The Cottonwood Campground at Big Bend National Park will be closed temporarily so crews can replace an outdated irrigation system and do some landscaping maintenance/NPS

One of Big Bend National Park's campgrounds is going to be taken out of rotation late this month so repairs and maintenance can be performed.

Park staff say the 24-site Cottonwood Campground will be closed from January 29 through February 28 so crews can replace an out of date irrigation system with a modern system and restore the landscape to facilitate proper irrigation of the low lying areas. The planned work will occupy the entirety of the campground and temporary closures will be enacted.

Pedestrian access to the Cottonwood Campground and river access adjacent to the campground will also be unavailable. Visitors will still be able to visit the area including Castolon, Dorgan House Trail, Santa Elena Canyon Overlook, and Santa Elena Canyon Trail.

Staff at the park, located in far south Texas, reminds visitors that additional campsites are available in the park at Rio Grande Village and the Chisos Basin and outside the park at Stillwell’s Ranch and RV park north of the park, and within Terlingua and Study Butte just west of the park. VisitBigBend.com provides additional information on the facilities outside of the park.

These projects will help in reducing the near $90 million of deferred maintenance projects at Big Bend National Park, and will directly benefit visitors by providing a well-maintained campground. The park appreciates the patience and understanding of our visitors during this important upgrade to the Cottonwood campground.