Cold Brook Lake Campground

Couple of miles in on a dirt road that is in good shape. Hosts were wonderful. My site was level and had a wood fire pit with grill. (bring your own wood, they dont sell it) . Also had a quality aluminum picnic table. At least 2 pit toilets. There is one spigot that has potable water, but you might need 50-60 feet of hose to fill your tank. Lake is a 100 yard walk. Very scenic area with green grass and red bluffs nearby. Between Hot Springs and Wind Cave National Park.

We generally enjoy COE campgrounds, however this was an exception. While the area was very nice and the campground is conveniently located, it is not well maintained.
The pit toilets were not cleaned until the seventh day we were here. I’m very happy we brought our own facilities. Although they are “pit toilets” they should be cleaned regularly by camp staff.
Speaking of, the camp host made very few appearances during our seven day stay. It may be policy at this location for host to maintain distance, not sure.
The park ranger on the other hand was very helpful and made many frequent visits to the campground. They were very pleasant and knowledgeable.
The other issue we faced were several campsites with trash burners. While that may be acceptable to some it lowers my assessment of the entire location.
If we hadn’t reserved this location for the time we did, I would have left early.
Unfortunately with the negative vibes we picked up here we won’t stay again.
This could be an epic location with the proper care.

Beautiful campground, small, and easier to get to than first imagined. Site 3 was ok but try getting sites on the outside as they back up to great views and a small creek. Site 3 is not meant for larger rigs than ours. Two vault toilet buildings, water available by spigot at the end of camp near the host, two dumpsters for trash, no electricity, and only a little over three miles into charming little Hot Springs. The Moccasin Springs Natural Mineral Spa is about a 1⁄4 mile around the corner from the Uppercrust Bakery. Both establishments are top drawer and well worth visiting.

It was a quiet campground in a beautiful canyon by a small lake. The lake has a beach. Paying was weird - you had to do it through Recreation.gov if you didn’t have a reservations, and that is all well and good as long as you have reception. The spots are smaller. There aren’t many trees. And the bathroom was locked! Luckily we have a small camper with a toilet.

We camped the day starting May 15, the day it opened. No one else here. #12 & 13 are across the road from the rest of the campground and there is quite a bit of traffic during the day on the gravel road.

COE is going to all recreation.gov for this campground this year meaning it is reservation only. For a walk up site you still have to pay through rec.gov and make a reservation. It's a little weird.

Nice free dump station in Hot Springs run by the city.