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Some of the campgrounds in north central Colorado are going to be closed for the first few weeks of camping season. Due to the late season snow the mountains received this year, the US Forest Service was unable to spray the campgrounds for pine beetles before the camping season begins. The pine beetle spraying in these very popular campgrounds is now scheduled to start in late May and go through mid June. While these popular campgrounds are being sprayed, no camping or day use will be permitted. It’s important that the US Forest Service get these campgrounds sprayed before the pine beetles have a chance to lay eggs in healthy trees.

If you have camping reservations for campgrounds in this area, you should be receiving information from American Land & Leisure. They should be contacting everyone with reservations to either change the date, location, or provide a refund. If you have any further questions please contact them directly, http://www.americanll.com/. Camp Out Colorado does not have any further information, and we can’t help with camping reservations. We just review these campgrounds and try to offer as much camping news and advice as we can.

Known Campground Closures:

Bellaire Lake Campground – May 31 thru June 11

West Lake Campground – June 1 thru June 11

Dowdy Lake Campground – June 1 thru June 11

There may be other locations nearby that are also affected, and though these three campgrounds appear to be open for Memorial Day weekend, you will want to make sure.

This is a good illustration of why it’s good to do a double check on recent camping news pertaining to the area you plan to camp. Oftentimes these are small areas that do not receive the news coverage that would let you know about a camping trip that may threatened. The US Forest Service is continuously fighting this pine beetle problem, which may periodically close down camping areas, either for spraying or cutting down beetle-killed trees. And if it’s not a beetle plague, there may also be the normal threats that come with camping season, such as wildfires or floods. These may also impact your chosen campground. So it is always a good idea to do a quick news search on the campground so you know what is happening in the area. This way you can change your camping plans if needed. The surprise of ending up at a closed down campground is not a fun way to start your camping vacation.