Cottonwood Campground – review

I don’t like wind. Hate it. Be it blowhard, flatulence, or the good old fashioned air pressure disparity kind, I don’t like wind one bit. So, it should come as no surprise that I’ve postponed a seemingly inevitable visit to Cottonwood Campground as long as I could.

This past May long weekend, having exhausted every other southern Alberta provincial park and recreation area, I finally booked a stay in the Oldman Dam Provincial Recreation Area. And while it was cooler than we’d have liked and rain washed out much of Sunday, the wind was rather tame.

Where is Cottonwood Campground?

Cottonwood Campground is the largest campground within the Oldman Dam Provincial Recreation Area. Nestled on the south side of the Oldman River in a one kilometer bend downstream of the dam, the campground is approximately 15 km north northeast of Pincher Creek.

The other three campgrounds consist of a smaller, RV focused campground and two very small, dry campgrounds associated with day use areas around the reservoir.

Cottonwood Campground Setting

Cottonwood Campground comes by its name honestly with cottonwood trees dotting most of the public areas. If you’re familiar with cottonwoods, you’ll know they aren’t the prettiest tree. Tall and deciduous, they look half dead even when healthy. That may be great for wildlife, but a quality forest cover it does not make.

As a result, even treed campsites have dappled shade at best. In an area of the province known for toasty sun, the lack of solid tree cover may be disappointing. For others, it’ll be welcome. I fall into the former but with a cool, cloudy weekend during our stay I wasn’t bothered by it.

Another thing this part of the province is known for, as mentioned above, is wind. All those wind turbines visible in every direction aren’t there by accident. The wind can be unrelenting here.

Thankfully, Cottonwood Campground is located in the Oldman River valley, below the dam, with sharp cliffs to the north and tall hills to the south. This doesn’t eliminate the wind, but it does temper it some. A quick trip up to the plateau will quickly convince you.

Cottonwood Campground Layout

Cottonwood Campground is divided into two halves; the campground proper encompassing the left half and the day use and group camping areas taking up the right half.

Two large ponds, likely manmade, dominate the centre of each half. The rounder pond is in the campground section and the longer pond is within the day use area. These are not for swimming and presumably were built to attract birds.

The campground half can be further divided into halves. While technically one large, oblong loop, the entrance road bisecting it leads me to think of it as two loops: a left loop and a right loop.

This dual loop arrangement was further emphasized when the left loop was electrical campsites and the right loop was non-serviced campsites. Note my use of past tense. This bipolarity (ha!) no longer exists, so one loop or two is up to you.

Types of Campsites at Cottonwood Campground

There are 82 campsites at Cottonwood Campground. Or 78. Or 52. It all depends on which official resource you believe to be most accurate.

The official Alberta Parks tear sheet shows a map with 82 sequentially numbered campsites, 29 of which are powered. The official Alberta Parks website for the campground states it has 52 unserviced sites. It then goes on to provide guidance on how to use electrical sites, which is odd since there aren’t any.

Finally, the official Alberta Parks reservation website offers a total of 78 campsites for booking. Since all campsites at Cottonwood Campground require a reservation let’s go with 78 as the current accurate number.

All 78 campsites are of the back-in variety. Depth varies somewhat but none are especially small nor are any constricted or confined in nature, so access is straightforward for all but the biggest RVs.

Sites are relatively flat, but not perfectly so. We needed to do some leveling which surprised me a little bit. Guess I was still in a flat flat flat prairie state of mind.

Campsite Privacy

Privacy is fine; not great but not terrible. Overall, the campsites aren’t close together, so you won’t feel overwhelmed by your neighbours. On the other hand, there aren’t bushes or other ground level foliage to fully block views between campsites.

Snagging a campsite backing onto the river gives some added privacy by having no backside neighbours. They’re also nicer sites with better chances of increased tree cover. Quick access to the large gravel bar is also a plus and other rockhounding afficionados will appreciate the volcanic rocks available in this part of Alberta.

