy. There was a second area in the grass with tire tracks and someone obviously had parked there but all along the road we saw signs saying no vehicles off the road. So people aren't following the rules if they are camping here along this road. There was a couple two-track roads leading off the main road but both were gated. I also wouldn't camp at the end of the road as it's a trailhead and there will be people parking there to go hiking.

We ended up leaving and finding a Forest Service Campground just a few miles down the highway from Chadron State Park.

We drove through the state park and found the lovely service road that leads to the trailhead of a gorgeous hike. We set up camp at a spot overlooking lush and beautiful valleys, then hiked a bit on the trail to watch the magnificent sunset. There was only one other hiker on the trail. The camping spot felt private and we only heard a couple cars pass us on the service road, headed to the trailhead. On the way out, we found a dump station with potable water in the campground. The campground was full of campers parked right next to each other.

Lovely spot overall. We’d love to camp here again.

They have closed one main area that one of the previous people talked about. But there is still some spots on the road going to the end. The end is a fairly large turn around area. No problem with 32’ gooseneck. If you go to the end just hope nobody has parked in the wrong spot. Otherwise it’s going to be a tough turn. If you park at the end. Please pull forward far enough so others can make a U turn.
Once you cross the cattle guard there is a big spot on the left. The road to the ridge has been closed but it’s still large enough to camp.
Since it’s all grassland the dirt can be soft.

The spot we camped is at GPS: 42.705574, -103.033328, beautiful setting! Access is via Chadron State Park nature loop(paved road, see Nat Forest Sign picture). We camped on a Very nice short grass prairie. Prairie ground was a little bumpy, but My camper has good ground clearance. We didn't see any Snakes, but keep in mind they may live there. Verizon coverage was Excellent, Straight Talk Hotspot was 4 bars also. I rated access 4 of 5, because of bumpy surface. Cleanliness is 4 of 5, because of the crusty cow pies, apparently left over from previous grazing.

One last tip: You might want to check with a Forest Ranger about this spot. I didn't, but I Should Have. It's not obvious where camping is allowed.

Grand Adventure summarized this area perfectly! I arrived in the early afternoon on June 25th, 2020. I drove all the way to the end of tha road to check all opportunities for campsites and there are only a couple. The one I used had a nice road out to a point on a mountaintop with a spectacular view but as Grand Adventure stated, there are signs which read no motor vehicles past this point. It was rather hot when I arrived so I’m hunkered down in the trailer with the ac on full blast. I’ll head out for some exploring with my dog Rigley when it cools down in the afternoon and in the morning. I did walk around for a short time and it’s important to know that upon returning to my trailer, I found 2 ticks on my shirt. I just came from South Dakota where I also found a few but I’m pretty sure these ones came from here.
UPDATE: Ticks were a real problem. I took 10 of them off my dog after being there for 24 hours. Also woke up 4 times on the 2nd night after feeling a tick crawling on me. I changed my rating to 3 stars and I will not stay again. That’s unfortunate because the sunsets are amazing. Maybe the ticks just hatched and that is why there are so many.

We're in the midst of a week in our 26' travel trailer along this beautiful 1.5 mile-long dirt Forest Service road 714-A, directly above Chadron State Park. We're guessing that most folks who stay in the State Park campground below are unaware that dispersed camping is indeed permitted within 300 feet of the center line of this road, for even though the popular State Park campground remains closed for another day due to a delayed COVID-19 opening, and is booked solid thereafter, there's absolutely no one else camping up here!

You actually have to drive through the State Park to access FR-714-A, and the park does not lock their gate overnight so access remains unrestricted. The road is in excellent shape and negotiable by any trailer or motorhome, but is only a single lane wide. We're 700 feet of elevation above the plains below, with stunning views stretching off to the horizon. Much of this area has burned in the past, but the area where we're camping is lush and grassy with some stately pines around. This isn't the Nebraska that you know!

Cell service on Verizon is a solid 3+ bars - 54ms ping, 13.6 Mbps down, 3.5 Mbps up. The Verizon tower is visible about 5 miles to the south of our campsite.

There are numerous hiking trails that depart from either end of FR-714-A, including some in the State Park. Fresh water, an RV dump and a camp store are all located within the park, along with an archery range, sledding hill, fishing pond, playgrounds, picnic areas and more.

One star is deducted only because:

* There are only a couple of sites that would work with a vehicle, for there's a well-hidden drainage ditch dug on each side of the road; and

* There's a bit of daytime traffic due to people accessing the hiking trailhead at the end of the road. Vehicles are forced to camp right along the road, as any side spurs visible on satellite imagery have been marked "No motor vehicles" by the Forest Service. For tent campers, though, it's a short walk right to the rim of Pine Ridge for even more spectacular views.

The phone number provided is for the Nebraska National Forest Pine Hill Ranger District in Chadron, in whose jurisdiction this road resides.