Cottonwood Cove Campground — Lake Mead National Recreation Area

NPS turned this dry CG over to the marina as of Jan 1 2024. The marina charges $20 and no senior discount...guess the Lake Mead NPS wants out of the CG MGMT hassles.

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!

Somewhat rundown campground. (Upper CG is all closed and abandoned) 45 sites, all Reservation.gov except for sites 1-3. $20/$10 senior. Most sites are short backins and big TTs and 5th wheels, RVs will have limited options. There are some nice shaded sites. Restrooms were dirty and needed cleaning. No cell signal but the Marina vendor has a wifi system available for a fee. This marina is still functioning as a boat marina and boat launch. Two stars due to overall rundown condition, sites obstructed with downed tree debris, and apparent lack of maintenance staff.

I gave it 2 only because the campground host was very accommodating, otherwise it's a 1. The so called pads were really bad, could not get level. No water, it's dry camping! The Day Beach was crowded and had alot of trash all over. Too many small children in the water made me leary of entering  for a swim.  One day was enough for me, very disappointed to see it like this as I came here many times in my younger days , it was much nicer. So sad! I won't be returning.

Went March 27th. The campground itself is not that nice and the bathrooms were dirty, but the area was nice. We did not use the beach in front of the campground all together since dogs were not allowed on the beach, but at night when the day-use people left, we were able to sit further away with the dog and let the kids play on the beach as we watched. Beautiful sunset over the water. The next day we did some exploring in the area close by that did allow all of us to enjoy the water together. It felt like a private little piece of paradise. If not for this I would not recommend the site. There was music through most of the night. We did not mind so much, but if you are into a quiet restful time away, this is not it. One last hint, I loved the store at the marina. They have almost anything you might need and we were able to pick up some frozen treats - made the end of a great beach day.

Tucked at the end of a road off the main highway in Searchlight. There is nothing in town other than some gas stations and a McDonalds so make sure you pack everything you need. Upon pulling in there were no signs of where to go so just drive up to the motel check-in and look for a board with envelopes and you will find your name and spot assignment. I recommend calling to get the assigned spot you want. I stayed in lower campground RV Site #8, pull through 40' Front Row. There was a busted up concrete pad and a picnic table that has seen some better days. The spots are right next to each other so if you have obnoxious neighbors, that could be a problem. Luckily for us we had great neighbors. If you want extra room to lounge outside your RV, then I recommend you book an extra site so that you have that space, other than that you will be sitting basically up against the RV next to you. Some of the front row spots have random trees so if you have slideouts, be mindful of that. My view was the Motel parking lot so be aware that Front Row does not mean Water view. Campground is dirt/gravel and absolutely nothing fancy about it and no nice views until you walk past the motel. I walked through the motel grounds and it was clean but it looked like it was deserted in a way. I saw one of the rooms and although they had a great patio area overlooking the water, the rooms were old and dated. We also drove to the other side of the campgrounds where there were tent sites/no hook-ups and I don't recommend it. It looked run down and depressing. Just a short walk from the RV campgrounds and over a small hill (watch for dog poop) you will reach a beautiful cove, The greatest thing about this location! It's super clear and the sand is soft. Great place for water activities. Also, the night skies are great for stargazing. It's a short drive from Vegas and it gets the job done.

First off, any weekend out camping with my wife is better than not camping, no matter where! With that said, we won't be camping at Cottonwood Cove again.

The good... The staff was friendly, the store well stocked, and the hookups worked flawlessly.

The bad... Our very tight site (#67) greeted us with an bag of trash on the concrete pad and an empty Coors like box in the metal BBQ grill. I mentioned tight quarters; the pull-thru site has you pull in opposite another camper and places each site within 4" of each other. Luckily my neighbor was friendly and considerate...we even worked out a plan for departing around the same time so we could prevent our insurance companies from meeting too. The campground roads are gravel and not maintained... Drive slow here, the ruts will keep your eyes on your rear view mirror!

Another good... The marina is where the money has been spent. It's well appointed with a ton of slips a s services.

The campgrounds themselves and the bathrooms were clean. No showers. Only cold running water. No service, but it's just a short walk to the marina where you can get signal or they offer wifi. Each space has a picnic table, fire pit and grill. Not much space between them so it isn't a whole lot of privacy but that wasnt an issue because it wasnt packed while I was there. It was nice and quiet, great view of the stars at night. First come first serve, $20 a night. I would definitely come back again. Downside is there is little to no shade in the grounds.

not much to say it’s a campground behind a hotel that has “beach” access. most of the beach is taken up by people day camping on the beach the section reserved for hotel/rv guests is small and rocky.

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