Agency-listedWyoming Game & Fish CommissionFreeOpen today
Cottonwood Draw WHMA Campground
Drive-up · Wyoming Game & Fish · WY · 42.13323, -104.73864
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 →Wyoming Game & Fish lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
FIRE BAN: WGFD flags this area as 'Fire Ban is in Effect for this Area' -- check before you plan on any open flame. SEASONAL CLOSURE -- READ THIS FIRST: Access limited to easement area marked with signs. Wyoming closes many of these areas in winter and spring to protect wintering big game, and a closure is not advisory. Confirm the current dates with Game and Fish before you drive out. This is a designated campground on the Cottonwood Draw Wildlife Habitat Management Area in Platte County, land acquired or administered by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission. The area runs about 700 acres. Camping here is genuinely free and first come, first served -- and unlike neighbouring states, Wyoming does NOT make you buy a license or a habitat/entrance pass simply to be on the land or to camp. (If you intend to hunt or fish while you are there, that is a different matter: you need the appropriate Wyoming license and a conservation stamp for that activity.) The rules that bind: you may only camp in the designated spots, no more than 14 consecutive days, and you cannot leave a camp unattended more than 48 hours. After you hit the limit you have to be off that same Game and Fish land for at least 72 hours before returning. Some areas post a limit shorter than 14 days on the sign at the entrance -- if the sign says less, the sign wins. Area-specific regulations from Game and Fish: Motor Vehicle Travel Restricted to Roads Marked By white arrow on the Wildlife Habitat Management Area. No Recreational Shooting, Off Road Vehicle use is prohibited; open fires and fireworks are prohibited. Exceptions noted for this area: Access parking lot not plowed during winter. Amenities listed by Game and Fish for the area: Parking area. These are working wildlife areas first and campgrounds second -- they exist for habitat, so expect gravel, expect stock, and leave it cleaner than you found it. We have not visited; confirm current conditions and closures with the Wyoming Game and Fish Laramie regional office before you go.
Can I go now? — Cottonwood Draw WHMA Campground · Wyoming Game & Fish · WY
Open today Year-round per the agency record.
Wyoming Game & Fish record: “Open year-round Open year round.” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-22; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.
🔥 Fire ban recorded in the agency listing when it was last read (“Fire Ban is in Effect for this Area”). That is a snapshot, not a live feed — check current restrictions before you light anything.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Cottonwood Draw WHMA Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 4,421 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Cottonwood Draw WHMA 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 Draw WHMA Campground · Wyoming Game & Fish · WY
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- LLaundry9 mi
- FFuel9 mi
- GGrocery9 mi
- HHardware9 mi
- +Urgent care9 mi
- @Mail9 mi
- RxPharmacy10 mi
- MMechanic10 mi
- EVEV fast charger12 mi
- DDump16 mi
- WWater28 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 28-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 9 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 Draw WHMA Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
Wyoming Game & Fish
Elevation
4,421 ft
Ground slope
1.1% · flat
Nearest rail line
~6.9 mi · other track
State
WY
Coordinates
42.13323, -104.73864
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Cottonwood Draw WHMA Campground · Wyoming Game & Fish · WY (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureGrayrocks Reservoir · ~0.1 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelSinclair · ~9.4 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~16.0 mi
- GroceriesJohnston's Corner · ~9.4 mi
- PharmacyRegister Cliff Pharmacy · ~9.5 mi
- Hospital / clinicBanner Medical Clinic Guernsey · ~9.4 mi
- HardwareDo it Best · ~9.4 mi
- Nearest rail line~6.9 mi · other track
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
EV charging — from Cottonwood Draw WHMA Campground · Wyoming Game & Fish · WY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger12.2 mi straight-line W — Wheatland, WY - Tesla Supercharger (at a hotel) · 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 reach1 within 25 mi · 2 within 50 · 25 within 100 · 112 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS57.9 mi — NPPD EV STATION SB SINCLAIR DCN, Scottsbluff
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO57.9 mi — NPPD EV STATION SB SINCLAIR DCN, Scottsbluff
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)57.7 mi — HAMPTON INN SCB HAMPTON INN SCB, Scottsbluff, NE · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Heartland Inn & Suites - Tesla Destination, Wheatland, 12.2 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas 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 102521 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cottonwood Draw WHMA Campground · Wyoming Game & Fish · WY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomRomtec Vault Toilets · ~10.4 mi NE · NPS
- Flush restroomGuernsey Shower House Building · ~10.7 mi N · BoR
- Flush restroomTunnel Mountain Shower House Building · ~10.8 mi N · BoR
- RestroomSkyline Campground Restroom 2 Building · ~10.8 mi N · BoR
Coming out here — Cottonwood Draw WHMA Campground · Wyoming Game & Fish · WY
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Grayrocks Reservoir as a perennial lake or pond, ~0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as perennial is not the same as flowing today. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 1.1% — flat. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- Rail line mapped ~6.9 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as other track. No track the atlas classes as a main line is mapped within 10 mi. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin in the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). That file holds the divided, limited-access highways only — a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not be in it.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Cottonwood Draw WHMA Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Cottonwood Draw WHMA Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Grayrocks Reservoir PAA Campground #4~0.7 mi
- Grayrocks Reservoir PAA Campground #7~1.3 mi
- Lewis Park Campground (Wheatland)~12.5 mi
Who holds the land at Cottonwood Draw WHMA Campground
USGS’s Protected Areas Database (PAD-US 4.1, queried 2026-09-23) lists the ground at this pin as Cottonwood Draw Wildlife Habitat Management Area, manager on record: Wyoming Game and Fish Department (state). That names who holds the land — it is not a statement that camping is permitted here.
