c
cindy 
Scout
ScoutYosemite RV Resort
Great place to test new TT
Quiet; dog park; pool; playground; fire pit ; only thing is sites and small.
Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Madera, CA
Pet-friendly camping near Madera ranges from full-hookup RV parks to leash-friendly lakeside campsites, giving travelers with dogs practical options across different budgets and setups. The Lakes RV & Golf Resort in Chowchilla accommodates tent and RV campers with pets throughout the year. Surrounded by a pond, this campground maintains a secured property with electronic access devices for safety while allowing alcohol and fires at designated sites. Full hookups include electric, water, and sewer connections, with a sanitary dump station available. The meticulously maintained grounds feature paved spots with small patio and grass areas, though some visitors note the space can be somewhat limited. The swimming pool provides welcome relief during hot summer months, making it particularly popular with families.
Millerton Lake State Recreation Area Campground permits pets at all their campsites with proper leashing. Located a short drive from Madera, this year-round destination offers flush toilets, trash service, and picnic tables without requiring electrical hookups. Hiking trails surround the campground with access to the lake for swimming and fishing activities. Lost Lake Campground near Friant provides additional pet-friendly camping options with boat, drive-in and walk-in access points. The campground closes at 7pm which prevents late-night arrivals, and a $25 camping fee includes access to multiple trails where visitors can explore with their pets. During winter months, the temperatures remain comfortable for camping with pets, though summer heat can be intense and requires additional consideration for animal safety.
Best Dog-Friendly Sites Near Madera, California (94)
1. Madera District Fair RV Campgrounds
2 ReviewsMadera, CA2 milesWebsite2. Hidden View Campground — Hensley Lake
9 ReviewsRaymond, CA16 milesWebsite+1 (559) 673-5151$20 - $100 / night
"Even with all the rain, the lake isn’t very full. The campground, including the bathroom, was clean."
"The site we stayed at had a nice fire ring, was flat, had a picnic table and it was close to running water. We tent camped, but it looked like there were plenty of RV spots too. Nice and quiet too."
3. The Lakes RV & Golf Resort
4 ReviewsMadera, CA13 milesWebsite+1 (559) 665-6980$42 - $1500 / night
"There is a high fence surrounding the property and it is secured by electronic hand held devices that you receive when you check in. The lake and swimming pool are beautiful and restful."
"Surrounded by a pond. Cable & wifi. Decent laundry room. Perfect place if you're a golfer. We stayed here multiple nights. My kids loved the pool."
4. COE Eastman Lake Codorniz Campground
9 ReviewsRaymond, CA19 milesWebsite+1 (559) 689-3255$20 - $100 / night
"It would make the perfect group site as they were a bit tucked back from the other sites. Site #12 could easily be connected to site #11 as the brush is well-cleared between the two."
"Located a short 20 miles east of 99, just north of Fresno, this Army Corps of Engineers campground is stunning."
5. Millerton Lake State Recreation Area Campground
19 ReviewsFriant, CA24 milesWebsite+1 (559) 822-2332$30 - $200 / night
"Enjoyed hiking around the area. Our dogs loved the water. Would definitely stay again. Camp hosts were very friendly and helpful."
"Bathrooms were so-so with regard to cleanliness but most sites had its own access to water which was awesome!"
6. Bass Lake Recreation Area Rudy
2 ReviewsFriant, CA12 milesWebsite+1 (559) 642-3212"Bass lake is the perfect campground for young family camping. There are plenty of facilities and even a restaurant."
7. Arena RV Park
2 ReviewsMadera, CA14 milesWebsite+1 (559) 665-1752"Close to hwy but far enough that road noise isn't onerous. Train passes through once at night time, bring earplugs. Clean, tidy, well kept campground."
8. Lost Lake Campground
6 ReviewsFriant, CA21 milesWebsite+1 (559) 488-3004$25 / night
"It was quite and have several trails to walk on. Their is a nice that runs by the campgrounds and further down and pass the station where pay the toll to the stake park."
"A few miles out of town, store close by. Usually mostly empty and good privacy"
9. Buck Ridge
1 ReviewRaymond, CA17 milesWebsite+1 (559) 673-5151$30 / night
"Picnic tables, well used.. fire pits, barbecue pits.. sites look d pretty clean, i am across from lake, train noise.."
10. Blackstone North RV Park
2 ReviewsFresno, CA20 milesWebsite+1 (559) 439-1123"This location was helpful when trying to take care of ordinary business matters. The park is well maintained and provided a nice area to walk with my pup."
Recent Dog-Friendly Camping Photos near Madera, CA
58 Photos of 94 Madera Campgrounds
john W.
