Cottonwood Campground

This is a campground site location. There are nice covered canopies and picnic tables. The really nice thing too are clean bathrooms with urinals and flush toilets. Lastly, there is potable water via spicket available in each location.

I love this campground because it has real flush toilets and almost zero light pollution at night. The night sky is stunning. We stayed in B20, and I would recommend any site along that stretch. Note that there isn't any cell service here or within about a 20 minute drive. You must buy firewood outside the park. I have two criticisms. The first is that there isn't a tent only section so we had a real eyesore of an RV trailer directly across from us wrecking what would otherwise be a gorgeous desert view (the generator was annoying as well). My second criticism is that some of the sites are extremely close to one another. Great for several family groups who decide to camp together, but risky otherwise.

What a great camping spot. Easy in and out. The odd numbers park along the road way while the even numbers are either tent or back in spots. The night sky is great for star gazing.

This is not a place for glamping. If you're looking for a challenging hike with an elevation gain from 9K to just over 11K and bitchin view at the end, then I highly recommend it! Not for beginners, unless you plan on overnight camping. I did a turn around that was approximately 5 hours and roughly 11 miles. Definitely felt it the next day. This review has nothing to do with Cottonwood Campground, it's for Cottonwood Trail, located in Inyo County. The road that leads to the trailhead starts in the city of Lone Pine and takes you to Cirque Lake. If you get up early, you might catch a local restaurant on the way back down the highway. Lone Pine closes early.

A few years ago (September of 2022), my friends planned my bachelor party to JTree. We stayed at site B31. It was a great experience. We had a total of 3 tents that were 2-4 person sized, a large pop-up for shade, and we still had plenty of space for 5 large guys. Restrooms were clean and well maintained, and there was access to water throughout the campgrounds. This trip was the catalyst for my friends and I to plan a similar camping trip annually. The following year, we came back to this campground and stayed at site A07. This site was great as well, but it did have some gulleys and sloped spots. We were able to get the same 3 tents but we were on the boundary of the site. The gulleys were maybe a foot wide by a foot deep from water runoff. Nothing crazy, but watch your step at night. JT