Campground Review: Cottonwood @ Joshua Tree National Park

By Chris Dunphy On Apr 16, 2009 · 2 Comments

Passing through Joshua Tree National Park, we spent the night at the Cottonwood Campground near the park’s south entrance. This is the closest campground inside Joshua Tree to Interstate 10.

There are no hookups at Cottonwood, but there are nice flush toilets, and an RV dump station is available. All of the sites are spread out, and surrounded by desert rock and scrub. It is easy to feel isolated from your neighbors.

Each campsite includes a picnic table, and a fire pit – perfect for fresh grilled kitten.

The real highlight of Cottonwood was the night sky. We arrived just in time to watch the full moon rise over the nearby mountains. It was stunning!

The only thing Cottonwood is missing is a usable cell signal. Even the nearby visitor center and park entry gate is lacking – you have to pay cash since they have no way to ring up credit cards.

Summary Details:

View: Desert & Mountains. Amazing night skies!

Sites: 62 sites. Tents welcome.

Facilities: Flush Toilets, Fresh Water Spigots, RV Dump Station

Hookups: None. Good shade-free sun for solar.

Cell & Data Coverage:

AT&T – None!

Sprint - None! (Remote signal detected, but could not connect even with a booster)

Cost: $15/night

[geo_mashup_map]

Tagged with: California • campground

2 Responses to Campground Review: Cottonwood @ Joshua Tree National Park

Dale says:

Apr 16, 2009 at 10:46 pm

So … are the campsites at the Cottonwood Campground available half price with a Senior Pass?

Thanks.

Dale

Reply
- Cherie Ve Ard says:
  
  Apr 16, 2009 at 11:22 pm
  
  The campground is part of the National Park System, so it would qualify for whatever benefits are afforded with the Senior Pass. As we’re far from being seniors, that’s not typically an angle we take note of
  
  Reply