Cowles Campground

$6 per night. Stay limit: 14 days

This spot really has a lot to offer. There are trees on one side, a creek on the other, and 2 sites with shelters directly next to the parking lot. The sites by the trees have at least partial shade almost all day, and the creek sites have no shade at any time. There are trees over the creek so we just walked across a log to cross the creek into the shade. The tree sites had great hammock trees! One thing that surprised me was 2 cars are allowed per site. The parking lot is small, so that was interesting.

A short walk takes you to the fishing ponds (one specifically for kids and disabled folks) which were really cool for the kids. The walk was technical in at least 1 spot, so I would walk on the road which led into the campground or drive over to the pond if you have mobility issues.

You can’t make reservations, and the area was already pretty busy Friday at noon when we arrived. We found 4 sites open when we arrived and the campground was full before dark. People need to be out of their space by 2.

The cons (in my book): There is no potable water, but the stream was running. These are walk-in sites except for the 2 next to the parking lot. There is no cell service for 30 minutes drive, so be prepared with directions to alternate campgrounds in case you can’t get a spot here.

We will absolutely be back!

Cowles campground in the Pecos Wilderness area is a launching point for the Windsor Trail which travels alongside beautiful Windsor Creek to Stewart Lake and Pecos Falls. More Yosemite than Yosemite Sam, this area is shaded by massive pines, fir and aspen with plenty of grassy meadows, rock formations and mini waterfalls provided by the creek. The campground itself is spare, but it does have a some three-sided, log cabin-style shelters, a unique feature. Camping is fairly unstructured, and there are several campgrounds nearby, if you get there on the 4th of July and all the sites are full. A recently transplanted California resident, I was taken aback by the beauty of this backcountry which doesn't seem like Southwest scenery at all, more like Mount Whitney or Yosemite.