Cottonwood (Big Bend, TX)

Nice quiet campground with very clean pit toilets.

The reservation system needs repaired
Several sites were empty but the sign said campground was full. I stayed 2 nights but had to use 2 different sites, but the first site was empty the second night I was there and really didn’t need to change sites

We love Cottonwood. Our 3rd year there and WILL be back. Love the remoteness…quiet…and location! Lots to do…
Bathrooms always CLEAN!!!! Lots of wildlife!!! Campground hosts always visible daily if you have questions or concerns…
Just an all-around great camping experience!!!!

Stayed in site 6 and had a great view of two mountains. Site was mostly level, used one block. Close to bathrooms. This campground was very peaceful.

Our stay at Cottonwood in Big Bend was fantastic. Within five minutes of our arrival we were completely surrounded by what Big Bend has to offer; uninhibited nature. Wild horses appeared just outside our door, quickly followed by a small group of Javelinas. Cottonwood on the Southwest side of the park was wonderful home base location to explore that side of the park.

Nice place to stay , Near Santa Elena Canyon.

Wonderful one night stay while traveling through. Clean facilities, great campground, hike the canyon!

It was okay, but the other 2 camp grounds in the Big Bend National Park have better views.

I was able to get a smidge of T-Mobile signal with 4.5 Mbps download and 0.1 Mbps upload. That was with a roof mounted Pepwave antenna. It was usable for basic web browsing, but nothing else significant. Starlink worked well. Site quality varies for both the view and solar. No generators allowed so the best sites for solar are 19, 28, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, and 14.

Decent enough campground but out site wasn't great. It's backed up against another site and had shading during early morning and evening for solar purposes. Some inconsiderate neighbors during the New Years holiday period. We needed every inch of the site to fit our 30 ft rig in, but it was doable. The site was gravel/dirt and levellable with standard techniques.

You access the campground via the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. The road is in good shape, but it's two lane and curvy. Not a huge deal besides the bad drivers that seem to cross the center line around every curve. The access road to the park is dirt but in good shape and not notable. There's a moderate amount of highway noise, but it dies off in the evening.

We saw Javelinas, various birds, and a gray fox.

This place is far from everything else except the Santa Elena Canyon area. There is no dump station, the closest one would be an RV park in Study Butte. Potable water is available at the campground entrance, but not for filling up RV tanks. Non-potable spigots are throughout.

The only propane fill is either at Rio Grande Village in the park (an hour drive) or the Alon station in Terlingua (45 min). The Alon station apparently only fills on the weekend - we called many other RV parks and other places without success.

Vault toilets are available, along with dumpsters and recycling cans. Camp hosts were on duty across the highway in a separate area. No wood fires were allowed but propane fire pits were.

I don't think we'd stay here again vs. planning farther in advance and getting a backcountry site or staying in Big Bend Ranch.

Great campground. Quiet and comfortable.