Agency-listedUSFSFree
Cottonwood Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · NM · 33.61878, -108.89472
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.
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 5,809 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 · Gila National Forest · NM
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- +Urgent care10 mi
- FFuel10 mi
- @Mail10 mi
- GGrocery21 mi
- MMechanic21 mi
- WWater21 mi
- HHardware21 mi
- ShShower34 mi
- DDump34 mi
- LLaundry42 mi
- PPropane55 mi
- EVEV fast charger68 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 21-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 10 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 68-mi run (and back).
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
5,809 ft
State
NM
Coordinates
33.61878, -108.89472
Cost
Free · OpenStreetMap fee tag: no
Nearby & resupply — around Cottonwood Campground · Gila National Forest · NM (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureHighway Tank (water) · nearby
- Nearest townRancho Grande Estates · ~5.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- Fuelnone within 30 mi
- Propane / LPGPropane · ~21.0 mi
- GroceriesAlpine Country Store · ~21.4 mi
EV charging — from Cottonwood Campground · Gila National Forest · NM — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger68.0 mi straight-line SE — Western New Mexico University, Silver City, NM · VIALYNK · CCS · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · none within 50 · 6 within 100 · 56 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)88.9 mi — Lordsburg, NM - Tesla Supercharger, Lordsburg
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO100.5 mi — Major Market Inc, Zuni
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)69.3 mi — CHARLIE CLARKS C.C. CHARGING 1, Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- 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 335770 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cottonwood Campground · Gila National Forest · NM — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletCottonwood · at this camp · USFS
- RestroomCottonwood Trailhead · ~2.0 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPueblo Park · ~4.2 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPueblo Park · ~4.2 mi W · USFS
Open Cottonwood Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Cottonwood Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Pueblo Park Campground~4.2 mi
- Cosmic~9.7 mi
- Upper Blue Cg~11.4 mi
- Upper Blue Campground~11.5 mi
The unit that manages Cottonwood Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Cottonwood Campground are set by Gila National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Frisco Divide at 8,010 ft, about 9 miles away. It sits about 2,201 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
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
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.
Agency page
fs.usda.gov — the land manager's own page for this site. Fees, seasons and closures are stated there first; if it disagrees with this page, it wins.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
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
- Seasonal & winter access
- 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 →Gear & rig loadout →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 →