Cottonwood Campground

We didn't have luck reserving through the app a few weeks in advance, so we attempted the first come first serve sites. We got there around 8:30am on Friday in mid August to make sure we got a spot but noticed a lot of turnover on Friday and Saturday. Campground was full by 5-6pm each day we were there. All even number sites are first come, first serve, so it is quite a few sites. 49, 52, and 53 have the prettiest views for tent/ short rigs if you can grab one. The camp hosts were great, and the facility was decent for $14 a night. I was sad to not have a dump station, though. 1 bar of Verizon and T-Mobile; not enough to work but enough to load emails/ look something up. Wild horses roamed through the campsite!

We camped at the Cottonwood Campground in mid-June, the weather was perfect. Our rate was $7.00 per night with our Lifetime Pass, otherwise the nightly rate is $14.00. Our campsite was very spacious and private with a picnic table and grill. Water was located nearby and the restrooms were modern and very clean. We received 1-bar of coverage with Verizon. Overall we enjoyed our stay at this campground and the opportunity to explore the National Park.

The back-in sites in the cottonwood campground are pretty tight. They just accommodated our truck camper. Anything bigger than a small pull behind or camper van should try and get a pull through site. While the space for your camping rig is small there is extra space on the site that has a picnic table and fire ring. The park lived up to expectations with a large bison herd right next to the campground and wild horses that walked through the morning we were there. There are lots of hiking opportunities in the park and we observed antelope, deer and coyotes in addition to the bison and wild horses. The town of Madera where the park is located has many entertainment options.

We arrived early afternoon on a Sunday. We were told upon entering the park that all of the even numbered campsites were available on a first come-first served basis. However, when we got to the campground, we discovered most of the even numbered sites had reserved cards on the posts. When we inquired with the campground host, he told us that the National Park had reserved those sites for the summer. That left very few first come-first served sites available. Of the sites available, very few would accommodate a camper or bigger rig. We camp with an r-Pod, and struggled to find a back-in site (all of the bigger pull through sites were reserved by the park) that we could get into. We were pleased to find site 74. It had a lovely meadow & mountain view and was not terribly close to our neighbors. (It did seem as the campground filled up later each day, people did use those reserved sites as first come-first served, even though we were told that was not an option).
The campground does have a nice bathroom with running water & flush toilets. There are no hookups, but there was a water spigot nearby to access water. Our site was level, and it seemed most were.
We toured both units of the park during our stay, and visited Medora and the Maah Daah Hey trail nearby, so the campground was a good location for that purpose.
Cell service was ‘spotty’.

We arrived late afternoon on a Thursday and got one of the last what I would consider suitable first come- first serve sites. Spacious and peaceful.

FYI- the even numbered slots are all FCFS. Odd are reserved. If making a reservation- look at the map closely as some are far from ideal- being the “side of the road” style.

As of June 2022- the scenic loop is partially closed with paving operations on going but no date set for the loop to open completely.

Staying here for 3 nights- worked for our overall travel needs but there is not 3 days worth of stuff to do- if staying busy is your jam- allow for a 1/2 day max and you’ve seen the park. Services are bare bones- but camp hosts and fellow campers are all personable.

And yes- the bison roam about the campground so stay alert.

I pulled in here this past June 25th without reservations. The campground was pretty crowded, and though there were quite a few sites long enough for my class A and trailer - they were all full. The park rangers stopped as I was looking for a spot and told me I could park on the parking apron near the pay station if I liked - it was flat and there was plenty of room for my 56' rig. They were very helpful and accommodating and it enabled me to unload my Nash Metropolitan and use it to tour the park - TRNP is a beautiful park and there was so much wildlife to see - Bison, a herd of Mustangs, deer, and of course, Prairie Dogs! The terrain and all the color is just amazing. I only had a few moments concern when a group of about 8 or 10 bison including a couple of calfs came walking down the road past me in my little convertible - they passed me by without incident but GEEZ were they BIG! When I left the next morning I had to drive my rig through the larger loop to get pointed toward the exit. The loop road is narrow and quite a few trees lean into it as well. I made it through without attaching any tree bark to my rig but breathed a sigh of relief when I got through.

We enjoyed staying there. Convenient location for exploring the south unit. Our site had vegetation that shielded us from the loop road. Good site for roof top solar. Dump station available at Medora Campground near the entrance. Cost was $5. We paid the day before because of our early morning need to dump.

Had 3 Buffalo hang around the picnic table one evening. 12 turkey strolled through the camp site