Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Dadeville, AL

This park is located on the highest point in Alabama. It has a great camp store with most basic groceries, hotel, cabins/chalets, group lodge, restaurant with gorgeous views, pool, 6 acre lake ALONG with great hiking trails. There is also a dog park and in general this is a very pet friendly 🐶state park. (Bring the groceries you need- closest grocery store is a 20-30 min drive)and know that the restaurant is decent but it may have varying hours during off seasons.) . 🚍⛺️campground- there are two campgrounds with full hookups. The Upper campground at the top is the mountain near all the major trailheads, restaurant, camp store and pool. The Lower Campground at the bottom of the mountain is near the small lake with swimming area and walking trail around the lake. We stayed at the Upper and in February we had the whole campground to ourselves most of our 2 week stay. All the sites are updated and have water, 30/50 amp electric, sewer, picnic table and fire ring or grill. Bathrooms at upper level can be an uphill or downhill walk. *💲this state park has a $4.75 reservation fee and a 3.75% daily “resort fee” on your base campsite rate. Both of those are not deal breakers but good to know. (Especially since the pool is only open for a limited time)

🏡 there are chalets and cabins. I felt the cabins had the better views than the chalet and more private but these are smaller and more rustic. When you are making reservations for a cabin or chalet be sure to check the occupancy rate for the cabin you choose- some are limited to 2 people and look👀 at the amenities of each cabin/chalet- some are quite rustic but descriptions are given. Good news is that they do have pet friendly cabins.

🏕there are semi/primitive and backcountry style sites. ✏️Note that the semi primitive camp sites (the ones on Tower Road) don’t have a shower house for you to use- there is a bathroom available. If you plan to hike a lot and don’t want to drive your car- try to get sites on the upper part of park. (My personal pet peeve is driving daily to a trailhead when I am camping)

📌There is also a hotel with motel like rooms (near the pool and restaurant) and you can even rent an entire lodge for groups that was very attractive from the outside (this was located at top of mountain near the overlook trail-not really walking distance to pool and restaurant)

🥾hiking - 10.5 miles of hiking in the boundaries of the park with connectors to the Pinhoti. The hiking trails had spectacular views on both sides of the mountain. Hiking poles were helpful! While the .3 mile wooden boardwalk to Bald Rock is stroller and mobility challenged friendly, most of the other hikes were moderate to strenuous for the average person. For example- There is a one mile trail straight down the mountain to the lake and lower campground. That said, we loved the hiking here. Next time we plan to bring our larger back packs and do an overnight on a section of the Pinhoti. Did I mention how awesome the views were hiking?

🚵 mountain biking- there are 5 trails that are multi use... and hikers must yield to bikers on these. While we were here there was a mountain biking race. 🚴‍♀️road biking- the roads in the park had some incline...but I was glad to have my bike to roam the upper part park where we camped. (We don’t bring a tow vehicle) My husband biked outside of the park and you can decide for yourself if you would have fun road biking here after you drive UP the mountain roads to the Visitor Center. *It is 3 miles from the visitor center/park entrance to the lower campground/lake area via non park roads. 🛶- we didn’t paddle here, it was not near our campground and it is only a 6 acre lake/pond. There is a swimming/wading.

Happy Camping! Pamela and Keith

This is an okay campground but really caters to RVs. There's a whole lot of concrete, perfect for recreational vehicles but not so much for tent or hammock campers. It's more of an RV resort of sorts.

Tent sites are cheap at $5/night but you're limited to only 7 nights. Which probably won't matter to a tent camper here, as I would think being here for that long would be a bit much.

There are a ton of amenities here, including an old softball field turned into a dog park of sorts. There is a nice little lake but that's about it in terms of 'natural' amenities. Okay spot if you just need a place to stay the night but I wouldn't prolong a visit here. Also sort of loud given its close proximity to the train tracks.

We stayed at campsite 117. Water spigot at site. Picknick table and fireplace. Lots of trees for hammocks. A few rocks on the ground and mostly level. The park has 4 separate camping areas, this one has no showers but flush toilets with sink at the picnic pavilion. This area is on an inclined road, just something to keep in mind when walking it up and down to pool area, campstore or bathrooms. Bigfoot trail start at the last campsite. About every 5th site has power, 117 has not. Sunrise and sunsets are both viewable since this campground area is right on top of the park. Easy access to secured trash cans. Fenced in dog park is located near the top of the road near the bathrooms. Overall very clean sites. Some are more level than others. They allowed us to check in early (11am) since the site was unoccupied. All trails are very short (0.5-1mile). Longer trails are accessible via a short car ride. Pool is available to all campers; clean and cool with restrooms. Staff was very friendly. Fire trucks rolled through in the mornings checking sites.

The lots are pretty close , but it's a very nice family and pet friendly park . Lake views from just about every lot .

