Dikenli is a typical Anatolian village located on the northern outskirts of Mountain Işık, a juncture where the green valleys and arid plains meet.
It is consecutively 9, 132 and 237 km away from Çerkeş, Çankiri and Ankara. It is believed that the early settlers of Dikenli are from the clan of
Bayındır, a branch of the Oghuz Turks although there are no records of it in history. Once consisting of four major neighbourhoods, Aslanlar, Avlanlar, Kargı and Aşağıköy,Dikenli had a center where there were shops and a public market, which was run on certain days of the week. That is why that center is called Dükkanlar,“Shops” in English. However, approximately 250 years ago, villagers abandoned the four neighborhoods to live in the center, Dükkanlar. It is known that the name of Dükkanlar was changed into Dikenli in time. It is bordered by Saraycık in the south,Kadıköy in the east, Bayındır and bağlı ılıca, a neighborhood of Kadıköy inthe north. Thick forests extending to Gerede and Kızılcahamam also surround Dikenli. The main livelihoods of Dikenli are traditional farming of oat and wheat besides raising cattle. Dikenli is distinguished for its yoghurt, honey and butter thanks to the profound meadows, which have thyme, a kind of herb. Also, chalk and marble quarries have been opened in recent times. While there were more than 150 families in Dikenli in the 1960s, nowadays it is almost 20 families. The population has been on the decrease due to the lack of employment opportunities in Dikenli and the migration to cities, like Karabük. However, Dikenli is the loveliest place for its inhabitants with its arid earth, Asar Hill, Aşağı Yaylası, Türköşesi, Gökpınarı, Yazıharmanı, Kuzderes and Dikenli Yaylası. Its such impression on its inhabitants will last forever.