Cottonwood Campground, Big Bend National Park, TX - Latest Reviews, Photos & Campground Map

Cottonwood Campground is part of Big Bend National Park in Texas (4 hrs 13 min southwest of Odessa, TX) with an elevation of 2,129 feet. Cottonwood Campground is rated 4.6 stars from 307 reviews. There are a total of 28 campsites including 1 tent-only site. The campground is open all year. 27 sites can accommodate RVs and trailers between 22 and 40 feet. All sites are currently reservable. Reservations can be booked up to 6 months in advance. Fees range from $16.00 to $60.00. Some amenities include picnic table, restroom, trash dumpster, amphitheater. Activities include boating, fishing, hiking trails, floating sports.

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A maximum of two motor vehicles, one vehicle with a trailer, one motorhome with tow vehicle or four motorcycles allowed per campsite. A maximum of four tents OR one wheeled camping unit and one tent allowed per campsite. Only 1 conversion van or other type of recreational vehicle allowed per site. Two (2) conversion vans or RVs require 2 campsites.

NOTE: These alerts were current on the reservation website as of 49 minutes ago.

Campground Capacity (Next 30 Days)

Campsite Reviews (550)

4.6 out of 5

5 star		70%
4 star		17%
3 star		7%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

@AllisonP572676 · Camped on Mar 8, 2026 at Campsite #25

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

@FeliciaM4EEE49 · Camped on Mar 4, 2026 at Campsite #3

Close to Santa Elena Canyon & Castalon so good location for those areas. Smaller campground, but nice spacing. Sadly the big cottonwoods had to be cut down so there isnt much shade at many sites. Restrooms, but didnt use. Fresh water spigots in park. Had a weird experience, hopefully isolated someone briefly opened and slammed my van rear door in middle of night. I generally always lock doors! By time I looked outside, no one around. Maybe a kid prank. Otherwise, all good!

@RogerH7061222 · Camped on Mar 4, 2026 at Campsite #8

Nice little campground close to Santa Elena Canyon and Castolon. Very flat for camping. Lots of shade. Need to add showers, since it can get very hot there.

@JacobND0B8C458 · Camped on Mar 1, 2026

Campsite had a good amount of space and decent shade. Campground, restrooms, and tables were clean. Reasonably close to river access and Santa Elena canyon which is probably one of the best sights in the park. Very little light pollution and very good views to the south if you're looking to do astrophotography.

@AssafB2FBE59C3 · Camped on Mar 1, 2026 at Campsite #18

Close to the Saint Elana Canyon trail, and worth to go checkout the sunset around there as the sun goes down into the canyon

@NatashaNF84C1C · Camped on Feb 27, 2026 at Campsite #5

Its was the perfect campground for our trip! Close to the River and Santa Elena Canyon. The other campers were very friendly and quiet. The bathrooms were SO CLEAN. I was very impressed and we had the absolute best time camping and see the dark sky at night!!

@JannaT721DAE98 · Camped on Feb 24, 2026 at Campsite #24

We love boondocking at Cottonwood! Its our 4th visit!!! Quiet. Remote. A great way to enjoy Big Bend NP. Close to great hikes. Amazing scenery. Santa Elena. Mule Ears. The Chimneys. Campground host Mark was helpful. Informative. Made us feel right at home! We will definitely keep coming back!

@PaulineB99E1B5 · Camped on Feb 24, 2026 at Campsite #19

I've been staying at Cottonwood campground for 17 years. It was sad to see the cottonwoods gone. However, I always like to end my stay at Big Bend in this campground. Love how low key it is.

@TannerM6719665 · Camped on Feb 22, 2026 at Campsite #17

Quiet and peaceful. Volunteer was really nice!

@AraceliS14197E · Camped on Feb 21, 2026 at Campsite #6

Beautiful place, well maintained campground

@lisag1860020 · Camped on Feb 20, 2026 at Campsite #3

This is a nice, quiet area of Big Bend. Very few campsites, so very few people. Water spigots were clearly marked with potability of water. Vault toilets were clean. Would definitely stay again.

