Day use area playground

If you’re already out at Cottonwood Recreation Area for the day, the playground makes a solid reason to let the kids burn off some energy before hitting the trails. It sits right there in the day use area, so you’re not trekking far from the picnic spots or the water. The natural surroundings do a lot of the heavy lifting — there’s something about being near the trees that makes even basic play equipment feel like more of an adventure. Accessibility is built in, which is genuinely useful and not always a given at recreation areas this size. Worth working into your visit if you’ve got little ones in tow.