Agency-listedUSFSFee
Cottonwood Recreation Area
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · OR · 42.28033, -120.64681
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 Recreation Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,199 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Cottonwood Recreation AreaNIFC · 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 Recreation Area · Fremont-Winema National Forest · OR
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- ShShower0 mi
- FFuel16 mi
- GGrocery16 mi
- AAir-up16 mi
- MMechanic16 mi
- RxPharmacy17 mi
- HHardware17 mi
- @Mail17 mi
- WWater19 mi
- DDump26 mi
- EVEV fast charger54 mi
- PPropane55 mi
- LLaundry56 mi
- OOutfitter57 mi
- +Urgent care58 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 16 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 54-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 Recreation Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
6,199 ft
State
OR
Coordinates
42.28033, -120.64681
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Cottonwood Recreation Area · Fremont-Winema National Forest · OR (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townLakeview · ~16.3 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel Commander Network · ~15.6 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~26.0 mi
- GroceriesFastBreak · ~15.6 mi
- PharmacyHoward's Valu Rite Pharmacy · ~16.6 mi
- HardwareLakeview Ace Hardware · ~16.6 mi
EV charging — from Cottonwood Recreation Area · Fremont-Winema National Forest · OR — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger54.2 mi straight-line W — KCC - 1 KCC#2, Klamath Falls, OR · ChargePoint Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 1 fast port 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 · 16 within 100 · 109 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)54.2 mi — KCC - 1 KCC#3, Klamath Falls
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)52.4 mi — TULELAKE TULE HQ 1 · 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 421721 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cottonwood Recreation Area · Fremont-Winema National Forest · OR — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletCottonwood Recreation Area · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCottonwood Creek · ~3.5 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLofton Reservoir · ~8.9 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHeart Lake · ~9.9 mi W · USFS
Open Cottonwood Recreation Area elsewhere
Other camps near Cottonwood Recreation Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Cottonwood Complex Campground~0.6 mi
- Lofton Reservoir Developed Campground~8.7 mi
- Lofton Reservoir~8.9 mi · fee
- Holbrook Reservoir~10.6 mi
The unit that manages Cottonwood Recreation Area
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Cottonwood Recreation Area are set by Fremont-Winema National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Cottonwood Recreation Area
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
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified. | Fee 2026-08-23: $6 per night, single unit; $2 per extra vehicle per night. The forest page and recreation.gov listing 10382389 (0.026 mi from our pin) agree for the 2026 season, May 15 - Oct 15. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/fremont-winema/recreation/cottonwood-recreation-area-campground.
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 Recreation Area
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 Recreation Area
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →The town run →Off-grid communication →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 →