Best Tent Camping near Oatman, AZ

Although you can make it to the campground in 2wd, I wouldn’t take a car. SUV/truck preferred. Tent camping/car camping only, no RV sites at all. The road is steep, winding, dirt with loose gravel 11 miles off the paved road. Camp sites have a great view because of the elevation. picnic tables and fire rings in each site as well as many trash receptacles and clean toilets. no other amenities. Rough off-roading in the areas surrounding the campground leading to old mining areas. Awesome views, we went in June when it was probably 110 degrees at the base of the mountain, mid 90s up at the camp site.

  Let me start off by saying I made it to this spot in my Kia Niro with its front wheel drive. Not the worst dirt road I've encountered but very steep in some parts and I would not recommend going to this site in the snow unless you have 4 wheel drive, snow chains and experience. I didn't go in the snow but I could imagine. One slip and you're in serious trouble. That out of the way, this place is GREAT!

  On the drive up you go through a sleepy little town half way up the mountain, the views along the drive are stunning. Bring plenty of supplies and know its about a 40 min drive each way to get more.

   Lots of wildlife in the area, was a little concerned about bears in the area as it looked like they had some scratching posts right around our campsite (pictures posted) but didn't end up seeing a one.

   May be pretty tight for a larger RV as sites are pretty small. Vaulted toilets were very well maintained. I will go back!

-Chuck

P.S. Don't forget, always leave the area better than you found it!

            LEAVE NO TRACE!

Ranger Review: Midland X-Talker Two-way Radios at Cottonwood Cove Lower Campground, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, NV

CAMPGROUND REVIEW

Cottonwood Cove Lower Campground is located 14 miles east of Searchlight, NV, on the shores of Lake Mohave. The decent into Cottonwood Cove is quite dramatic (about 2900 ft), for which the roadside cactus can attest, as the types of cacti change even with the slightest elevation change.

The "lower" in Cottonwood Cove Lower Campground's name characterizes it's lower elevation compared to the "upper" campground, which naturally has higher elevation.

Cottonwood Cove Lower Campground is included in Lake Mead National Recreation Area campgrounds, and keeping with their custom, all sites are first come first serve. The Cottonwood Cove area has low elevation, at about 650 feet above sea level, which means it gets very hot during the late spring, summer, and early fall months.

Only a few of the 45 sites have shady cottonwood trees, and there are only uncovered picnic tables, so come prepared with a shade canopy for much needed relief! There are beautiful views of Lake Mohave, three very clean restroom buildings (no showers), water on taps, and fire rings at every site. There is an RV dump station located near the entrance to the Upper Campground (although the Upper Campground is closed).

The Lower Campground is situated behind a hill, which obstructs cell service. Walking only a short distance to the marina area, you'll find a strong 4G signal. The park service provides fee-based internet at the campground, but we didn't try it.

Cottonwood Cove has a full service boat marina, gas, motel, RV resort (with full hook-ups), watercraft rentals/supplies, sandy beach, and shaded picnic tables with BBQs.

Here's a drive-along tour of Cottonwood Cove Lower Campground: https://youtu.be/s6AQ6KqtxPg

Overall, we enjoyed our stay at this campground. It was a peaceful place, with jackrabbits, a couple of hungry ducks, many songbirds, and the stars at night were bright & beautiful. 4 stars (not 5 stars due to lack of provided shade).

PRODUCT REVIEW

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time. While camping at Cottonwood Cove Lower Campground, we tested Midland X-Talker Two-way Radios (model T51).

https://midlandusa.com/product/x-talker-t51vp/

Camping in an isolated area behind a large hill was the perfect place to review these radios. However, with the hill as an obstruction our range was limited. [Note: We also tried these radios at home, and our maximum range was 3 small neighborhood blocks. Perhaps to achieve the maximum range of "28 miles," you'd need to be on the open ocean on a calm day or out on a very flat prairie.]

Here's a video demonstration of the Midland X-Talker Two-way Radios:

https://youtu.be/ocCEzY-MgUc

As you can see in our review video, we compared the Midland radios with a very inexpensive set. Midland's quality is far superior.

The Midland's instruction booklet is easy to follow, buttons are easy to operate, radio is comfortable to hold, and the belt clip is very tight (exercise care unlatching to prevent breaking). And… the NOAA Weather Radio scan was our biggest surprise, as you'll see in this video:

https://youtu.be/nZvTipRcln8

The radios can be charged while positioned on the charging stand or via a charging cord plugged directly into the radio and to an electrical source (such as a portable power bank).

