Cottonwood Lakes Walk in Campground

Beautiful campsite. But can get busy in the weekends. Trails well traveled although still feels remote. Lots of fish in creeks and streams.

Very clean overall. Plenty of trash cans and bear boxes. Bathrooms were amazingly tidy and supplied with hand sanitizer. Very reasonably priced. Excellent location. Campers were very respectful of quiet hours.

The drive up from the desert valley up to 10000 ft was a spectacular transition from desert summer heat to cooler pine tree covered mountains. If you don't want to camp or hike, the drive would still impress you. The surface at the campsite was sandy dirt, which made for a softer place to put your tent and a softer surface to hike on. Campsites also fill up really quickly, so be sure to get there early. It's about a 15 mi round trip hike from the campsite to the cottonwood lakes, but once you're in the alpine meadows it's really beautiful green meadows with really impressive lakes. We did the hike as a day trip and it took us 7 hrs, so be sure to plan ahead of time before doing the hike. The trail has very little shade and gets hot in the summer, so be sure to bring plenty of sunscreen and water (3+ water bottles per person). The elevation is also really high, so be especially careful if coming up from coastal california. If you get really really bad altitude sickness, the remote location will not have anyone who can help you out. We got very sunburned, didn't have enough water to drink, and my friend got very bad altitude sickness on the trail. Luckily, everyone made it down without any problems but be very cautious because the remote location means you're on your own if you run into any medical issues. Definitely only recommended for those that are well prepared and experienced.

How you're going to feel about this place depends on your intended usage. If you're planning to arrive late and get up early to start a hike, it's probably a 5 star place. If you're planning to get there early, hang out, put up a hammock, and sleep until the sun is solidly up- it's more of a 3. The good- the place was spotless when we were there. The campsites are clearly marked with level tent pads inside wooden frames with the rocks removed, so tent stakes go in without hitting rocks. There are bear boxes and picnic tables. It's only $6 per night! The not so good- the sites are very close together. There is probably one picnic table for every three campsites. There is one bear box for every 2 or 3 campsites so you have to share. Because the sites are so close together, there's a good chance that someone coming in late or getting up early or both will be right next to you and wake you up. We had a large group (with loud mouths) get up at 3 AM and not finish clearing out until a bit after 4 AM. The hours are kind of to be expected at a backpacker location like this, but the close proximity makes loud mouths even worse than they normally are.

The hike up to Cottonwood lakes is stunning, but definitely be prepared for mosquitoes! The hike is relatively easy, except for a few steeper parts as one gets towards the lake. Definitely a beautiful area.