Cottonwood (Big Bend, TX)

Stayed two nights at site #24, would love to stay again! Vault toilets were clean, water was potable, site was level. My tent and car were small enough that I set up everything in the driveway; otherwise, you can set up a tent in the grass. My site was close to the river, it was nice to hear the water as I fell asleep. I also enjoyed opening my tent and seeing Mexico off in the distance. Never saw javelinas in the campground but definitely saw them near roads in the general area. I have Google Fi and never had service in the campground, but sometimes had service near the Castolon visitor center.

great place

Very good place to nature
Amazing sunset , very quiet place , the best in the park with Chisos bassin

Gorgeous, spotless campground! The rangers roving every couple of hours were very friendly, greeting new guests as they arrived (and letting us know exactly where to look for the resident great horned owls!) The toilets were the cleanest I've ever experienced at any campground. We visited the other two campgrounds at Big Bend, and Cottonwood was hands down the best.

Great campsite, very spaced out from other campers. Santa Elena trailhead a few miles down the road, closet campground to it. There is a small store near by, no gas so be sure you are fueled up coming in (closest fuel 30+ miles away). One of the nicest camp hosts we have met.

My stay at Cottonwood campground was pretty good. Right next to Santa Elena Canyon. Unfortunately the sites were pretty close together, many of the other campers left their trailer lights on all night (hard to enjoy the dark sky with lights around you), and although there was a spigot for potable water, the website was not clear that there is no way to fill your camper with potable water (it’s only to fill up containers, no hose connection).

Clean and quiet, except when our neighbors would run their engines at 2am, LOL. That’s a no-no btw, so come prepared for cold desert weather. We heard coyotes! Some nights a baby owl hoo-hoo-hooed for mom. Beautiful, beautiful stars, especially after the moon set. We had fun wiping out our dishes instead of washing them. Because dry campsite means dry campsite. Nights cold (mid-Feb.) but afternoons hot and sunny. The peace of this place restored us. Campsites have a good amount of space between them. The inconvenience of having to wipe everything instead of rinse (because animals are attracted to your rinse water and you don’t want javalinas sniffing around your site - they act like pigs) is outweighed by the quiet, the beauty and the peace of this campground. Great rangers who patrol regularly and sort out any problems. Shop is nearby. Oh the campground is flood-watered, but the rangers coordinated it around our stay, so we never returned to a soaked tent. A dip in the hot springs on the other side of the park revived us towards the end of our stay. Because coin showers at the RV village? To quote a Philadelphia lady: “Ain’t nobody got time for dat.” A remote campsite for a peaceful vacation. Absolutely perfect.

We chose site 7 for tenting. The site along fence at north of campground are large and have greater privacy for tenters. Drop toilets were spotlessly clean and odor free. Sunsets and sunrises were wonderful. Large resident owl kept us entertained. Be aware they regularly flood the sites in sections for irrigation of grass and trees so if your tenting you could be asked to move to the pad beside the bench for a day or so. All the Rangers were very pleasant and helpful. A quiet site, not busy even when full. Thoroughly recommend it.

LOVELY AREA AND CG WAS NICE AND QUIET!!

Beautiful sunset that lit up the butte in orange and magenta. It was very cold and the spigot on our water jug was frozen in the morning. There was a clear sky at night but our neighbor had an outside light on. I asked them to turn it off, which they did. That allowed us to see the full canopy of stars which was spectacular. The host was very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The campground has been refurbished since the fire so the campsites are level. It is close to the visitor center, very small store and historical buildings where some people can get cell service.