@DustinT1613239 · Camped on Feb 18, 2026 at Campsite #30

Was what we needed after a long drive to get our bearings. This is close to Santa Elana Canyon, so if that's part of your stay, I would recommend this campground.Everyone was nice and had a great visit with the Campground host who gave us some good recommendations on what to see while we were in the park.

@RaeLynneH55FE4 · Camped on Feb 18, 2026 at Campsite #14

The campground needs to be re-named Mesquite Campground. A fire came through years ago and burn the cottonwood trees so there is not as much shade. Camp site 14 has good morning shade.Camp site 21 has both shade and morning.

@MarkJ8680764 · Camped on Feb 18, 2026 at Campsite #24

Very nice clean and quiet campground. The vault toilet was very clean. RO water for drinking.

@MarkJ8680764 · Camped on Feb 17, 2026 at Campsite #15

Very nice clean and quiet campground. The vault toilet was very clean. RO water for drinking.

@JeffC9633298 · Camped on Feb 16, 2026 at Campsite #18

Very remote and primitive area. Amazing sunset. Within the BBNP. Very close to trail head for Santa Elena Canyon. Absolutely awesome.

@KimH4415877 · Camped on Feb 15, 2026 at Campsite #9

I wish there were at least some trails where you could take your dog.

@nicp72FFA420C6 · Camped on Feb 15, 2026 at Campsite #17

Clean campsite, clean restrooms, quite location. Enjoyed the stay.

@PeterP6271166 · Camped on Feb 12, 2026 at Campsite #24

Fantastic place with a billion stars at night. Cant wait to go back.

Some Coverage

@GrantE1C27C836 · Camped on Feb 10, 2026 at Campsite #9

We're not campground people but this was a nice quiet campground. We're used to wilderness camping.Campsites had decent space between each other.There is now fresh RO water available near the entry to the campground. Most of the large cottonwood trees have been cut down and they are no longer flooding the grassy areas. If you like quiet and no generators, you'll like it here. We were in site #9. The photo on the web site is not accurate. There are no trees and there is no pond making it way better than the photos. Cell phones don't work here but if you drive out of the campground you'll have some coverage. Starlink works great.

@HubertB3670056 · Camped on Feb 8, 2026 at Campsite #14

We enjoyed our stay at Cottonwood. We loved our time in Big Bend. Especially loved Santa Elena canyon. But, we did wonder why generators aren't allowed.

@PhilipAW1762D2 · Camped on Feb 7, 2026 at Campsite #2

My husband and i had only one night to spend at Cottonwood but even at that i always looked forward to staying there due to the large cottonwood trees and the birds they attracted. Imagine my shock as we drove in and found so many had been cut down. The campground didn't even look like Cottonwood and of course, the birds were scarce, at least where we were camped. I gave Cottonwood 5 stars because of past memories there. I am hoping that the NP will be planting more trees to take the place of those large old cottonwoods that offered shade and homes for birds. We'd had an owl in a tree over our camper one year and always saw Vermillion Flycatchers there. Not this year.

@StephenW3F8997 · Camped on Feb 6, 2026 at Campsite #8

Large level dirt sites for our 24ft class B camper van but very dusty. There is no dump station and only limited water for drinking. We could not fill our water tank. The campground has lots of hiking opportunities near by and well worth the lack of amenities if you like hiking and are self-contained.

No Service

@EllenS9303532 · Camped on Feb 6, 2026 at Campsite #7

Cottonwood is a good basic campground. There was little shade as most of the trees have died because of the severe drought in the area. The pit toilets were good, and staff was willing to assist with any issues.

@NathanB3D9F7BF · Camped on Feb 5, 2026 at Campsite #2

Clean site, host was very friendly

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Cottonwood Campground, Big Bend National Park, TX - Latest Reviews, Photos & Campground Map

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Cottonwood

Campground Capacity (Next 30 Days)

Campsite Reviews (550)

4.6 out of 5

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