Campsite Amenities and Utilities

Each campsite comes with a picnic table and one of two types of fire pits. The tables are standard wooden versions. They’re a bit old but solid enough.

Fire pits either have a movable grate or don’t. Honestly, for folks like us the grate isn’t all that important. If you’re genuinely camping and cooking over a fire, you’ll feel differently and hope for a movable grate. There’s no easy way to predetermine the type of fire pit on your site so … cross your fingers.

As mentioned, there were once 29 electrical sites at Cottonwood Campground. That is no longer the case. The electrical panels on each site remain but are covered in a garbage bag affixed with duct tape. There is a main electrical box on the side of one of the pit toilets and it too appears to have been taped shut.

I have no idea when the change happened or why. Even now the official Alberta Parks website has conflicting information on electrical sites and the official campground map has not been updated to acknowledge the change. But make no mistake, the electrical service has been halted.

This is a huge disappointment and a perplexing one. Electrified campsites would be quite popular in these parts and would go a long way in making this campground more popular. They’re literally generating the electrons needed at the dam. I wonder what happened.

The result of this service change is generators. A couple neighbouring campers had generators and used them throughout the day. It wasn’t steady or exceptionally annoying but noticeable, nonetheless. With no posted rules and very little campground supervision it’s possible your weekend could be impacted.

Otherwise, all sites at Cottonwood Campground are void of amenities. No water and no sewage.

Bathrooms and Showers

All washrooms in the campground are pit toilets. They’re old but robust with concrete slab walls and a floor. Inside is a single plastic pit toilet in a rather confined space. I did notice a couple of these structures offer an accessible option.

We arrived, smartly, at the very beginning of the camping season, ensuring the pit toilets would be as pristine as they can ever be. I can attest to the success of this plan thanks to the cobwebs I encountered when lifting one of the toilet lids.

How long these pit toilets remain this tolerable is unknown, but I suspect not long. With limited tree cover and hot blazing sun in southwestern Alberta it’s likely these toilets will start baking early and quickly. Ugh.

The only possible saving grace would be any wind or breeze that (thankfully?) blows through on the regular in these parts. It won’t solve the problem but will hopefully limit it.

If you just can’t possibly tolerate pit toilets, there are flush toilets and showers available at Castleview Camground up the hill. It’s a kilometre and a half nuisance to get to them, but some of life’s less pleasant realities require extra effort.

Three Rivers Group Camping Area

Something I really wasn’t expecting is the quality of the group camping at Cottonwood Campground. Known as Three Rivers Group Camping Area, it’s conveniently located at the far east end of the day use area. This provides plenty of privacy and space between it and the regular campers.

During our visit, the group area was filled with campers limiting my access. I didn’t want to disturb them, so I kept to the perimeter and snapped some pictures with zoom.

The layout of the group camping area is somewhat complex compared to other such areas I’ve seen in the past. The access road first enters are large, gravel parking lot.

Somewhat oddly, the group area pit toilet is connected to this parking lot along with a garbage/recycling area. These pit toilets are identical to those found throughout the campground.

A second, curved road then leads from the parking lot to a second gravel area which is the actual camping area. I’m assuming this based on the existing group having set up their units there.

This camping area is beside the river, which is nice, and partially treed giving some shade. That it doesn’t have individual sites or a grass area is disappointing but perhaps unavoidable considering the location.

The road leading from the parking lot to the camping area passes the group area picnic shelter. I didn’t get a close look, but it appears to be a robust three-sided structure of similar construction to the pit toilets. Umm, not sure that’s a compliment. The lone open side faces away from the primary wind direction allowing the remainder of the structure to protect revelers within.

I’m not all that keen on group camping without proper bathroom facilities, but Three Rivers Group Camping Area at Cottonwood Campground is a decent alternative. Its separation from the remainder of the campground is great for everyone concerned, enabling the group to enjoy themselves without disturbing others.