How we know this — Cottonwood Draw WHMA Campground
Seasonal closure
Access limited to easement area marked with signs.
Fire ban
Fire Ban is in Effect for this Area
Open dates
Open year-round Open year round.
Stay limit
5 nights (Camping limit: 5 days)
Area rules
Motor Vehicle Travel Restricted to Roads Marked By white arrow on the Wildlife Habitat Management Area. No Recreational Shooting, Off Road Vehicle use is prohibited; open fires and fireworks are prohibited.
Exceptions
Access parking lot not plowed during winter.
Amenities
Parking area.
Source
Wyoming Game & Fish (habitat management areas)
Confidence
Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.
How it was placed
FREE, no permit required, per WGFC Chapter 23 Sec. 4(a)(iii): 'Camping shall only be allowed in areas designated by Department publication or sign. No person shall camp in excess of the posted camping limit, and in no case more than fourteen (14) consecutive days, or leave a camp unattended for more than forty-eight (48) hours.' The words 'fee' and 'stamp' do not appear anywhere in Chapter 23, and 'license' appears only for long-term special-use agreements -- there is NO license/pass precondition for camping (unlike SD GFP or OK ODWC). WGFD states directly: 'Camping on WHMAs and PAAs is free and on a first-come, first-served basis' and 'The statewide camping limit is 14 days'. DESIGNATION: this is not inferred -- it is a point in WGFD's own WHMA_Facilities feature service with FacilityType='Campground' and PublicView='Public' (FacilityName 'Campground', area 'Cottonwood Draw'), which is the 'Department publication' the rule requires. Coordinates are that feature's own WGS84 geometry, not a geocode. Area attributes (season, regulations, amenities) come from WGFD's WHMA_Locations layer joined on area name. Source: services6.arcgis.com/cWzdqIyxbijuhPLw (WHMA_Facilities / WHMA_Locations), WGFD open data. Ingested 2026-07-20 18:27:48. SCOPE OF THE RULE (checked 2026-07-21 against the Chapter 23 PDF itself, wgfd.wyo.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/24576_REGULATIONS-CH-23.pdf): the chapter is titled 'REGULATION GOVERNING USES OF LANDS AND WATERS ACQUIRED OR ADMINISTERED BY THE WYOMING GAME AND FISH COMMISSION', and Sec. 3 defines acquired land as taken by the Commission 'by purchase, deed, lease, agreement, gift or devise'. The rule therefore reaches land the Commission holds by lease/agreement/easement, not only land it owns, so the free-camping authority holds on easement areas too. Land status is stated as 'acquired or administered' rather than 'owned' for that reason. SeasonalClosure: 'Access limited to easement area marked with signs.'. AccessDates: 'Open year-round Open year round.'. AreaRegulations: 'Motor Vehicle Travel Restricted to Roads Marked By white arrow on the Wildlife Habitat Management Area. No Recreational Shooting, Off Road Vehicle use is prohibited; open fires and fireworks are prohibited.'. Exceptions: 'Access parking lot not plowed during winter.'. Amenities: 'Parking area.'. FireBan: 'Fire Ban is in Effect for this Area'. NOTE REFRESHED 2026-07-21 01:39:46: this row's stay limit was recomputed after a parser fix -- WGFD states its posted camping limit in several different phrasings ('Camping limit: 5 days', 'Overnight camping (5-day limit)', '5 day camping on Commission Lands') and the original ingester matched only one of them, so some areas were described with Wyoming's 14-day statewide cap when the posted limit is shorter. Coordinates, source and provenance are unchanged.
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 Draw WHMA 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.
- Whether the fire rule stated above still stands today — what we have is a dated reading of the agency's listing, not a live restriction feed
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- 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 Draw WHMA Campground
Water on public land →Cold-weather camping →Fire rules & restrictions →How to read this page →All field notes →