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Everything you need to know about camping at Cottonwood Campground — Big Bend National Park. Updated for 2026.
Cottonwood Campground — Big Bend National Park is a federal campground booked on recreation.gov, where the current nightly fee is shown at checkout. It has Standard (no hookups), Group tent area sites.
Cottonwood Campground — Big Bend National Park is booked through recreation.gov, typically up to 6 months in advance. Popular weekends fill quickly, so reserve the moment the window opens, and set a Camp.land alert to catch cancellations if your dates are already full.
Cottonwood Campground — Big Bend National Park has 29 total sites. 28 Standard (no hookups) sites in the Cottonwood loop, 1 Group tent area sites in the Group Site A loop.
It depends on what you're looking for. For Families: Standard sites in the main Cottonwood loop, close to the shade and the vault toilets; reserve on recreation.gov. For Privacy: Sites on the outer edge of the loop, farthest from the day-use area. For RVs: Small rigs can use the standard sites, but this is dry camping with no hookups, no dump station, and no generators.
Essentials: tent or RV (depending on site type), sleeping bags, cooler with ice, firewood (can't collect wood in most Texas parks), sunscreen, bug spray, water bottles, and headlamps. Bring your binoculars, the cottonwoods draw a lot of birds
Fall and winter. Cool air settles into the low elevations, so October through February is the comfortable window. Spring and summer temperatures routinely top 100 degrees.
Camp.land watches Cottonwood Campground — Big Bend National Park on recreation.gov around the clock and emails you the moment a cancellation opens up. People cancel all the time — especially midweek. You can also try walk-up sites on the day of arrival, but availability isn't guaranteed.
Cottonwood Campground — Big Bend National Park doesn't have traditional cabins, but offers Standard (no hookups), Group tent area camping options.
Yes. Standard (no hookups) (Cottonwood): max 28 sites, No hookups · no generators · dry camping. Check equipment length limits for your specific RV.
Set an alert and we’ll email you the moment a cancellation opens on recreation.gov. We watch it around the clock.
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