Cottonwood Campground

Myself and my friend arrived on motorcycles late in the day only to be put in a site that looked absolutely nothing like the site advertised on the website. This site was the absolute worst paid campsite we had ever seen. It is an extension of the parking lot with a large green buzzing power transformer in the middle of it. The firepit was basically inside of a bush. The only view of this site was the group site beside and the parking lot. The site is an ADA site but that doesn't mean it has to look as unkept and terrible as it does. The website needs to be updated with actual pictures of the site or be removed from available sites to reserve. "Camp Hosts" should be called "Camp Wardens" because of their campground police mentality. You can tell its a state run operation and not a private setup. The "Camp Wardens" have no understanding or concept of customer service whatsoever. Absolute worst experience on our 12 day motorcycle trip. Despite the poor campsite we had booked due to advertising inaccuracies, we were able to be moved to a slightly better site -thankfully. This mixup ended up costing us atleast an hour and we were running short on daylight. We drove our bikes to our site in efforts to offload our gear to get set up quickly before it was completely dark. One of "camp wardens" Camp Warden #1) quickly came over to tell us we were breaking the rules and needed to get our bikes into the parking lot. No apology or anything for the website inaccuracy and the grief it had cost us. Her approach was purely accusatory and mean. Just threatened to call the park ranger to issue us a citation for breaking the rules. We got setup and put our bikes in the parking lot as promised. Soon after, the park ranger AKA camp warden #2 (husband of camp warden #1) came over and treated us like misbehaved children. The guy absolutely lost his cool and yelled at us like the prison warden he is. The next day I went over to the camp wardens to express our dissapointment with our experience at the campground and how things could be improved. Again, camp warden #2 (husband) absolutely berrated me by doing nothing other than just yelling over anything I would say. An absolute complete a$$hole. I ended up just walking away while the yelling was still going on. Not only were the camp wardens absolutely terrible to deal with, the bathrooms were bug infested with mud all over the floor. A bit more attention to upkeep would do this state park Campground some improvement. Getting rid of the current camp host couple would make the best improvement though. Do yourself a favour and avoid staying at this campground. Beautiful lake but would definitely not recommend. Lots of other accommodation options available. Should also mention that we were charged an additional $10 for an extra vehicle despite being on two motorcycles that easily fit into one regular parking spot. Definitely a cash grab. Pictures attached of screen shots of advertised site CW04 (cottonwood Site# 4) and actual pictures of this dumpy site.

Would definitely recommend this campground! Stayed for 2 nights. - The bathrooms and showers are decently clean and have running water. - The staff are super chill and helpful. - The ground is sandy and flat, so setting up a tent is easy. - Each tent site is really close to its neighboors, so there isn't a lot of privacy, but we didn't have any problems with anyone who stayed by us. - You are right on the water, which was so fun. We loved being able to just hop right in, but there were SOO many bugs. We used Mosquito repellent every 2 hrs, had citronella candles, and a bug zapper lantern and still got eaten alive, so just be prepared for that. Other than that, it was an amazing stay!

The campground is pretty minimal & although there are bathrooms and they are tidy and stocked, I doubt the toilets or anyting have actually been cleaned or disinfected as they were pretty dirty and definitely no extra cleanings due to covid. There are two showers in each bathroom but one was closed in the girls bathroom, so expect a line to take a shower. If you aren't camping right on the beach you are camping in an open area with tons of other people. The spots that are on the beach are convenient because you have lakefront camping, but people and children are constantly running through your campground to get to the beach. Definitely no privacy at this campground. The campground and especially the lakefront are so dirty. People leave their trash and things everywhere! Going for a walk was like going to the local dump, so sad. The water also has a lot of oil and gas in it, it doesn't seem like the local rental places do much to control polluting water. If all you're looking for is something on the water & you don't mind crowds then it's not bad.

Great campground! Nice showers and bathrooms available. Our spot was very close walking distance to the water. From the car to the campground however that was a bit of a track and weaving through other campgrounds but worth it to be as close to the water as we were. Bear lake is absolutely beautiful we love coming up whether it’s camping or just spending a day on the water.

2 star only because the camp host was so rude. Old lady, gray hair. I was at a stop looking for cars and she yelled at us "it's 15 MPH" ummm. WE WERE STOPPED! Get a nicer host please 😬