Agency-listedUSFSFree
Little Cottonwood Rec Site
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · UT · 38.25709, -112.54341
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 Little Cottonwood Rec Site
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,447 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Little Cottonwood Rec SiteNIFC · 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 Little Cottonwood Rec Site · Fishlake National Forest · UT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel5 mi
- GGrocery5 mi
- LLaundry5 mi
- MMechanic6 mi
- @Mail6 mi
- EVEV fast charger6 mi
- HHardware6 mi
- WWater23 mi
- ShShower29 mi
- RxPharmacy31 mi
- +Urgent care32 mi
- DDump38 mi
- PPropane46 mi
- AAir-up49 mi
- OOutfitter50 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 23-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 5 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 — Little Cottonwood Rec Site
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
6,447 ft
State
UT
Coordinates
38.25709, -112.54341
Cost
Free · dispersed public land, no fee in any source
Nearby & resupply — around Little Cottonwood Rec Site · Fishlake National Forest · UT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureBeaver River (river) · nearby
- Nearest townBeaver · ~5.4 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~0.0 mi
- FuelFuel · ~6.4 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesMike's Food Town · ~5.5 mi
- Hospital / clinicHospital · ~5.1 mi
EV charging — from Little Cottonwood Rec Site · Fishlake National Forest · UT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger5.8 mi straight-line W — Beaver, UT (at a public site) · RIVIAN_ADVENTURE · CCS, NACS (Tesla) · 10 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach6 within 25 mi · 15 within 50 · 30 within 100 · 81 within 150
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO42.0 mi — Walmart 5168 (Richfield, UT), Richfield
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)30.5 mi — Two Sunsets Hotel - Tesla Destination, Panguitch, UT · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 6 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-08-27 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to all vehicles.
- 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 448017 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Little Cottonwood Rec Site · Fishlake National Forest · UT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Flush restroomLittle Cottonwood Campground · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPonderosa Rec Site · ~1.9 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletJimmy Reed Trailhead · ~2.7 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCopes Basin Trailhead · ~2.7 mi E · USFS
Open Little Cottonwood Rec Site elsewhere
Other camps near Little Cottonwood Rec Site
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Little Cottonwood Campground~0.2 mi · fee
- Little Reservoir Rec Site~2.9 mi
- Mahogany Cove Rec Site~3.3 mi
- Tushar Lakeside Campground-A~4.2 mi · fee
The unit that manages Little Cottonwood Rec Site
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Little Cottonwood Rec Site are set by Fishlake National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Merchant Valley at 8,710 ft, about 7 miles away. It sits about 2,263 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 — Little Cottonwood Rec Site
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 Little Cottonwood Rec Site
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 — Little Cottonwood Rec Site
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →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 →