Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Cottonwood Lake Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 39.07863, -107.88442
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 as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. 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 Lake Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 10,142 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Cottonwood Lake 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 Lake Campground · Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · CO
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- ShShower10 mi
- DDump10 mi
- +Urgent care12 mi
- EVEV fast charger13 mi
- @Mail15 mi
- FFuel15 mi
- GGrocery15 mi
- MMechanic22 mi
- HHardware25 mi
- LLaundry25 mi
- RxPharmacy26 mi
- WWater31 mi
- OOutfitter36 mi
- PPropane42 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 31-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 15 mi out.
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 Lake Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
10,142 ft
State
CO
Coordinates
39.07863, -107.88442
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Cottonwood Lake Campground · Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · CO (OpenStreetMap)
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~15.2 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~10.3 mi
- GroceriesGrocery · ~15.2 mi
- PharmacyPalisade Pharmacy · ~25.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicHospital · ~11.9 mi
- HardwareDelta Hardware · ~24.9 mi
EV charging — from Cottonwood Lake Campground · Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · CO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger12.7 mi straight-line S — SCVHISTSOC PIONEER TOWN 1, Cedaredge, CO · ChargePoint Network · CCS, NACS (Tesla) · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach3 within 25 mi · 43 within 50 · 84 within 100 · 176 within 150
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO21.1 mi — Town of Paonia - Parking, Paonia
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)21.2 mi — Solar Energy International, Paonia, CO (at an office building) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2025-12-12 · 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 332130 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cottonwood Lake Campground · Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · CO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBig Creek Reservoir · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBig Creek · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWeir And Johnson · ~3.0 mi E · USFS
- RestroomYoungs Creek Reservoir #3 · ~3.0 mi SW · USFS
Open Cottonwood Lake Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Cottonwood Lake Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Twin Lake Dispersed Camping Area~2.4 mi
- Weir and Johnson Campground~3.0 mi
- Crag Crest Campground~3.5 mi
- Cottonwood Lake~4.2 mi · fee
The unit that manages Cottonwood Lake Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Cottonwood Lake Campground are set by Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Park Reservoir at 9,990 ft, about 2 miles away. That is about the height of this camp, so it is a fair proxy. 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 Lake 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 Lake 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 Lake Campground
Camping at altitude →When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Power off-grid →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 →