Agency-listedUSFSFreeOpen today
Cottonwood Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · ID · 43.63246, -115.82489
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this site. On most of their ground you can camp away from developed sites pretty much anywhere — so treat this as a known-good spot, not the only one allowed. The unit sets stay limits and how far off road and water you must be. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
Can I go now? — Cottonwood Campground · Boise National Forest · ID
Open today Season May 31 – Sep 30. Closes after Sep 30.
U.S. Forest Service record: “End of May - End of September” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-17; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Cottonwood Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,266 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Cottonwood CampgroundNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Cottonwood Campground · Boise National Forest · ID
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel13 mi
- GGrocery13 mi
- @Mail13 mi
- WWater13 mi
- +Urgent care17 mi
- RxPharmacy18 mi
- HHardware18 mi
- MMechanic18 mi
- LLaundry19 mi
- OOutfitter19 mi
- EVEV fast charger21 mi
- AAir-up25 mi
- DDump29 mi
- ShShower29 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 13 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Cottonwood Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
3,266 ft
State
ID
Coordinates
43.63246, -115.82489
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Cottonwood Campground · Boise National Forest · ID (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureCottonwood Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townRobie Creek · ~8.5 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~3.6 mi
- FuelMr. Gas · ~18.2 mi
- Propane / LPGThe Y stop · ~13.1 mi
- Dump station~29.2 mi
- GroceriesGold Mine Gas Station · ~13.3 mi
- PharmacyHealth Mart · ~18.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicSaint Alphonsus Health Plaza Bown Crossing · ~17.0 mi
- HardwareD&B Supply · ~17.8 mi
EV charging — from Cottonwood Campground · Boise National Forest · ID — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger21.0 mi straight-line W — Boise, ID - North Orchard Street - Tesla Supercharger (at a restaurant) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach10 within 25 mi · 23 within 50 · 44 within 100 · 51 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS22.4 mi — AAA OR ID AAA-BOI3, Boise
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO22.4 mi — AAA OR ID AAA-BOI3, Boise
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)15.9 mi — 3469 S Old Hickory Way, Boise, ID · LOOP · J1772 · 4 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-07-15 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Fairly Reliable Bob's, Boise, 19.7 mi · J1772 · hours: Dealership business hours; customer and service center use only · AFDC lists it “Free”
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 313094 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cottonwood Campground · Boise National Forest · ID — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletCottonwood Campground · at this camp · USFS
- Flush restroomCottonwood Guard Station Rental Cabin · ~0.6 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWillow Creek Campground · ~3.7 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletArrowrock Boat Ramp · ~4.0 mi SW · USFS
Open Cottonwood Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Cottonwood Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Irish Point Dispersed~1.4 mi
- Willow Creek Campground~3.7 mi
- Badger Creek Campground~6.0 mi
- Bald Mountain Campground~9.2 mi
The unit that manages Cottonwood Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Cottonwood Campground are set by Boise National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Prairie at 4,800 ft, about 15 miles away. It sits about 1,534 ft higher than this camp, so treat it as a guide rather than a reading for this spot. We do not repeat a depth here, because any number we stored would be stale by the time you read it — the station publishes today's.
How we know this — Cottonwood Campground
Open season
End of May - End of September
Source
U.S. Forest Service recreation data
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
Free but developed (not dispersed) - review || Water: Boise National Forest's own site page for Cottonwood Campground, https://www.fs.usda.gov/r04/boise/recreation/cottonwood-campground (read 2026-08-24; page "Last updated" May 17, 2025), "Facility and Amenity Information > Water": "Potable water is not available at this site.". Corroborated by the USFS EDW Recreation Sites layer (apps.fs.usda.gov/arcx/rest/services/EDW/EDW_RecInfraRecreationSites_02/MapServer/0, re-queried live 2026-08-24 for SITE_ID 6132 / MANAGING_ORG 040201), WATER_AVAILABILITY = "No drinking water is available". Page "Seasons of Use": "End of May - End of September" -- that is the season of the SITE, not a statement about when the water is turned on. Channels agree; nightshift fire 1680.
Season
Read from the agency's own season / closure text in this record (data/conditions.py) and checked against the calendar. The words we read are printed under the verdict at the top of the page.
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Cottonwood Campground
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Cottonwood Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Camping with a dog →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →