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Cottonwood Campground is a quiet desert oasis in the southwestern corner of Big Bend National Park. Conveniently located between the Castolon Historic District, the scenic Santa Elena Canyon and the tail end of the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, this small, 25-site campground is one of the least-known and typically least-occupied campgrounds in the park. The group site is the only campsite available for advanced reservations in the facility and is tent-only; individual campsites are first-come, first-served year-round. Cottonwood gets its name from the cottonwood trees that surround and provide shade for the facility nearby the Rio Grande River. A general store and visitor center -- a converted former military outpost -- are also nearby. The campground is at an elevation of 1,900 ft. It is relatively cool in the peak seasons of fall and winter due to cold air sinking into the lower elevations. Natural Features: The national park is named for a curve in the Rio Grande River called the "big bend." For 1,250 miles, the river is an International Boundary between the United States and Mexico. Due to its proximity to water, many species of birds can be found in the Cottonwood area, including nesting migratory birds. Santa Elena Canyon is a beautiful river canyon that can be seen from the campground area. Recreation: Particularly popular with bird watchers, Cottonwood Campground is a haven for those wishing to study the abundant bird life in Big Bend while also escaping the more crowded areas in the park. Because of its diverse ecosystems and plant life, the park provides habitats for many rare and unique birds, including the Mexican mallard, Lucifer hummingbird, Mexican jay, black-capped and gray vireos, and Varied Bunting. Visitors are often the eyes and ears of birding in the park and are encouraged to report sightings at the visitor center. Hiking trails are located around the campground. Facilities: The group campsite is a walk-in, tent-only site; no RVs or trailers are allowed. The campground has pit toilets, potable water, picnic tables and grills. There are no hookups or dump stations, and the use of generators is not allowed. Vehicle parking is restricted to an adjacent parking area. ACTIVITIES Boating: Canoeing Historic & Cultural Site: Historic Sites Fishing Hiking Picnicking: Picnic Tables Day Use Area: Amphitheater
From Interstate 10, take State Highway 385 south to Fort Stockton and into Marathon. From Marathon, drive 40 miles south on State Highway 385 to the north entrance of Big Bend National Park. Drive straight for 26 miles to Park Headquarters at Panther Junction. Turn right at the intersection and go 13 miles west. Take a left at the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive and drive 23 miles to Cottonwood Campground.
Nice quiet campground in Big Ben National Park, southwest side close to the Rio Grande. No hookups but water and pit toilets available. Close to a number of places to go hiking and sight-seeing.
We booked 4 nights and stayed 2. The triple digit day temps that barely cooled to the 90s made sleeping impossible in the RV so we broke out the tent . Other than that, we loved it. Site 7 has the best shade and the two resident owls favor the trees surrounding it. Be prepared for bird watchers to invade. Camp Host Bonnie runs a tight ship. We appreciated her attention to detail. Vault toilets, bear boxes, picnic tables are spotless. No phone or cell service, not even at nearby camp store or visitor center. Highly recommend.
We spent a few nights at Cottonwood Campground in May 2022. Generally a very positive experience.
Pros: It’s remote but well-tended. Compost restrooms were clean and tended daily, as were recycling bins. Most of the campground is nice and grassy, and most of the campsites are well-spaced and receive shade for part of the day. We stayed at site 13, which has a tree shading part of the pad. Abundant bird life in the area. We saw great horned owls, summer tanagers, scarlet tanagers, mockingbird, and several others we weren’t able to identify. We really enjoyed watching the bats every evening do their aerial acrobatics in search of bugs.
There is one potable water hydrant at the shed near the entrance of the campground. It seems to be a gravity-flow, so not really suitable for filling our trailer water tank.
There are several non-potable hydrants scattered throughout the camp, which can be used for cleaning, etc. The campground is very quiet and dark at night, which makes for great stargazing. Park maintenance staff, rangers, and firefighters made stops in camp every day.
Signs note that bear or javelina could make an appearance, so lock boxes are provided at each site to secure your food items. No generators are allowed, so you can count on quiet.
Cons: The camp is very remote, so no WiFi or cell signal (this could also count as a ‘Pro’).
Temps were over 100 during the days we were there, so you need to be prepared for that. Even so, nights were pretty comfortable for sleeping. Of course, no showers or sewer dump.
In general, we had no issues and enjoyed the camp. Be prepared to bring what water and food you expect you’ll need. There is a small store up the hill at Castolon that sells limited groceries, ice, and cold drinks.
The bathrooms were clean, but there was a lack of shade. It appeared that the park service is trying to replace nice cottonwood trees with horrible Wasatch trees. The area typically has nice grass, and it is currently not being irrigated as it was in the past. Overall the cottonwood campground is going down hill. I wish the park was doing more to keep access to that side of the park in a nicer state. The store nearby is pretty worthless, it really needs to be expanded, or the old store repaired.
A much quieter smaller more rustic campground than Chisos Basin or Rio Grande village. Saw a great horned owl! Beautiful Vermillion Flycatcher! Very clean pit toilets. Nice flat camp sites. No hook ups. One filtered potable water spigot. Nice little gift shop and small store at Castalon nearby. .
