Agency-listedUSFSFee
Cottonwood
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · UT · 39.77990, -111.72426
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
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,514 ft.
Fire & smoke — around CottonwoodNIFC · 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 · Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest · UT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel7 mi
- GGrocery7 mi
- HHardware7 mi
- @Mail8 mi
- WWater8 mi
- DDump8 mi
- LLaundry8 mi
- ShShower8 mi
- EVEV fast charger9 mi
- MMechanic12 mi
- +Urgent care12 mi
- RxPharmacy14 mi
- AAir-up19 mi
- PPropane23 mi
- OOutfitter30 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 7 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
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
6,514 ft
State
UT
Coordinates
39.77990, -111.72426
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Cottonwood · Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest · UT (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townMona · ~6.6 mi
- Drinking waterWater · ~7.8 mi
- FuelShell · ~6.6 mi
- Propane / LPGHoliday Oil · ~22.9 mi
- Dump station~8.3 mi
- GroceriesGood 2 Go · ~6.6 mi
- PharmacySantaquin Pharmacy · ~13.8 mi
- Hospital / clinicHospital · ~11.7 mi
- HardwareGordon's Ace Hardware · ~7.0 mi
EV charging — from Cottonwood · Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest · UT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger9.4 mi straight-line SW — Nephi, UT - 12502 S Main St - 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 reach5 within 25 mi · 38 within 50 · 133 within 100 · 173 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS12.6 mi — Murdock Ford, Santaquin
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO30.1 mi — PROVOAIRPORT DCFAST CHARGE 1, Provo
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)17.3 mi — MTECH PAYSON STATION 2 · 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 102460 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Cottonwood · Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest · UT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletCottonwood · at this camp · USFS
- Flush restroomBear Canyon · ~0.5 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPonderosa · ~1.0 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletTinney Flat · ~8.4 mi N · USFS
Open Cottonwood elsewhere
Other camps near Cottonwood
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Bear Canyon~0.5 mi · fee
- Ponderosa~1.0 mi · fee
- Tinney Flat~8.4 mi · fee
- Blackhawk~9.5 mi · fee
The unit that manages Cottonwood
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Cottonwood are set by Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Santaquin Meadows at 7,830 ft, about 10 miles away. It sits about 1,316 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
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 2026-08-24: this site is NOT priced per campsite -- the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache charges PER VEHICLE here: $10 per vehicle per 3-day, $20 per vehicle per 7-day, $60 per vehicle per year. The forest adds that the pass must be on display while parked, that an Interagency pass number can be written in box #10 on a fee envelope, and that the hang tag goes on the clip at your site with the envelope in the self-service fee tube. There is no recreation.gov listing for this site. Worth knowing if you go looking: the forest has two Cottonwood Campgrounds and files this one as "Cottonwood Campground- Spanish Fork Ranger District". Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r04/uinta-wasatch-cache/recreation/cottonwood-campground-spanish-fork-ranger-district (last updated June 3, 2026).
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
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
What “dispersed” means here →Fire rules & restrictions →How to read this page →Reading the aerial →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 →