A dark green Toyota pickup with a roof tent parked in tall dry grass as mist closes in.

Forest Service campground

Red Cloud (Ne) Nebraska Nf

Forest Service campground in Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands, Dawes County, Nebraska. 3,898 feet. 9 miles from Chadron.

Managed by
Forest Service Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands
Elevation
3,898 ft USGS elevation model, at the mapped point
Reservations
First come, first served Claim a site when you arrive. Recreation.gov lists it for Scan and Pay, so the fee can be paid from its app at the campground
County
Dawes County

Overview

The Red Cloud Campground is located one mile south of Chadron State Park on the west side of Highway 385. Situated in the middle of the Pine Ridge area, the campground has 13 sites with picnic tables, parking pads, pedestal grills, fire rings, and a vault toilet.

Recreation

Access the nearby Pine Ridge Trail system via Outrider and Strong Canyon trailheads. The Pine Ridge trail passes through a wide variety of landscapes ranging from grassland, ponderosa pine forest, creek bottoms, canyons and open ridges with views of the nearby buttes. Motorized trails can also be accessed nearby at Strong Canyon trailhead, Spotted Tail trailhead, and the Cliffs trailhead.

The description, directions and fees are the Forest Service’s own words, from its record on Recreation.gov.

The land around Red Cloud (Ne) Nebraska Nf

The ringed pin is this campground; the others are its nearest neighbours. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see the way in.

Interactive map. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select any point to see which agency manages the land. Arrow keys pan and the plus and minus keys zoom when the map has focus. A list of every state with its share of federal land is on the Explore page.

Map layers

Layers
Base map
Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • US Forest Service (USFS)
  • National Park Service (NPS)
  • US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
  • Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
  • Department Of Defense (DOD)
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
  • Other Federal
  • State
  • Local
  • Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
  • Alaska Native Allotment

Federal campgrounds, by agency

  • Forest Service
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • National Park Service
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

  • State land
  • County and city land
  • Regional agency or district
  • Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

Source: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), record updated February 25, 2026. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Seasons, fees, water and fire rules change; the managing office has the final word.