Cottonwood (Big Bend, TX)

camp hosts were awesome

I enjoyed the campground but it wasn't very private. Hardly any trees remain which is sad. But it was clean and quiet

Nice quiet well kept campground.

Primitive camping with no Dino station close by, other than that it was great, leveled gravel campsite with plenty of sun or shade if you prefer .
Reservations made online made it easy to find perfect spot . Camp host we very helpful and kind.
Really enjoyed the nights with no noise .

Stayed here at the end of Thanksgiving week. The weather turned colder and we had a wet day. We were glad to be in this campground where it’s warmer than the basin. But we noticed our allergies were tickled (from central tx). The campground was lovely, the park hosts were wonderful, and the bathrooms were amazing, especially for pit toilets. Our 6yo deemed them the best toilets. Beautiful sunrises and a good base camp for exploring the western side of the park.

This is a beautiful and quiet campground. Much smaller and less crowded than the other two. The view is great, and it has a good location at the southwest corner of the park. Just beware of the trees overhead - many of them are in poor condition.

We love Big Bend and we love Cottonwood! Best campground in the park! Quite and peaceful, and usually warmer at night. Great for families!

This campground is a bit of a drive from the Chisos Basin and all the main trails but it’s very nice and quiet. Santa Elena canyon is 8 miles away and I highly recommend going there early in the morning. We went late afternoon and had to wait in line about 30 minutes. There’s no service at the campground, some spots while driving had service and I would pull over and use my phone. Overall it was very healthy to forget about social media for a little bit. I totally enjoyed my first camping trip to Big Bend and can’t wait to come back!

Campground was excellent. Several upgrades to sites and pit toilets were welcomed after the fire and Covid issues. Reservations experience was a disaster as I was mislead by Reservations.org website and personnel I talked with on the phone. I'll know next time how to play the system and get the dates and spaces I want. 5 campsites were not occupied the night of our stay, yet they showed to be booked weeks in advance. Not fair.

Location is great. Scenic route in and out of the area. Campsites are nice. Literally a stone's throw from the river. Rangers and volunteers are wonderful, friendly, and informative. I learned the hard way on this trip to avoid camping at Big Bend during a holiday week. The campers were very noisy (too many screaming kids, unleashed barking dogs, etc.). It wasn't as peaceful as I was hoping, but thankfully it quieted down by 930-10pm. If you don't have any physical limitations, avoid the sites marked as handicap-accessible if you plan on using the grill - it won't lower the grate closer to the coals - only swing out for access. Scope out a satellite image of the sites to get one near a large tree if you want shade. Some sites are shaded well, some are not. Hard to tell when reserving.