Cottonwood Campground

We camped at Cottonwood in the winter, which had only first loop open. There are lots of cottonwood trees, but the view was less appealing without leaves on trees. We had a view of main road, the neighboring lodges facilities area (with trucks) and residential homes that overlook camp. Because of location of main road, we could hear a lot of cars passing by. Also, there were several stray dogs that wander the camp. Campsites are paved and level, but most spots are short. The campground has a dump station and potable water fills (but water is turned off in winter). Each loop has a restroom and water spigots. It is a convenient location to walk to the visitor center or drive the north and south rim of Canyon de Chelly.

Arrived mid spring and was fairly busy. C/G looks a little tired, some peddling going on of crafts and always dog packs scavenging for food or pets to harass. Best location for taking tours of Canyon de Chelly. Any of these tours are worth the effort.

Why we chose here? There are only two campgrounds in Canyon de Chelly, one near the visitor centre - Cottonwood and another – Spider Rock, a fair way in on the south rim which is horrible. Great for seeing Canyon de Chelly.

Location: Drive to Chinle, AZ, then drive east. Coming out from the visitors centre, turn right, then turn right, then the campground will be on your left.

Sites: 92. Up to 35’. Most of the sites are difficult to get in to if you are large. The entries seem to be in the opposite direction than you are supposed to be driving. Lots of small sites. There is a dump, but no water in winter – they take the hoses away. There is only one tap in the middle of the campground which we managed to fill up our 5th Wheel as there wasn't anyone in the site near it. Ridiculous when the daytime temperatures are in the 70’s. 3 loops, but loop 3 is closed in winter.

Facilities: 3 restrooms, but only restroom in loop 1 is open in winter. Tired, acceptable and clean.

Groceries: Shop before you come, nearest main town is Holbrook.

More water taps would be nice.

This campground is run by the Navajo Nation and is right past the Visitor Center for Canyon de Chelly National Monument. It was chilly and wet when I visited, but I imagine that the shade from the beautiful cottonwood trees that give the campground its name would be very much appreciated in the summer.
The sites are paved and level and they have a variety of sizes. I was pleased to get a pull-through site. There is no water or electricity at the site, although the information I received said that water is available at the campground. I had plenty in my tank, so I didn't look for it. They also have a dump station for campers to use.
There is a trading post next door that will help you book a tour through the canyon as well as sell you lovely Navajo goods and other souvenirs.
There was a little road noise, but nothing really significant.

I was hesitant to stay here after reading some of the reviews mentioning stray dogs. There was one small dog who came by our site the first night and he was easily shooed away. The next morning there were 2 dogs wandering the campground but they did not bother us or our 8yr. old lab. One of the dogs had a collar and must have lived nearby.

This campground is in a great location for visiting the canyon. My husband and I signed up for a jeep tour inside the canyon and the tour company picked us up at the campground. The canyon is only a few minutes drive away. Our jeep guide explained that in the Navajo culture dogs are are not kept inside with the family like some American families will do. This may explain why there were dogs roaming the campground. Like I said, we only saw a few, they didn't bother us, and they seemed curious more than anything.

The bathrooms were clean and there was a guy mowing the grass/weeds the morning we left. Internet was very slow. The campground is a little old and tired.....but hey, so am I ;)

We enjoyed staying here in mid-October. It wasn't too crowded, so not being able to make reservations wasn't an issue. When you go into the campground and look for a spot, be sure to check the papers on the posts. They hadn't been removed from the day prior to our arrival, so it looked as though there were far fewer spots available than there actually were.

Some folks have talked about the stray dogs. We saw one, and since our neighbor was feeding it, it hung around a bit. But it was not aggressive and left when our dogs barked at it. The grounds are well kept, but there are a lot of prickers on the ground so our dogs had to learn to use the pavement to do their business. It didn't take long.

There was an evening Navajo Dancing demonstration at the Thunderbird Lodge right next door, and we enjoyed that quite a bit. And the store at the Lodge is great if you want some authentic Hopi shopping. There are also the usual trinkets, if that's what you are looking for. The cafeteria there is OK for a meal in a pinch, but that's about it. Keep the Thunderbird Lodge in mind as you look for the campground. There was no sign anywhere for the campground, and we got there after Visitor Center hours, so it took us a while to find the campground. You will need cash to check in, and they do not honor the National Park Senior Pass. But $14 is pretty reasonable to be right there at Canyon de Chelly.

I can't remember exact Verizon coverage, but it was good enough to set up a hot spot for Internet.

Late November, so only loop 1 was open. Convenient to the monument. Clean site, wonderful tree cover, even this late in the year. However, I won’t be able to use solar...

Length limit as stated on the message board is 40’ combined. I was able to sneak my 27’ plus truck in,just barely by driving the loop backwards. If it were semi full (only 3 of us here), I would have had to pass altogether.

Road noise from the nearby highway.

This is a first come, first served basic campground. There are no hookups but there is water available and a dump station. The sites were level and there were lots of choices between shade/no shade/access to DirecTV signal. The great thing about this campground is its proximity to the entrance to Canyon de Chelly.

A number of the other reviews talked about vendors and stray dogs wandering around. We saw none of this and, in fact, were pleasantly surprised at how nice the campground was, considering it's basic boondocking.

Regarding the water, the faucet at the dump station was out of order when we were there, but there are faucets located in the center of each loop. We had one directly behind our site (#90 in loop 3). A 30' hose did the trick.

If you want to tour the canyon floor, you must go in with a Native guide. We were quite satisfied with our tour company, Canyon de Chelly Tours. Our Navajo guide, Irene, has lived in the Canyon her whole life and was quite knowledgeable about the flora, fauna and archaeological sites. She was quite open to talking about her culture and how its evolved over the centuries. She also showed us some great photo points and made sure we got some wonderful shots.

We visited the campsite in July. It was very quiet and peaceful with very few other campers. Based on other reviews we picked loop 2, which has the most shade. There were a few dogs roaming around, but they belong to local residents. They were not bothersome. The campground had a nice breeze and we were in the shade all day, so it was not hot. We were in a Sylvan Go (tent trailer). The campground was exactly what we wanted -- close to Canyon de Chelly and quiet. Thunderbird Lodge has a small restaurant with okay food. They sell ice, cheaper than we found in town. The campsites are $14/night, cash only. Most of the time you'll have to use the self service pay box so bring exact change. Great place. I can't wait to go back.

A little spendy for what amounts to dry camping in winter, but you still get a level spot, garbage, a picnic table, and a dump station. Plenty of available sites with a few turnout/pullthroughs, but some loops are closed in winter, along with the bathrooms and water. In season, $14 seems like a great price for the fully functional campground. The cottonwoods are probably gorgeous.