Overall, we are very impressed with the clear reception and convenience of the Midland X-Talker Two-way Radios. We are looking forward to using these radios during our future no-cell service camping, fishing, and hiking adventures. 5 stars

I wanted to find a site as close to Oatman as I could. It took me three trips that way to find this campground and finally I was happy I did. Located only about 8 miles away from Oatman, it allowed me to have a full day to explore Oatman and surrounding areas including the many mines which are closed but "open" to the person wanting to really explore.

This place is a smaller park and though mostly they do have RV campers they do accept tent campers. The owners are very friendly and you meet them when you check in, this is not a chain so they take pride in what they give in way of service to those passing through.

My space was clean and level for camping in a tent. I only paid $15 which was very reasonable and like I said location was key!! My site had a picnic table and was pretty basic but it was peaceful and I had a great night there as a result.

They do offer long term RV camping at a very reasonable rate, however when I was there it didn't look like they had a ton of that traffic at the time. I will say that unlike a lot of long term lots which appear to be a bit trashy this one was maintained.

TIPS:

• Use this as a basecamp for going to Oatman where there are a lot of stores, a great cafe, mines to explore and of course pictures to take.

• Bring what you need with you. The closest full grocer is in Kingman which is about 25 minutes away so if you don't want to have to drive into town then just pack it in your car.

This was a cool spot.

You wouldn’t think of getting as much privacy as one can in a National Park. The drive off the paved road isn’t as long/bad as you’d expect. I had a little trouble getting in but that’s partially my fault, try not to drive into a dispersed camping site at night when its the first time you’ve ever been. Getting in is a little harder than getting out because there is on particular steep, rocky hill on the drive in. Again, I only have front wheel drive but I questioned turning around at one point. Get over the first hill and your in!!

Total privacy at this hidden beach on Lake Mead. Listen though, its a pain, but if you get to the water and see someone else camping there... Follow the first come first serve rule. There is enough room for several tents in the area but given the surrounding terrain, if you don’t know them, move on. I can’t stress that enough. Luckily for me, no signs of human life were detected during my two night stay. That is of course excluding the time I went on a hike and came back to a warning stuck to my cooler. It was my fault, I brought a glass bottle of whiskey and left it out (NO GLASS ALLOWED). The park ranger whom I had not seen was nice about it though, just the warning and he didn’t dump it out or take it. THANK GOD. I will absolutely visit this site again, perhaps in the summer as you’re surrounded by that crystal clear water. 

-Chuck 
P.S. Don’t forget, always leave the area better than you found it!
          LEAVE NO TRACE. 

I enjoyed my stay here. The terrain is steep, with mountain pines and boulders. This was a welcome change from the surrounding country, as was the lower temperature that comes with higher elevation. It was about 10 °F cooler here than in Kingman when I visited in June. Tent camping is first come first served. I had no problem finding a good spot on a Friday night.

There are two areas to the campground. The front section has paved roads and is mostly cabins with some tent sites mixed in. There are real bathrooms here, though they were in need of a cleaning when I visited. The back section has dirt roads and all tent sites, with a few porta potties. The roads are steep in places, but nicely graded. My front wheel drive passenger car traversed them without difficulty.

It is very quiet and dark here at night. Flashlights are a must, as are water vessels: there are no water spigots in the back section. I also saw what I am 80% sure was a mountain lion crossing the road at night when I was walking to one of the porta potties.

The only real downside I noticed here was the flies. They don't bite, but they buzz around you constantly and can get pretty annoying.

When we first got here there was no available water ( main water line break) and the bathrooms were closed and they had set up several portable bathrooms. They quickly fixed the water line on day two and bathrooms were re-opened and water was available at the sites. No hook ups, but worth the $20 a night ( must be done online), quiet, peaceful and only a couple other campers here. Walking distance to Lake Mojave ( Sandy beach looks beautiful when you walk up to it, but then you see all the rusty battle caps, bottles, some broken glass, fishing line and trash about) where there is a marina with a store ( pricey as you’d expect). Camp sites aren’t very big, but I had no problem with my 19ft trailer. They have 45 sites ( loops around for easy turn around at top of campground) and ours was level. No camp host here, but service truck drives through at about noon everyday. Trash bins available. Regular flush bathrooms were pretty clean ( no showers).The nights ( sun down here at 4:30pm) are awesome and star gazing is amazing and you can hear coyote’s in the distance. A few palm trees and some sites have nice shade. We had such a nice experience here, we decided to stay an extra night!