Another Group Camping Area?

There appears to be a second group area nearby to what I’ve just described. It is partially shown on the official tear sheet but given no name. Even at the campground there is no signage explaining this area.

It contains a large gravel parking lot and another pit toilet structure, but nothing else. No shelter, no tables, and no apparent place for people to do anything. There are barely even any trees. It’s an odd area. I’m not surprised it was unused.

Day Use Area at Cottonwood Campground

The day use area, combined with the group camping area, takes up a swath of land equal in size to that of the primary campground. It’s an odd use of land considering the actual day use facilities only comprise a small percentage of this allotted space.

A relatively small, treed area with picnic tables, fire pits, and a pit toilet makes up the lone day use picnic area. Unlike their campsite counterparts, these picnic tables are concrete base and wood top beasts that cannot be moved around.

The trees are certainly welcome, providing shade for those relaxing beneath. The fire pits are like those in the campground as is the single pit toilet structure nearby. Across the road from the picnic space is a strip of gravel parking spaces partially overgrown with grass suggesting limited use.

Playground and Water Play

Also within the day use area is a playground. It’s located at the far west end of said day use area making it close to the east end of the campground area. Inside the campground would be a better location in my opinion but this works as a compromise.

The playground itself is a large, modern marvel of steel and plastic with plenty of climbing and slides apparatus in a pea gravel base. A bench and a couple of picnic tables provide seating for parents and there are parking spaces available for vehicles here as well.

With a river next to the campground and a reservoir up the hill, you might think there’s bound to be a beach around. Well, there isn’t. At least not what you’d traditionally consider a beach.

The river is modest enough to allow wading if you’re hoping to chill. The large gravel bar that bounds much of the campground is a decent spot to sunbath though you’ll want a chair to do it in. But you won’t be building sandcastles.

Similarly, the day use areas around the reservoir have boat launches and gravelly, muddy areas along with their picnic spots. They certainly get used as “beaches” but again they aren’t sandy, sunbathing spots like you envision when you hear the word. You work with the hand you’re dealt in this part of the province.

Potable Water and Dump Station

Potable water available from several taps spread around Cottonwood Campground. The Alberta Parks website warned that the exact time this water gets turned on can vary at the start of the camping season, so we chose to bring our own water for the May long weekend. It turned out to be unnecessary. Oh well, the campground water is fine and available but check the website before you come just in case.

I also found one broken potable water faucet. Quite near our site, in fact. There may be more like this. It’s odd as the remaining stem and ground grate don’t look terribly old or damaged. Perhaps it is in the process of being repaired? Or perhaps it is another mysterious denigration of service like the electrical site removal.

There is no dump station at Cottonwood Campground itself, however, Castleview Campground does have one and it can be used by Cottonwood guests. It’s free to use and has two lanes. Just be sure to enter it the correct way so that both outlets can be used simultaneously.

Registration and Firewood

Cottonwood Campground has no registration office. You simply drive in, find your reserved campsite, and set up shop. I’m not sure what would happen if you just showed up and took a site. We only saw Alberta Parks personnel tour the campground once over the entire long weekend.

There is evidence of former first come, first serve availability. A couple of FCFS registration booths still exist in the campground despite no longer being used.

Along with no registration office, there is no camp store or other large park luxuries like a gift shop or interpretive centre. On the other hand, you’re only ten minutes’ drive from Pincher Creek which has food, gas, hardware, and restaurants.

If you do have a hankering for education, there is a small display of placards explaining the dam’s construction at the spillway lookout. That spillway must be quite the site during massive flood events. Otherwise, meh.

You cannot buy firewood on site, and nobody comes around in a pickup truck selling it either. You will need to bring your own, either literally from home or from a nearby retailer. I imagine someone in Pincher Creek sells it.

Things To Do at Cottonwood Campground

There isn’t really any hiking here, per se. There is a trail running from the campground proper along the river to the day use area and group camping area. It’s a nice enough gravel trail, albeit not very long.

