Cottonwood (Big Bend, TX)

very quiet, clean facilities, friendly staff, well maintained campground

Great spot to pitch a couple of tents in the soft grass, under the shaded honey Mesquites, with next to no bugs, at the end of April! Parking and picnic table were in full sun the whole time. Non potable water was 100yds away next to clean pit toilets, and filtered water for drinking was next to entrance to campground 500yds away. AMAZING birding site, we had people walking thru camp with huge camera lenses coming down from the lodge to take pictures. We saw, a roadrunner, a vermillion flycatcher, and enjoyed all the cheerful other songbirds while in camp. They do water by flooding but the camp host let us know they put up signs well in advance so don’t have to worry about a soggy sleeping pad. We did wake up in the middle of the night to a small and stealthy pack of Javelinas grazing on the grasses around our tent which was pretty cool to see! There is ice 1 mi next door at the Castolon store, but don’t count on it, they were out when we tried to get a bag & ended up driving to Panther junction to get refilled. Also no gas down there so top up at Panther junction before driving another hour to this remote spot. Great star gazing spot, next to no other light and was entreated to a spectacular night sky, and the warm nights 62 were perfect temps to stay up. First day we checked out Santa Elanna canyon, “highly recommended,” wait until sunset when the temperatures start cooling down to avoid the heat, and catch the sunset from the canyon mouth. We woke up early and drove to the Chisos one morning and hiked 12 mi loop up and around Emory peak and returned in the evening and was easy to do. No rv generators made this a very peaceful camp and lots of friendly people to talk to as well. The campsites on the south end of the campground don’t have grass and noticed you will have to camp in the dirt if you get one of those sites, & did not look appealing to stay in. All in all a great campground to stay in and will be coming back!

Lovely campground although gets a bit windy. Wide variety of birds to see here. Bathrooms were quite clean and the water was probably the best tasting out of the main campgrounds.

Great location for hiking Santa Elena Canyon (a highlight of our trip). The campground in early April was a birdwatcher’s paradise.

Very clean and well maintained.
Sites were nice and level
Would like a sign suggesting slow speed through campground as a lot of dust gets kicked up with cars driving by

Campground was nice and spacious and beautiful! Camp host was awesome!

Not an attractive campground. Having water access is great yet not real helpful being non-potable everywhere but at the campground entrance.

Due to the reservation system I had to move my tent three times. Very inconvenient. The campground host would TALK with other campers for lengths outside tents of sleeping campers for long periods disregarding campers might want to sleep in. One time talking to a female Ranger in a running truck for 20 minutes, immediately next to several sleeping campers. You would think being in a natural area like BIBE that they would conserve fuel and shut down the vehicle while gabbing.

Quiet, secluded campground! Our kind of camping - dry camping with no generators allowed. It was a good launch point to explore the west end of Big Bend Natl Park - Santa Elena Canyon, and numerous other hikes, and Castalon visitor center and area history. If needed, there was limited internet available at Castalon - met our needs.

Cottonwood campground is clean, the sites are level and the largest in the park. Camp hosts are both friendly and knowledgeable. We will be back