U.S. Forest Service · Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests Pawnee NG · Colorado

Kelly Flats Campground

Kelly Flats is a first-come, first-served campground located adjacent to Colorado Highway 14 and the Cache La Poudre River. There are 29 sites available including four walk-in tent sites. This is primarily an open conifer forest setting but there is a variety of vegetation found along the riparian zone of the river. Each site contains a tent pad, fire grate and picnic table. The primary activities in this area include stream fishing and enjoying the ambience of the river as it flows through the campground.

Closed for the seasonFirst-come, first-served

More like this: first-come in Colorado

Kelly Flats Campground
Photo from the area. Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons
1fire
active
Magic Feather Broadcast Rx (prescribed burn) · 5 mi away
Interagency incident data as of 2026-10-16
Incident details ↓

Season & status

StatusClosed for the season. Forest Service sites close for the season; check the official page for the reopening date.
ForestArapaho & Roosevelt National Forests Pawnee NG
FeesCheck our campground table for fee information. Fees are discounted 25% when water is off. Interagency Senior, Interagency Access, Golden Age and Golden Access passes provide cardholders half price for basic campground fees.
RulesA single site may hold up to eight people. Tents must fit on the pads provided. RVs, trailers or other vehicles must fit on the parking spur because driving or parking off road is not permitted. The parking length ranges from 15 to 65 feet.

Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests Pawnee NG recreation page ↗

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Kelly Flats Campground20°30°40°50°60°January: 1.23 inches of precipitation, 16.2 inches of snowFebruary: 1.52 inches of precipitation, 20.0 inches of snowMarch: 2.26 inches of precipitation, 28.5 inches of snowApril: 2.61 inches of precipitation, 35.7 inches of snowMay: 2.28 inches of precipitation, 14.8 inches of snowJune: 1.36 inches of precipitation, 1.6 inches of snowJuly: 1.95 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 1.74 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 1.57 inches of precipitation, 2.5 inches of snowOctober: 1.36 inches of precipitation, 13.6 inches of snowNovember: 1.34 inches of precipitation, 21.4 inches of snowDecember: 1.35 inches of precipitation, 19.5 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 20.9°F averageFebruary: 21.4°F averageMarch: 27.7°F averageApril: 32.5°F averageMay: 41.6°F averageJune: 52.3°F averageJuly: 58.6°F averageAugust: 56.4°F averageSeptember: 49.6°F averageOctober: 38.4°F averageNovember: 28.3°F averageDecember: 20.9°F average0 in10 in20 in30 in40 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Hourglass Rsvr, 10 miles from the campground at 9,520 feet, station USC00054135 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 21 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 174 inches a year on the same inches scale.

Getting there

Drive 10 miles north of Fort Collins on U.S. Highway 287. Turn left (west) onto Highway 14 and drive approximately 25 miles.

Coordinates40.6807° N, 105.4825° W · Directions ↗

Fire nearby

  • Prescribed
    Magic Feather Broadcast Rx

    5 mi from the campground

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge. Call the managing office before you drive.

Supplies & services

Outdoor gearKirks Mountain Adventures ↗21.1 mi
Dump stationDump station ↗22.5 mi
RV sales & serviceManhattan RV & Trailer ↗28.7 mi

Locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. Call ahead; hours change seasonally.

Explore

Trails nearby

Forest Service trail data →
  • 1 mi
    Kreutzer Nature
    2 mi trail · hiking
  • 1.1 mi
    Mt. McConnel
    2.6 mi trail · hiking, horse
  • 1.1 mi
    Mt. McConnel Summit ↗
    0.1 mi trail · hiking · national_recreation_or_other
  • 3.3 mi
    Lower Dadd Gulch
    3.5 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
  • 4.1 mi
    Jacks Gulch Cg Loop Trail
    1.1 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
  • 4.1 mi
    Flowers ↗
    18.7 mi trail · hiking, horse

Trail and trailhead records are the Forest Service's. Distances are straight-line to the nearer trail end. Trail conditions are not tracked here.

Public land it sits in

On Wilderness Atlas →

Cache La Poudre Wilderness begins under a tenth of a mile away, and it is the closest of these.

Each unit is published as a centre point and an acreage rather than a boundary, so this section stands it in for a circle of the same area. Whether a campground is inside, and how far it is from one it is outside, are both approximate.

Guidebooks for Colorado

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Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

Do I need a reservation at Kelly Flats Campground?

No. Kelly Flats Campground is first-come, first-served. Sites are taken on arrival and paid at the fee station.

Source: Forest Service

How much does it cost to camp at Kelly Flats Campground?

Check our campground table for fee information. Fees are discounted 25% when water is off. Interagency Senior, Interagency Access, Golden Age and Golden Access passes provide cardholders half price for basic campground fees.

Source: Forest Service

Is Kelly Flats Campground open right now?

Closed for the season as of Oct 16, 2026.

Source: Forest Service status

What if Kelly Flats Campground is full?

The nearest public campgrounds are Mountain Park (0.7 mi, partly first-come), Dutch George Campground (2.1 mi, first-come), and Narrows (2.7 mi).

Source: Campgrounds nearby