South Cottonwood Lake

Boondocking. South of Cottonwood lake campgrounds. Must travel one mile past the FS campground. On road 344. I would recommend to stop at the lake and scout the area. You cannot turn around on the road with a long rig. The road will turn into a high clearance FS unmaintained.

Took the lady and the doggo out to this nice spot over the weekend. It’s the perfect area if you’re looking to go kayaking or fishing on the lake that’s settled nicely in the mountains. The area is visually very beautiful and peaceful as it wasn’t too crowded on a regular weekend which was a bit shocking considering how nice of a spot this is.

There are two parts to this campsite, one more established pay-to-camp area ( 20 dollars over night ) that’s much closer to the lake. It has picnic tables and established metal fire pits as well as a restroom and dumpster if that’s the type of camping you like.

The second part (at least this is as far as we went) is further down the road where it’s dispersed free camping areas. I would rate this part a 5/10. The area is about a 5 minute drive from the lake which isn’t in view from the campsite. The road is very rocky at some parts but no issues getting through with my old Jeep grand cherokee. Every site is very close to the next and they’re all right on the side of the road. It was packed on a regular Saturday and all the “decent” spots were taken, they’re not out in the woods nestled in the wilderness if that’s what you’re expecting. We were surrounded by about 4 other campers in a 500 foot radius. The view is gorgeous if you’re able to secure a spot and stick it through all the minor set-backs. Overall, given the negatives to this site, our experience was actually pretty great and I hope this helped!