Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Big Bear Lake, CA

By far this has got to be the best and largest campground on the 38. First reason is the pricing. At only $21 per night for a single site, this is the best priced campground in the area excluding free yellow post sites. With this price however you get the basics. No showers, no rv dump station, just water from the pipe, toilets, picnic tables, fire ring, and a bear box. can’t complain about that though.

second reason; there are many many sites to choose from. this camp ground has several loops that each contain roughly 20 campsites, sometimes more. on any given day you should be able to drive up, though a reservation is definitely still recommended.

3rd; the location. Topography-wise this camp sits right over a small meadow that boarders the San Gorgonio wilderness. it sits higher above the highway and displaces sound nicely. this spot is excellent for wildlife viewing and entry to the wilderness for hiking and exploring. The campground is also littered with tall standing pines and even some massive junipers, providing ample shade. You can’t help but feel like your are elsewhere like the Eastern Sierra with the dry desert winds the blow in and chill on the mountains and the smell of the sage brush. This campground is only about 20 min out from big bear lake as well, and does have cell reception (unfortunately).

Highly recommend sites 32, 37, 47, 58, or 24 & 49 which are both double sites. This was due to their more isolated positioning to other spots, shade, flat ground, and proximity to bathrooms and the beautiful little meadow where deer graze in the evenings. happy trails.

Very clean, dog friendly ( with dog park) helpful nice staff, propane available, small playground and swimming pool, picnic tables and grills at each site

Great clean campground. Flush toilets, clean restrooms, well stocked. Didn't use the showers. Good location. Close to Big Bear Lake. Not much road noise for being located between two roads. Access to Cougar Crest Trail is super easy and safely cross under the road via tunnel. Pokemon stops for the kids.

Had a wonderful time with the kids and our two doggos here! Great dog park, family friendly and the hot springs was just perfect for all of us. Even have 3 temperatures so the kids can enjoy hot springs too! Thanks for a wonderful stay! We’re here last week of March 2024.

THEY HAVE SELF CHECKIN, for after hours I think that’s something everyone must know, especially if you can’t get ahold of them. We stopped for one night, we thought about staying another but we just wanted to get home. We had no complaints, other than the bathrooms were closed, but I was atleast warned about that when I called. I got cellphone service. The pool seemed very nice & clean. The dog park was honestly amazing, I loved it & then dogs loved it.

Shadow Hills RV Resort is a stellar urban RV resort with all the amenities. Full hookups, daily trash pickups at each site, cable tv, large level pads with privacy hedge, small dog parks scattered throughout, gated security, nice restrooms w/ showers (free). We were visiting family who were just a short bike ride away. Can be extremely windy here. Desert X environmental art installations are nearby.

This is a great campground near Big Bear lake. It's down a fun dirt road that my Explorer had no problem with. My 11 year old son was beside me holding on for dear life as I cracked up with joy! Who doesn't love hauling butt down a dirt road?! Low profile cars will make it in good weather, just go slow! The campground was filled with trees and its close to a trail that we took the kids on. Toilets weren't bad at all and the camp host was nice. I will definitely go back.

Bit of a hassle getting up the washboard dirt road from Fawnskin but what you gain is worth it! No cell service except legend has it that site 37 has service if you stand on the rocks. We were at site 22, got occasional Verizon service in one corner of the driveway. Steep incline down to picnic table, tent area, and Bear locker. Almost no shade at this site. The draw for this campground even with pit and chemical toilets and little shade in the Westernmost loop, is access to the hiking trail (camp near the #50-60 sites to get closer to trailhead. Southern Sierra vibe, so close to Big Bear Lake and its amenities but you really feel isolated. Gets crowded and can be noisy on weekends but midweek is quite empty and usually peaceful.

Being reasonably close to our home base, we frequent this park with the family. Major grocery and shopping establishments are nearby, with Target directly across the street, In-n-Out, local parks, and the like. Our kids love the pool area, grandparents love the pickleball courts, and there are always fun activities to do throughout the year. Full-timers are friendly and inclusive of newcomers and passer-throughs. Dog parks are clean and located at either corner of the park. The entrance security kiosk is staffed 24/7, and they'll even help spot you while parking your rig. We cannot say enough good things about this place. 

Check their website for events and specials.

Spa in the desert We wanted to escape the rain and cold and hit the jackpot with this location. I was concerned that the pools might be closed due to COVID but both pools were open. They are fed by natural hot springs and warmer than most hot tubs. The camp ground was tidy and the sports were separated by shrubbery for privacy. They had mini golf and picket ball. The kids loved the pool. That was the main attraction. After a week of boon docking in the desert, this resort was a nice respite. The dog park was ok, dusty and small but the other campers were super nice so it was a fun way to meet people and their fur babies. The owners made it very clear that kids and families are welcome, although most campers were silver haired.

This place has a great weekly rate ($35 per night) and great amenities. We got a site across from the laundry/pool/bathroom which was also not far from the dog park. We arrived on a Tuesday, so we got to spend a few quiet days before the weekend campers showed up which was nice. This is a very family friendly resort so on the weekends there are lots of families with kids. There are lots of activities such as mini golf, pickle ball, and shuffle board, just to name a few, but the main draw is definitely the pools. They’re fueled by the hot springs, so the pool is at about 90 degrees and the hot tub a bit hotter. They also recently opened a little convenience store where you can get the necessities such as ice and whatnot. Definitely would come back here!

The pros: elite sites are nice with two concrete pads and turf. You park on gravel, but the rest is nice. The people are friendly, but the front desk could be friendlier. They also have two nice dog parks. The sunset view is lovely. All streets are paved. The cons: this area can get VERY windy. So windy, that we closed our slides on two,occasions during our two weeks stay. The sites are also close together. We wanted to to spend a lot of time in Palm Springs and found the distance too far. There is really nothing in Desert Hot Springs except a burger joint and a small breakfast cafe. The biggest problem with this place is the exit area. There is a huge dip in the road. We scraped a bit (45’ MH) and I saw many other TTS and 5th wheels scrape bottom. This needs to be fixed.

Clean, relaxing area that gives each party plenty of room. Pet friendly, our three dogs loved it! Staff was incredibly helpful and hard working. Also it was well located as it was a semi-quick drive to a few fun locations. Will be coming again, though I hear it requires a reservation well in advance. This is a very popular location!

Definitely not the norm for us to stay in a place like this, but we had some things to do in Palm Springs and wanted to be close.  With taxes and fees, and additional dog fees, we paid about $87/night, and that's in the cheapest spots.  Yipes. 

It's close to the freeway and the road noise is loud and never stops. There is also a freight train that frequently runs along behind the park, and it's very loud.

Other than the noise and the high price, it's a very nice RV park.  Lots of amenities and activities.  There's also free wifi, download/upload was pretty slow but streaming and browsing was good.  Two pools/hot tubs (one is adult only), tennis courts, library, gym, showers, laundry, 3 dog parks (one is under construction), trash pickup service (though I'm personally not a fan of leaving my bags of trash outside for someone to pick up), a club house, storage units, lots of community activities. We asked if they had recycling and they said to bag up our recycling and leave it out with the trash.

We stayed here for a weekend and had no reservations and there was plenty of room in November.

Laundry way too expensive at $5 for wash and $5 for 45 min dry. Credit card payment only and the dryer didn't dry our clothes all the way.

Nice park, but way too pricey for us!

Clean, pet friendly and good for kids.