Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Sonora, CA

We’ve been coming here for over 25 years. It’s about an hour from Sonora or Groveland, although the latter is generally a steep no trailer road. Paved roads and site parking. Water taps every few sites. Fire rings and bear boxes. Large vault outhouses. Fishing and recreation on lake with some boat in areas to camp. Water levels vary. Forested but large fires have ravaged much of the adjacent area in the past few years. Campground host,fees. We’ve only had a bear in camp a couple of times. Sometimes we’ve been the only ones in camp, but it’s often full on holidays and some weekends. Only open May-Sept.

With a pool, petting zoo, a corral where they have a fire and s'mores followed by a movie, this is a great place to camp with the kids.

The showers are free and usually clean although on Saturday evening the campground was full and the bathrooms were dirty and out of TP.

There are tent sites, RV sites and cabins so something for everyone.

There were A LOT of stray cats on the property which kind of drove our dog crazy. But at least the campground is pet friendly.

If you plan to go into Yosemite NP, it's a long drive so plan accordingly. Our family really enjoys Rainbow Pools and Yosemite Pine's proximity to Rainbow Pools is part of why we stay here. The kids can jump and swim there and that's all they really want to do anyway so being close to that is key for us. So many of the places in the park where we used to get in the water do not allow swimming anymore.

I believe a lot of the people here are full-time. It’s a super sweet RV resort. It is very well-maintained, nicely landscaped, and they have some great dog parks. I came in after hours and the person managing the campground was kind enough to open up the office and get a space for me.

Great first trip for us! 49er was quiet and well-maintained. The staff was very friendly! They met us at the office when we pulled up and helped us get to the site (#45), and back in. Several nice amenities on the site: gravel pads, full hookups, including sewer, cable, water and 30/50A service. Small picnic table. Since we have a smaller trailer, our site was pretty compact. Quiet hours 10p-8a.

The campground has a well-stocked market, a campfire circle (s’mores and stories every evening!), an activities/dining hall, and full bathroom/shower. Free gold-panning lessons on the site. The office has a good-sized bookshelf with plenty of good books and magazines. Pet walking area (lit at night). Cool ‘49 theme throughout the camp site.

Nearby attractions include Columbia state park, which is a preserved miners town, Moaning Caves SHP, Railtown, New Melones lake. We took a trip up to Twain Harte for a craft fair, then stopped at Sonora for shopping.

FHU and Electric/water sites. Also has cabins, yurts, covered wagons you can rent. Has pool, playground and petting zoo. Well kept and easy to work with

Absolutely loved it here minus them saying they’re were rats with diseases. Watch out with your pets. Otherwise it was an absolutely gorgeous place

Not even come here if you don’t have a boat or jet sky... Barely any places to hang out by the water... Not kids or pets friendly

The campground has nice views, but wow, what a scary drive up a curvy mountainous road to get to it. Most of the campground is clay dirt, so it's quite dusty and the RV spots are not paved. They had a pool, but it was filled with rowdy children so we didn't go in. The campground also has a pet wash we wanted to use, but it wasn't working. There is also a random petting zoo, and I felt bad for the animals because it was quite small. Their redeeming factor were the buses to Yosemite. Although it was over an hour each way, we were thankful to have them since we only had our RV.

2 adults and 1 kid in the basic cabin over Easter weekend a few years ago. We really enjoyed our stay and the property. Petting zoo animals were adorable. Nice location to Yosemite. Friendly interactions with staff.

Ferral cat problem!!! Dont leave anything out! Deer and cats get into everything! And cats pee on everything!

Not located in the Yosemite Park (we made that mistake). 20-30min drive to Yosemite Park.

Very cute and quiet spot.

Trails around camp grounds, petting zoo for kids.

Tent, camper/rv, and cottage camping available.

Would recommend if you don’t mind a drive to get to the park.

Great option for bringing an RV to Yosemite. Calistoga Wagons were plenty warm as lows dipped into the 30s. Staff was very friendly. Cell service was non-existent - but such is life in the mountains. Resort had a surprisingly fun trail hike around the perimeter. Perfect for an outing with young kids. Petting farm was a big hit too with the kids.

Sites are moderate sized with bear locker, picnic table and fire pit. Campground has flushing toilets, sinks. Campground is close to curry village where showers, pool, market and pizza are available. Campground is near happy isles, where the trailheads for vernal falls, Nevada falls and half dome begin. Great camping spot to see Yosemite valley! Also is pet friendly.

On the east side of Yosemite Valley, it offers a convenient spot to rest after exploring and enjoying all the activities the area has to offer. Is crowded, but each spot is equipped with fire ring, food storage, picnic table, parking spot and flat, shaded spots for your tent.

Advantages: car camping, good for families, pets are allowed, bathroom and potable water nearby. Shuttle bus is pretty close too.

Disadvantages: Crowded, have to book a lot of time in advanced, distance between campsites is short.

Had a great night of relaxing. On our way over Sonora Pass.

The campground is located next to the Middle Fork Cosumnes River. Accessable from Hwy 88 just past Hams Station on Cat Creek Road. The camp has 18 sites that each have tables and fire rings. Sites are accessable by smaller RV’s and travel trailers. There are no    electrical hook-ups, dump station, or water, so plan on being fully self contained. Each site has very nice tent sites and are mosly located very close to the creek and offer good privacy. The camp ground fills up on most weekends but usually has sites open during the week. This has been a “ first come, first serve” campground in the past, but may change now that it will be managed by a recreation management company. Check with recreation.gov to confirm. Fishing, swimming, and hiking are activities. Bear River Reservoir Resort is a close drive away. Highly recommend.

Right off highway 108 on Sonora Pass. There are two entrances to the campground. This is a first come first serve campground with a total of 33 sites. There are vault toilets, tables and fire rings at each site.

These were quite decent campgrounds, kind of close together but decent sized sites. We were lucky to have a spot at the dead center of the top of the mountain looking out at the lake (site 13) with a big shade tree. Since we got there on a Saturday night, we were surprised to see that the campsite directly to our left and directly to our right were empty. By Sunday night, every campsite within sight was vacated so we had a lot of freedom to do what we wanted without having to worry about disturbing other people. Deer are fearless & majestic, several “packs” walked through our campsite all throughout Sunday night when everyone else was gone. They walked up to us to smell our campfire & our food (we were making s’mores). There’s a campfire spot, a water source, a picnic table, & a grill set up at each site (for the most part), with trashes nearby. 

The Lake was nice! We went swimming in the swimming area and there were a surprising amount of people there via Covid. We went in the little shop briefly but from what I could tell they had a lot of useful things campers may need varying from firewood, ice, snacks. fast food, alcohol, & camping/fishing supplies. You can have 2 cars at your campsite but we only had one, the second would be an additional charge. You can bring pets but also for a charge. If you have campsites like 1-20 you’ll have to walk clear across the campgrounds to get to the water or make a quick drive down with your party. We just drove which was better for us after having swam. 

Only complaint is the porta-potties. We went from Saturday to Monday & by the end of Sunday there was no more toilet paper, high-piled waste, & when I called to try to inform them to restock the toilet paper no one answered. I brought my own toilet paper so that wasn’t the worst situation but definitely bring some just in case! Master that sumo squat to hover over that thing!

This is a nice campground on Pinecrest Lake near Sonora Pass in Stanislaus National Forest. There is a great hike around the lake close by, as well as swimming in the lake a marina and a convenience store. This campground is open seasonally during spring, summer and fall due to the snow in winter. It is located in gold country, so there are some great little western towns in the area.