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Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Activities powered by Viator. Prices and availability come from each provider and are confirmed when you book with them.

RV parks near Lewis and Clark Lake →
  1. Home
  2. South Dakota
  3. Yankton
  4. Cottonwood (Ne)

Camping at Cottonwood (Ne) near Yankton

Public campground · Yankton · 74 campsites

A forested campground near fishing, hiking, and mountain biking. RV fit varies by site.

About this campground

Cottonwood Recreation Area sits just downstream of Gavins Point Dam on the western shore of Lake Yankton, a smaller, calmer counterpoint to the much larger Lewis and Clark Lake upstream (the main reservoir impounded by Gavins Point covers roughly 31,400 acres and more than 90 miles of shoreline). The campground itself contains 75 reservable sites, each configured to accommodate both RVs and tents and equipped with electrical hookups; two modern shower houses with flush toilets serve campers.

5.0 on Recreation.gov · 493 reviewsBook on Recreation.gov
View all 12 photos

At a glance

  • RV sites up to 75 ft

    Length limits vary by campsite.

  • Electric hookups
  • Pets welcome
  • Flush toilets

    Showers on site.

OverviewCampsitesAmenities & locationReviewsPlan your stay

0 available sites

0 open of 74 sites
No sites offered for these dates.

We checked every night of your stay on Recreation.gov: no site is open for all 2 nights. Some sites are open on some nights.

Flexible dates

View the next available two-night stay.

Looking for the next open dates…
Fixed dates

Compare nearby campgrounds open for these dates. Your camping setup, rig size, hookups and dates stay applied.

Nearby campgrounds open for these dates
Check Recreation.gov directly ↗
View full availability calendar · night-by-night from Recreation.gov

Check dates on Recreation.gov. Showing 40 of 74 sites.

SiteFr
13
Sa
14
Price
16
standard electric
––$20
46
standard electric
––$20
69
standard electric
––$20
33
standard electric
––$20
20
standard electric
––$20
61
standard electric
––$20
31
standard electric
––$20
18
standard electric
––$20
30
standard electric
––$20
56
standard electric
No site is open for every night of your stay

You book directly on Recreation.gov. Rates and availability can change until reserved. Campground page on Recreation.gov ↗

No sites offered for these dates
Book on Recreation.gov

Amenities & location

  • Cell Phone Service
  • Drinking Water
  • Emergency Services
  • Entrance Station
  • Flush Toilets Seasonal
  • Grills
  • Host
  • Lake Access
  • Paved Roads
  • Paved Sites
  • Pets Allowed
  • Picnic Tables
Check-in
4:00 PM
Checkout
2:00 PM
Pets
Allowed (per listing)
Maximum stay
15 nights

Hookups (individual campsites): 74 electric individual sites.

Location

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
Open in Google Maps ↗

Cottonwood (Ne): questions answered

What is the maximum RV length at Cottonwood (Ne)?
Longest RV site listed: 75 ft (71 of 76 RV sites list a length) (per the listing)
Does Cottonwood (Ne) have RV hookups?
74 electric individual sites (per the listing)
How do I reserve a site at Cottonwood (Ne)?
Reservable on Recreation.gov (per the listing)
Are pets allowed at Cottonwood (Ne)?
Allowed (per the listing)
Sources and details

At a glance

Official facts link to their source; “Listing” facts come from the Recreation.gov listing. Anything we can't source says so.

Max rig length
Listing Longest RV site listed: 75 ft (71 of 76 RV sites list a length)
Hookups & power
Listing 74 electric individual sites
Pull-through / back-in
Listing 5 pull-through, 72 back-in
Road & site access
Listing 65 paved, 12 gravel site driveways
Pets
Listing Allowed
Cell signal
Listing Visitor-reported signal on Recreation.gov (higher is better): Verizon 3 (298 reports), AT&T 3 (67 reports), T-Mobile 3 (19 reports)
Water
Listing Water at 1 site
Shade
Listing 77 of 77 sites that report shade are listed as shaded
Booking
Listing Reservable on Recreation.gov
Price
Listing Lowest listed rate $20/night (live price once you pick dates)
Stay limits
Listing 15 nights max
Getting there
Listing U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS (map in Location below)
Generators · Quiet hours · Starlink / satellite
Not listed — check with campground

Reviews

Selected reviews

Verbatim from guest reviews on Recreation.gov ↗ (493 reviews, ★ 5.0). Not written or edited by us.

“We love camping here because its always so peaceful and quiet and it has tons of bike trails to ride our bikes on and the showers and bathroom are always so very clean! Thank you!”

Dallas R 5 · Oct 2025 · Recreation.gov

“Soooo good! Beautiful place. We will definitely be back!”

Cynthia G 5 · Oct 2025 · Recreation.gov

“Love camping @ cottonwood the hosts are friendly and very helpful Would recommend this campground to anyone”

Sandy H 5 · Oct 2025 · Recreation.gov
Nearby

Campgrounds to compare

Prefer a roof?