COE Eastman Lake Codorniz Campground
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Recreation Point Group Campground
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Redinger Campground
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Outdoorsy Yosemite
Dog-Friendly Camping Reviews near Madera, CA
544 Reviews of 94 Madera Campgrounds
Lauren M.
GuideRiverbend RV Park
Riverbend RV Park
FHU with large pull through spots. Quiet place that was nice to spend a few days at while exploring Sequoia and Kings Canyon. Place has grass, dog park, lots of kids play areas, adults game areas, fishing pond, creek and river next to property is very pretty. We really enjoyed it.
- jjeanne A.Guide
Merced River Resort
Good for the night
$61 a night for full hookups. Showers available but not ADA compliant so my husband couldn't use it. Large dog park but a person in there had an aggressive dog so we couldn't use it
C N.
RangerPine Flat Campground
Lakeside Camping
This campground is situated by a lake. Love this spot! You’ll hear all the frogs by night and birds in the morning, great place for fly fishing or cat fishing and nice folks staying here! We had a bit of fun filling the truck up to make a portable pool, it’s quite warm in the summer months but perfect if you’re visiting the Clovis Rodeo!!! A local town isn’t far away. Great place for the family and pet friendly! It is pitch black at night, so bring flashlights. Restrooms are available, some sites have water, and trash dump is available. There’s no place on premise to purchase wood but park rangers operate entry at a booth during business hours for more information during your stay, if needed.
Mr. And Mrs. M.
TravelerMerced River Resort
Shady spot
We stayed here for 5 weeks. Quiet park with lots of shady trees, a dog park and kids play area. River access is limited though because of the steep incline. No swimming spots but good fishing areas. Full hookups were much appreciated! The restrooms did not have working showers at the time hopefully that has been fixed.
- JJames B.Guide
Summerdale Campground - Sierra National Forest
Great spot outside S. Yosemite
Neat spot just outside Yosemite NP. The campground host was very nice and the cold stream nearby was perfect to cool down after hiking in the park.
A park tour bus stop was a mile south of the campground and can take you all through the park or drop you off and pick you up on the way back at the end of the day.
The camp sites were roomy with plenty of green and trees between sites.
Pet friendly.
MickandKarla W.
LegendKings River RV Resort
Not Impressed
We arrived after carefully following the website and emailed instructions, as our RV GPS and Waze would not have gotten us here. We pulled up in the small parking lot in front of the entry gate. Although we arrived during open hours, there wasn't anyone in the office, but a kid came up to us and offered to get his mom, who was the manager. However, the kid came back alone and told us our information package was on the front board outside the gate and had everything we needed to include the gate code. We then proceeded to our assigned FHU site 34 that was a pull-in with utilities set up for a motorhome. The site was large enough that we could have pulled in, unhooked, and moved the truck out, but we were concerned about connecting to the utilities in this configuration. Back-in site 33 with FHUs was empty, so we called the office number and the man who answered didn't know if it was empty but would go check in the office if we wanted to move sites. It was obvious we were putting him out, but he did call back a few minutes later and said that back-in site 33 was open for our two-day stay. The pads here are all sand, and after settling in, we noticed the campground(CG) was about half full with either residents or transient workers. Some sites were organized, and others were not. The way the large-sized sites here are arranged, you can park your rig in various configurations. The utilities worked fine, including a decent water pressure of around 40 psi. Supposedly, they have Wifi, as indicated by the multiple repeaters around the park, but we received no instructions/password and didn’t see a guest network to try and log in. This was fine as we put out our Starlink and we had 4 bars on Verizon. We are in no way prudes, but several of the private WiFi names we could see on“Other Networks” were pretty disgusting making us question who we were parked by. They do have a nice pool area with two hot tubs. There is also a nice-sized dog park with two separate fenced areas. According to the front of the office, they sell sundries and souvenirs, but they never opened the office during our stay even though should have according to the hours on the door. From the information on their website, the King River that runs adjacent to the CG is pretty much dried up this time of year(January) but fills for the summer season. Sorry to say we didn’t“feel it” on this CG and would not want to be here in the busy season.
Valerie D.ScoutSweetwater
Sweetwater sure was sweet!
We (a team of 6 people) are in SD participating in an adventure race called Questival. This campground had full restrooms and coin opporated showers. The site is pet friendly and has horse stables. Our neighbors were friendly and quiet. The site had a picnic table, fire pit, water spout and full electricity hook ups.
Nicole S.GuideOasis West RV Park
los banos
We reserved this site because we were driving down to Big Sur and wanted to reserve a site for the nights we would be down there. We drove 13 hours and arrived on the first day late at night and set up. The ground was so hard and we were unable to secure our tent. The wind was very high, so the next day we asked for a way to help secure the tent, so it did not blow away while we were in Big Sur for the day. They gave us heavy nails and a hammer. Their customer service and accommodations were great except for one incident.