This is the nicest of all the campsites at Cheaha by far! While it definitely is a bit of a trek to get to, I promise you it is worth it! The views from this campsite are truly incredible, especially if you are lucky enough to have a clear sky for sunrise/sunset. The site is pretty primitive and doesn’t have any hookups but it is fairly large and has plenty of space to cook. There are some premade rock fire pits that are perfect for an evening cook out. There is ample space to set up several tents and hammocks and it is perfect for a large group. Be sure to check out the crashed plane on the way up which you find just off the trail about a quarter mile before the site. This site is a must see if you ever are camping in Alabama!

All camp sites have water and power and fits the needs of most all campers, including Equine campsites

Clean grounds and the largest capacity and spacious individual sites than most

Security in and out frequently.

Kids can run the area and you can see them almost everywhere they go

Quiet and peaceful

Pet friendly and LOTS of activities.

I am rather new to tent camping so I really appreciated the helpful folks running the camping area.  Each spot had electricity, water, great internet, picnic table and places to build a fire.  Each site is shielded from the next by trees.  Bathrooms and showers are used but clean.  Clear maps available for hiking or biking.  Nice lake with swimming and boating.  Pet friendly.  Could not have asked for more or better.

Chewalca State park has more to offer than just hiking. There are several mountain bike trails of varying diffivulties. There is also paddle boating and kayaks available for the lake. Throughout the hike there are canopies and grills where families can hang out. The hike was easy and not very long. The trail loops around the a lake and brings you to a waterfall on the back side of the lake. The waterfall is easy accessible and you can get as close as you wish. The park is also pet friendly.

Chewalca State park has a lot of activities for anyone in the area to do. They have one the best mountain biking trails in the area; however, I did not get to try it out during my visit. I enjoyed the trail which loops around the lake and has an area where I could see the water fall. I also was able to find a spot to setup my hammock and enjoy the mist coming off the water fall. The park was good, but I wanted more challenging and exploring hike. This park is great if you have children and pets. The trails needed a little more work.

Stayed here last night. We were supposed to stay 2 nights but barely made it through one. This place is rundown, dirty and has stray cats roaming and huge buzzards flying around. Site 117 is a mud pit. No gravel or concrete just an extra wide dirt/mud site. Water is on one side and lower on the other. Site 115 next to us had its power pole broken and laying on the ground. My husband went in the bathroom and told me not to go. If he thought it was bad, I can only imagine. The Hooch Hideaway, a seedy bar is just across an inlet from the campground. They played loud country/rock music until 2:00 am. Could not sleep. Avoid this campground!

Located along the Chattahoochee River, this is an older campground, which is why there's usually not many people, which is why you’ll get plenty of peace and quiet! If you’re looking to escape the trailer park scene and have more views of nature, this is the spot.

Wildlife and Canoeing

While paddling around the park, all within four miles, I saw 50 great egrets, 20 blue herons, cormorants, bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, osprey, turkey, deer, beavers, raccoons, plover, and geese, and watched kingfishers nose dive. I saw tracks in the sand for raccoons, deer, coyotes, bob cat, and waterfowl. And laid in the tent at night and listened to coyotes and owls. And I was far enough away from other campsites that I did not see nor hear people. I was in hog heaven! This may very well be my best kayak-camping spot yet. Bliss! This area is not inundated by people and boats, so the wildlife here is phenomenal! If you're interested in paddling more of the area, here is a paddling map that shows put-in and take-out locations.

Hiking

The park’s 3-mile nature trail leads to another 5-mile trail. Combined, the 8.5-mile hike will give you a good workout. There are multiple stream crossings and one challenging creek crossing, with ponds and swamps and plenty of hills to climb.

Native American History

The location of this campground is the exact location of an ancient Native American trading post, where you can still see the wagon wheel ruts in one of the oldest roads in the country. Loads of Native American history here.

RATING: The only reason I gave a 4-star rating instead of 5 is because of the condition of the facilities. Although, they are due to be upgraded in 2018.

This was a beautiful campground located up a mountain. It was very quite with large sized lots. Dog friendly with a corner store and restaurant nearby. Awesome mountain views and hiking.

We were the only trailer in loop D. It was quiet and very enjoyable! Being right on the lake and having the ducks swim up really thrilled our dogs. The bathrooms were very clean. I imagine that summer is a very different experience, but we enjoyed it!

Located on Lake Martin with lots of space and many lake front sites as well as interior sites. Plenty of Great bath house facilities throughout. Lots of activities, family and dog friendly too. Not many people this time of year, which we like. Good hiking trails, Fishing, archery, playgrounds, all kinds of water sports. Take the time to visit this State Park.

Primitive sites are fantastic. Lots of room and privacy (woods in between sites) and dog friendly. Has a pond with small beach area and diving dock for kids and paddling and playground. Hiking options are around the lake or down the small river or stream with lots of places to set up hammocks and a few small waterfalls. I think the longest hike is 3 to 5 miles so not a lot of full day hike options.

If you're into Mountain Biking the park has recently devoted a lot of time and resources to bike trails and obstacles and they're phenomenal.

Overall, great site and definitely worth the camp if you're in the area or pulling through but lack of long trails and unique attractions make it where I wouldn't travel here specifically for this park.