DeWeese Reservoir Dispersed Camping

We spent one night at DeWeese Reservoir on the way to the San Juan Mountains. It was really pretty & a good boondocking spot. There are a couple of pit toilets, but you need to bring your own toilet paper! It's about 5 miles from the town of Westcliffe, CO. We would stay here again.

Caught a couple trout & bass. Our toilet did have toilet paper in, but suggest having back up, just in case. Views of the mountains are breathtaking! Views of the stars at night are mesmerizing. Did have a fish warden check our licenses one day. No campfires. Lake is really low right now. Didn't have any problems with Verizon service. 8 mule deer came to bed down for the night by the lake.

Stayed here in June 2018 during the week days. Not crowded and the weather was hot during the day and cool at night. To be on the property you each person is required to have either the $70 annual pass or a fishing license. There was some trash, empty beer cans and broken glass at the site we stayed. Vault toilet was clean.

This is a state wildlife area, so it's free IF you have a fishing or hunting license. We stayed for 3 days and never saw a game warden. The sites are separated by foliage or space so you have privacy. The approach is super easy, paved most of the way out, and good cell signal with AT&T. Vault toilets are few and far between, no hookups, dump or water available. The lake is amazing and way bigger than it looks at first, we took the kayaks out to run the perimeter but 1.5 hrs later we hadn't even made it to one end. The spillway is barricaded so boating near the edge isn't too scary, but there were a couple of speedboats being overzealous which did make kayaking shaky.
It's not a loud area, but when the water is smooth you can hear every word from campsites across the lake just due to acoustics. The night sky is so deep and clear you can easily see the milky way and all the constellations you thought you'd forgotten from high school astronomy class.
Not sure when they stock but we didn't catch anything when we went in July, neither did our neighbors.

Free if you are 65 or older, even for out-of-state. Don’t have to get a pass or a fishing/hunting license.

Large sites scattered around both sides of lake. Also more sites on hill near dam. Some of those sites have a lake view. Others are tucked up in trees. Access may be tight further in. Look before you chance it with a larger rig. Road does go all the way through to the outside loop.

Motor boats allowed on weekends, so some noise.

The lake, views of the Sangre De Cristo mountain range, & hearing the ducks, geese, & Meadowlarks was peaceful. It’s dry camping at it’s finest.

The area is part of the CO State Wildlife Area. After paying $40 for the year, 5 nights came to a simple $8/night. Well worth it!
Signs said a max stay of 14 days.

There was plenty of space to spread out. Camping is mostly on the north side of the lake.

With a omni-directional antenna, good AT&T cell signal to support two full-time workers in video-conferences all day.

Side note: Propane can be refilled at a gas station in Westcliffe or the Ace Hardware on the south side of town on CO-69.
Potable water can be refilled at the Twice The Ice water station in Silver Cliff; $1 for 5 gallons.

This is one of our favorite places to camp. Unfortunately over the last few years we have seen the area be massively abused. People leave trash strewn all over. Broken bottles, fishing waste, cigarettes butts and cans litter everywhere. We spend several hours every visit cleaning up the area we are in. The ranger does come around to check for fishing licenses regularly. He did say they have little control over the noise. People party all night long sometimes with loud and vulgar music. The gang activity has gotten much more obvious and obnoxious in the last 5 years. In the last 3 years, water quality has been a big issue. Blue-Green algae. Summer of ‘22 we couldn’t even go on our paddleboard or kayaks. Very sad. The absolute best sunsets we have ever seen in our travels. We love this place but wish the campers had more respect for it. The roads around the reservoir are very rough.

We camped here just after the 4th of July. I think it may have been a bit more crowded because it was the week of the 4th, although we found a nice level spot right as you get to the lake from the south side. There were more spots that were closer to the water all around the lake. We just preferred the view from our spot plus we were trying to get some distance from the folks with generators. We hadn't planned to camp here, so we didn't have our kayaks. Next time we will bring then. By the end of the weekend, it really cleared out.
Many daytime fisherman and people were using kayaks and paddle boards as well as a few fishing boats. Some skiing and jet skis, but not excessive.
While there was a bit of micro trash, the area where we were at, it was not bad. I've seen a lot worse.
Phone coverage was spotty. Even with a WeBoost, it was just barely enough service for phone calls. Texting was fine.