There were a lot of stray cats running around and we had an issue with one stray dog. Our dogs were required to be on leashes and a stray dog that the grounds crew had seen on the grounds, came up to our dogs and before I could get to them had attacked and bit my dog. My wife was able to get them apart before they were seriously hurt. We told the KOA and they tried to call animal control. They would not come out so it was held in the dog area for the day and then let out in the morning or someone came and got it at 6 am. We were told the owner wanted to talk to us but was never approached again or offered a refund.
I was happy with the facility but disappointed with how they handled the problem. This could have been a serious situation and wish the communication between all staff would have been better to keep us safe.
Guide to Madera
Dispersed camping near Madera, California offers access to several recreational areas within a 30-mile radius of the city. The region sits at the base of the Sierra Nevada foothills with elevations ranging from 270 feet in Madera to over 500 feet at nearby camping destinations. Winter temperatures typically range from 38-60°F while summer months can reach above 100°F, making spring and fall the most comfortable camping seasons.
What to do
Hiking trails near waterways: Lost Lake Campground features multiple trails along the San Joaquin River. "Nice huge area, can go off the trails and explore the area," notes one camper at Lost Lake Campground, who also mentions a convenient "$5 day pass, $25 total for camping."
Fishing opportunities: Eastman Lake at Codorniz Campground provides good fishing even during drought periods. A camper reports, "Fishing is good. Springtime has the grasses green with abundant wild flowers in late Feb through early March" at COE Eastman Lake Codorniz Campground.
Watersports and swimming: Bass Lake Recreation Area supports various water activities throughout the season. A visitor comments that Bass Lake is "a recreation destination in and of itself, with the 'Forks Resort' nearby, huge professional boat rentals advertising everywhere."
What campers like
Security features: The Lakes RV & Golf Resort offers enhanced safety measures uncommon at other local campgrounds. One review notes, "There is a high fence surrounding the property and it is secured by electronic hand held devices that you receive when you check in" at The Lakes RV & Golf Resort.
Clean facilities: Arena RV Park maintains well-kept bathroom facilities despite highway proximity. A reviewer states, "Clean, tidy, well kept campground. Easy on/off from Hwy. 99. Nice management. Spaces large and lots of shade coverage."
Wildlife viewing: Codorniz Campground provides opportunities to observe local fauna. "Fall has a Tarantula migration and you will definitely see them. Coyote, Bobcat, and deer are frequently seen," reports a camper about the natural surroundings.
What you should know
Seasonal water levels: Lakes in the region fluctuate significantly throughout the year. A visitor to Millerton Lake State Recreation Area Campground notes, "The lake is very full now till July 4th. Great boating, and jet ski area."
Campground closures: Several locations have specific operating hours. At Lost Lake, "closes at 7pm so you won't get people coming in the middle of the night."
Wildlife challenges: Be prepared for potential encounters with ground squirrels and insects. One RVer warns about Millerton Lake: "We would not stay here again until the park gets control of the ground squirrels. We heard stories of cars and RV's being towed out because they chewed through wiring."
Tips for camping with families
Playground access: Several campgrounds offer dedicated play areas for children. At Yosemite RV Resort, "Large clean pool with a shallow lounging section. Playground. Bathrooms/showers were freshly renovated and clean."
Swimming options: Bass Lake provides family-friendly water recreation. A camper shares, "Don't let anyone tell you that you can't camp with an infant. It's actually one of the best activities that you can do with them. Bass Lake is the perfect campground for young family camping."
Temperature considerations: Plan family trips during moderate seasons. A visitor to Codorniz notes, "Summer can be hot as the elevation is low in the California Central Valley and the grasses are brown," while another adds that "it's a quiet campground on a hill."
Tips for RVers
Site dimensions: Many campgrounds have specific space limitations. At Blackstone North RV Park, "Sites are large and level but no screening between rigs. Good overnight spot!"
Road conditions: Access roads to some campgrounds require careful navigation. A reviewer cautions about Codorniz: "Although not far off of Highway 99, the road from Chowchilla was incredibly rough. 15 miles of poorly-patched pot holes. I went no faster than 35 mph but still bounced the rig badly."
Pet-friendly camping near Madera, California: Most campgrounds around Madera welcome pets with specific leashing requirements. Yosemite RV Resort features a "Large dog run which was amazing," making it an excellent choice for dog-friendly camping near Madera.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dog-friendly
campsite near Madera, CA?
Which is the most popular dog-friendly campsite near Madera, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dog-friendly campground near Madera, CA is Madera District Fair RV Campgrounds with a 5-star rating from 2 reviews.
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dog-friendly camping near
Madera, CA?
What is the best site to find dog-friendly camping near Madera, CA?
TheDyrt.com has all 94 dog-friendly camping locations near Madera, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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