Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Lawndale, CA

Sprawling lush green hills? Can’t beat Chino Hills State Park.
The campground itself feels very close together and wide open compared to the space of the park. Gets loud at night if there are too many groups camping. No cell service. Super clean bathrooms and showers.

PET OWNERS BEWARE: Our dog munched on a frog at this campsite and started foaming at the mouth. We rinsed her mouth out with water and she turned out fine, but a smaller dog or a swallowed frog and she could have died from toxicity.

Anaheim RV Resort is close to Disney and is on the Anaheim Resort Transportation (ART) bus route. They have full hook up sites and room for large rigs - back-in and pull through. They are very pet friendly and even have a dog walking/feeding service (for an extra fee). There is a small pool and hot tub. The restrooms/showers and newly remodeled and very nice! Sites are all level and fairly large. We've stayed here 4 times and will be back again!

Nice spot if you don’t want to drive far. Fantastic views. Get there early to get a spot with shade...we arrived in the late afternoon and the only spots had zero shade. It was so hot!! Sites are relatively private and pets allowed.

Hardly anyone there when I went in March and felt like I had the place to myself! Hot showers and picnic table available. Just a 1 min walk down the hill to the lake - a perfect place to have my morning coffee! They allowed pets which is awesome. Super quiet, lots of stars, and a beautiful view. Couldn’t ask for better!

This was our first trip with our new motorhome and first camping trip ever.  The staff was really friendly and accommodating.   The grounds are nice and very large.  Sites are easy to navigate and pull into, especially for a first timer.  

The RV sites are pretty close together but the full hookups makes it really nice.  Will stay here again and they are very pet friendly which was nice.

Even though you are lined up next to your neighbors, noise just doesn’t carry because the roar of the ocean is so loud! It’s amazing to fall asleep to. We loved exploring the sand dunes across the street and even saw a pod of dolphins! Restrooms were well maintained and staff was friendly. A huge bonus is that it was pet friendly, but most of the trails around are not.

This place is huge. There are multiple sections to the campground. Views are better from the top portion of the campground. Tons of grassy areas for kids and pets to play. 2 pools, very basic square shaped, no jacuzzis and not many patio furniture to sit at around pool. Very quiet and the majority of spots are good size. They do have a number of long term residents at this park which can turn some people off. They are in process of trying to make this place more of a resort. They need more activities for the kids, not much. You can easily walk to puddingstone lake and fish or swim when the season is here. Overall, nice and not too expensive.

This is a very nice campground near everything but still away from it all. No issues parking our 42' 5th wheel here. Clean and quiet despite the peacocks. They can be rather loud when startled. I swear they could hear my morning alarm and squawked their disapproval. The camp host Shawn is AMAZING! Bathrooms are very clean. Showers are coin operated. DO NOT expect cell service. I could only work from this spot by placing my mobile HomeFi router on top of the camper. Our Verizon phones were paper weights. Make sure your reservations are complete online before arriving. The Rangers check the spots multiple times a week. The kids enjoyed the playground and fields. It's not uncommon to see and hear movie/TV production crews at the filming locations along the road. Pet friendly but be careful at night. Mountain lions were spotted while there.

This is my second stay at this RV resort. Both times I was here the Rangers would not enforce any rules and regulations. This particular stay there were two RVs with excessive dog barking from 7 AM till 10 or 11 PM every day and night. 

One RV was parked right next to the restroom and they would tie their dog up to the picnic table for over 12 hours a day. Every time someone walk down the sidewalk to use the facilities, the dog with lunch and start barking at them. The manager and the other Rangers said they do not care and did not enforce anything over a three week. This was an aggressive dog that was lunging, and I’m very concerned that it will break loose invite somebody. None of the Rangers have any concern for our safety.

 The second RV left two dogs and a cat alone for 12 hours a day. They left the windows open and the dogs with aggressively bark and how all day long. Again the Rangers did not care and did nothing about it. Brian, the manager, and three other Rangers witness the dogs in the window, barking aggressively, and refused to do anything about it. 

My neighbor and I called over 20 times to the Rangers. I even personally met with the manager Brian. He said he would take care of it and he never did. The Ranger name by the name Sandra said that she was unwilling to do anything about enforcing the rules, and that if I didn’t like it, I should move. I informed her that I’m paying her salary/wages and I expect her to do her job. She hung up on me. She is completely useless, and should be removed from the staff. 

I’m not sure why Thousand Trails system as allowing Rangers to collect their paychecks without doing their job. 

I regret purchasing by thousand trails membership. If I wanted to hear dogs barking all day, I would stay at a dog boarding kennel. Beware before you visit or purchase a membership through thousand trails Soledad Canyon. Chances are you will regret it.