Prefer a roof over your head

All glamping →
  • Pierson Ranch Recreation Area1 mi · Yankton
  • Chief White Crane Recreation Area1.1 mi · Yankton
  • Lewis and Clark SRA2.2 mi · Crofton
  • Lewis and Clark Recreation Area2.4 mi · Yankton
  • Springfield Recreation Area20.3 mi · Springfield

Explore nearby

  • Campgrounds near Yankton
  • RV rentals near Yankton
  • Glamping & cabins near Yankton
  • RV rentals in South Dakota
  • Glamping in South Dakota

Guides for this trip

  • How much does it cost to rent an RV?
  • Camping with dogs
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$20
68
standard electric
––$20
43
standard electric
––$20
52
standard electric
––$20
41
standard electric
––$20
25
standard electric
––$20
42
standard electric
––$20
21
standard electric
––$20
11
standard electric
––$20
17
standard electric
––$20
27
standard electric
––$20
76
standard electric
––$20
72
standard electric
––$20
12
standard electric
––$20
54
standard electric
––$20
50
standard electric
––$20
77
standard electric
––$20
19
standard electric
––$20
58
standard electric
––$20
36
standard electric
––$20
23
standard electric
––$20
47
standard electric
––$20
49
standard electric
––$20
70
standard electric
––$20
51
standard electric
––$20
39
standard electric
––$20
28
standard electric
––$20
22
standard electric
––$20
75
standard electric
––$20
13
standard electric
––$20
03
standard electric
––$20

✓ available · R reserved · X not available · C closed · W first come, first served · N not yet released

Available Nov 13–15 · 2 nights67 sites open for every night

Pierson Ranch Recreation Area

1 mi from Cottonwood (Ne) (straight-line)
Sites from $30/night
$60 total for Nov 13–15 · before taxes & fees
Rates & availability from South Dakota State Parks · you book on their site
View Campsites
Available Nov 13–15 · 2 nights154 sites open for every night

Chief White Crane Recreation Area

1.1 mi from Cottonwood (Ne) (straight-line)
Sites $16/night
$32 total for Nov 13–15 · before taxes & fees
Rates & availability from South Dakota State Parks · you book on their site
View Campsites
Available Nov 13–15 · 2 nights10 sites open for every night

Lewis and Clark SRA

2.2 mi from Cottonwood (Ne) (straight-line)
Sites $126/night
$252 total for Nov 13–15 · before taxes & fees
Rates & availability from Nebraska Game and Parks · you book on their site
View Campsites
Ways to stay

Bring a tent or have an RV waiting

  • Tent camping here: 74 sites take tents. See open sites ↑
  • Electric sites: 74 sites have power.

Need an RV for your stay?

Rentals that may deliver here and whose listed length fits sites up to 75 ft. Delivery may be available — confirm fees and dates with the owner before you book.

2018 Forest River Cherokee
2018 Forest River Cherokee

Travel trailer · 37 ft · sleeps 10 · 2 mi from campground

$150/night listed · Outdoorsy · Delivery may be available

View rental
2022 Dutchmen Coleman Lantern
2022 Dutchmen Coleman Lantern

Travel trailer · 33 ft · sleeps 10 · 59 mi from campground

$135/night listed · Outdoorsy · Delivery may be available

View rental
KZ SPORTSMEN Classic 191BHK Travel easy with this Ultralight camper!
KZ SPORTSMEN Classic 191BHK Travel easy with this Ultralight camper!

Travel trailer · 22 ft · sleeps 5 · 60 mi from campground

$99/night listed · Outdoorsy · Delivery may be available

View rental
Best time to go

Seasons, rates and how booked it gets

  • Peak season Apr 16–Oct 18: RV & Tent $20–$22 per night

stays up to 14 nights (Recreation.gov rules).

Plan your stay

How far ahead to book Cottonwood (Ne)

For June weekends, book about 161 days ahead. Three in four June Friday and Saturday arrivals were booked later than that, and half were booked 98 days or less before arrival. Past timing is guidance, not a guarantee of what is open now.

See booking patterns
Arrival monthFri/Sat arrivals: half booked at leastA quarter at leastOther days: half booked at leastA quarter at least
April32 days ahead104 days ahead22 days ahead95 days ahead
May47 days ahead147 days ahead51 days ahead164 days ahead
June98 days ahead161 days ahead87 days ahead176 days ahead
July76 days ahead160 days ahead57 days ahead174 days ahead
August55 days ahead160 days ahead45 days ahead179 days ahead
September28 days ahead124 days ahead16 days ahead84 days ahead
October18 days ahead61 days ahead11 days ahead49 days ahead

Months with fewer than 30 reservations of that kind are left blank. Sites where nearly every booking was made the day of arrival (pay on arrival) are left out. Closed seasons, windows not yet released for booking, and currently unavailable nights are separate from this history.

Based on Recreation.gov reservations, FY2015–2025 (25,768 reservations in the years scored). Counts reservations made, not nights actually camped: cancellations aren't in the data, and nights a site was closed count as not booked. FY2020–21 (COVID) are left out of the scores.

Compare site types

74 individual reservable campsites from Recreation.gov, checked Nov 7. Rates are the listed nightly rates.

Standard sites with electric

Tent or RV, with power

74 sites · $20, $22/night

0 open Nov 13–Nov 15