Cottonwood (Big Bend, TX)

The location is everything. Very close to Santa Elena Canyon, plus many hikes and overlooks on the way to and from the campground. Also, easy to walk to the Rio Grande and see Mexico a few feet away. Birds were great - woodpeckers, vermillion flycatchers, ravens, and doves comfortable enough to walk right up into the campsite. Easy rectangle campground, simple to navigate and walk. We found it noisy - children playing and people talking, it was almost like eating in a restaurant with people seated at nearby tables during dinner. Filtered water was available at a station near the entrance, and non-potable water spigots were located every few sites. Two bathroom areas featured pit toilets. Showers and power are not available here, as expected.

I stayed a site #2. It was near the entrance, but the traffic wasn't an issue. The campground is all gravel roads, so cars going by kick up some dust. The site description does say there is shade, and there is, but only in the morning - something to keep in mind. Site #2 is close to the filtered water and it's close to the Rio Grande river access. It was hot that day, so I took a bath in the Rio Grande. The water felt great and the current is swift. Make sure to bring some river/lake shoes. There is 2 vault toilets a short walk from my camp site. It's a good alternative campground if you can't stay in the Chisos Basin. The drive on the Ross Maxwell Scenic Dr. to get to Cottonwood Campground is stunning! Plus Cottonwood is close to the Santa Elena Canyon - which I highly recommend. I would stay at Cottonwood again.

Beautiful view from campsite. Close to the river. Dogs not allowed on hiking trails.

Beautiful stay and amazing views! My family and I throughly enjoyed our first ever camping trip here at the Cottonwood campsite. Our site was clean and perfect for our large tent!

Cottonwood Campground has a much more scenic/private feel than other campsites at Big Bend. It is quiet and serene. Make sure to talk to the Rangers at Castolon (If Dorinda is there, she is an excellent resource!!). Santa Elena's canyon is also nearby and a can't miss stop. This campsite is quite a drive away from the Chisos Basin and Rio Grande Village, so prepare appropriately.

Great park location, clean toilets

The proximity to Santa Elena Canyon and the beauty of the surroundings along with the small campground & facilities were excellent.

Mark the Cottonwood park Ranger made our stay very special.

I loved it here! Though it’s a far drive to just about anywhere, it had what we needed. Beautiful sunsets. The wind did get really bad for us here, and there’s not much of anything to block the wind so we did have to put our tent down. But it was okay and we made the most of it! I will definitely check out one of the other campsites next time I visit, but this one was perfect for the 3 nights we stayed here.

This campground wasn’t very interesting, but it was decent and worked as a place to camp for the night and get to Santa Elena canyon early. Unfortunately, our stay was disrupted by noisy campers getting up at 5am to leave and yelling loudly next to us.