So we’ve never camped here mostly because it’s a 15 minute drive from our house and that just feels like cheating lol. But we come here constantly for fishing, bicycling, and kayaking. Biggest frustration? Dogs are not allowed out on the water, even if contained to your boat/kayak/canoe/etc, even if you strap your dog to you (she has a K9 sport sack just for this). Trust me I’ve tried all the logic there is, the sheriffs ain’t budging. I get it, but my dog loves kayaking and is very well trained and it’s frustrating to be so close yet she can’t come with me. And I’m single so it’s not exactly like I can leave her with someone on the beach while I kayak, so unfortunately when I do kayak here the poor pup has to stay home. However, out of the water dogs are allowed and enjoyed everywhere! We have done the cycle loop of the entire park so many times I’ve lost count and everyone seems so impressed a 19 pound senior dog with a heart condition can rack up a 5 mile jog no sweat. Haha this pup is invincible! If you aren’t familiar with the trails they can get a little tricky to follow but easy enough to recorrect. (The first video shows what some of the main trails are like, easy to ride and very well kept!)

Now that a good section of the East side of the park bordering the RV Resort and Airport is privately owned it is a BEAR to circle back to your original point. Honestly we’re talking a 10 minute bike trail of about .4 miles now loops out 5 miles into the neighborhood right next to the freeway off ramp and into normal traffic near the Pomona Fairgrounds. Also no sidewalks so talk about going leisurely on a bike path dumped into 40+ mph with signaled turn lanes on 5 lane wide streets where you need to merge and make left turns. (The second video shows this transition and redirect, please be safe people!) Honestly this new adjustment has caused a lot of cyclists I know and ride with to swear off the park because it’s too much to ask for those of us with pets or small children. I heard there is a petition circling to ask for a safer updated option.

Also realize that this change is not marked anywhere on the trails or maps and there is a huge elevation change from the top parking lots north of the park down to the southeast side. This means unless you know the bike path has changed, your only option to get the last .4 miles back to your car is to jump on to a busy main road, turn around and bike back the 5 miles completely uphill, or call an Uber and have them deliver you back lol. All in all though, great place to relax and have fun.

This is a great small, hike in camp ground with no privy but decent tent sites. There's no running water but the creek is usually running so come prepared with your own water and something to treat the creek water with. Check for fire restrictions and dig your cat holes at least 200 feet from the water. Or bring WAG bags and pack it back out. Very much like Hoegees campground. Good for families abs Scouts.

April 2, 2018

I hosted a Girls Who Hike LA 2nd annual 1st time campers workshop where I taught girls

To camp for the first time. This place was a great choice. The scenery was beautiful and the space was great for all 15 of us. I was also able to reserve this space which was ideal for me. The campground only allows 6 vehicles and you do not need a permit to park there unless your not park of the 6 vehicle rule. The 6 vehicles are covered under the cost of the campground. The water source was not working when we went and the bathrooms are located on the other campground next to ours so it wasn’t fun if we had to go to the bathroom at night. This site does not have any bear canisters yet the trash cans are bear proof on the campsite. There was only one real place to hang 1 hammock and you have to make sure you call the office to get the combination code so you can open the gate. I had to call the day we went and I was able to get the code from the visitors center people. We got very lucky and we all participated in the Chilao Visitor Center Star Gazing event 1 mile from our campground. It is walking distance away. I have to warn you the weather changes dramatically from day to night. I checked many different weather websites for weather and they all lied to me. The best was to get the weather was to call the Chilao Visitors Center. Meadow Group Campground IS within the Chilao Campground. You get absolutely no service while you are camping. The visitor Center has a phone if you need to call someone or if you go up the highway 2-3 more miles there is a restaurant called Newcombers where they have WiFi and some really great food! Pets are allowed at this campsite but require a permit. DO NOT BRING YOUR OWN FIREWOOD! They encourage you to collect wood around your campsite. I would recommend bringing a hatchet or axe to help break down some of the larger wood peices. It was freezing at night it got below 30 degrees prepare for cold weather at night just in case! We had no issues with animals! All around this is a great campsite!

My 3 dogs and I stay here often, as it's the lowest cost in Orange County and allows dogs. It has several restrooms, showers, equestrian areas, nature trails and picnicking for day use too.

This is a very beautiful area, tons of hiking and even some swimming areas that can be hiked to. Lost of filming has been done here, and there’s some cool landmarks to see. Always check before hand if the grounds are open, on occasion I have gone and they’ve had it closed. Also something to be aware of, they do not allow dogs, big bummer. Years ago, I saw dogs in the park, but the last time I went, they were not even allowed in. Otherwise it’s a very pretty place.

It was nice! Very clean! The boardwalk was endless and great to walk the dog and go for a run! Restaurants all around to have dinner at!