Additional trails encircle a portion of both ponds. The one in the campground is barely noticeable and I only know about it because there is a small sign, hidden by tree leaves, in a small guest parking lot next to the pit toilet I was using.

This trail is pretty much an overgrown ATV track and it only appears to exist along the north side of the pond. It gets mowed but otherwise isn’t well cared for. It too is short and constitutes more of a stroll than a hike.

If genuine hiking is in your bag of desires, Castle Provincial Park and Waterton Lakes National Park are relatively close and offer plenty of hiking for all abilities.

There aren’t a lot of tourist attractions nearby other than the dam itself. I assume if you’re camping at Oldman Dam, you’re there for the camping itself or maybe to boat or fish on the reservoir.

There is a pioneer museum in Pincher Creek, but I’ve haven’t been able to visit it since it remains closed on the May long weekend for reasons I can’t quite ascertain. Twice now I’ve been down that way in May and twice it’s been a no go. Boggles my mind.

A second pioneer style museum is even closer to Cottonwood Campground, and it is open on the May long weekend. Heritage Acres Farm Museum is just six kilometres away and worth a visit if you’re in the area. It’s a rather impressive volunteer-run heritage museum with plenty of fascinating local farming and family history on display.

Wildlife and Pests at Cottonwood Campground

That all being said, perhaps you’re simply unwinding and have no desires beyond a cold beverage and a campfire. Fair enough. While you’re doing so, you may encounter some of the wildlife inhabiting the campground.

Deer are all around the recreation area and some wander into the campground. Gophers are plentiful. And birds of many flavours will be seen during your stay.

The most notable of these feathered creatures are the great horned owls. Two of them, perhaps a mating pair, hung around in the cottonwoods between our campsite and the river. Gorgeous birds that reminded us of their presence each night as the moon traversed the sky.

Pests are plentiful as well. Or soon will be. Our visit was early in the camping season, so the mosquitoes and wasps were not yet around. I’ve little doubt they will come eventually and with vengeance.

WiFi and Cell Service

Cottonwood Campground has all the ingredients for becoming a party place. The lack of patrol during a long weekend and the many empty sites confirms my suspicion. However, despite a large group of campers at the west end of the campground and the main group site being filled, we noticed no wild or loud behaviour during our stay. It was peaceful and pleasant.

The less than aggregable weather likely influenced this. Or maybe we lucked out?

Despite being well within the vicinity of civilization, cell service was poor. I’m on the Telus network and by and large I had almost no service while in the campground.  There was one singular spot on a ledge in our camper that if I set my phone on it, would receive a weak signal enabling me to text and get internet information. If I moved the phone at all, it disappeared. Get out of the valley, however, and cell service is perfectly fine.

There is unsurprisingly no WiFi in the campground or anywhere around Oldman Dam Provincial Recreation Area.

Conclusion

Perhaps I wrongly stereotyped Cottonwood Campground, expecting it to be worse than it was. Or perhaps I just got lucky showing up on a low wind weekend, early in the season with no bugs and no pit toilet unpleasantries.

Whatever the case, I’ll give Cottonwood Campground 3.4 Baby Dill Pickles out of 5. Flush toilets would be a big plus here. It’s almost cruel that Castleview Campground has them but not the bigger, nicer Cottonwood.

The discontinuation of the electrical sites is also a frustration. I don’t understand why this has happened. If the electrical system was simply damaged, it should be fixed. If it is a purposeful discontinuation, I’m at a loss for the logic behind it.

The playground is nice for kids. Rockhounders will love the large river bar. The group area is quite good and even if the cottonwood trees aren’t pretty, they at least provide some shade.

I guess I’ll sum up our visit to Cottonwood Campground as not as bad as I feared but could be improved. Don’t overlook it the next time you’re planning a camping trip. Just don’t blame me if my positive assessment turns out to be a fluke of timing.