Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Topeka, KS

When camping in Kansas you must try the Rocky Ford Campground in Tuttle State Park River Pond Area. This is a great shaded area with water views and full hookups. There are great secluded sites or sites you can camp next to friends or family. There are huge cottonwood trees that are wrapped with green vines during the summer months that guide you through the park. Make sure and put your food away at night or the raccoons will be dining at your table during the night. Site #44 is our favorite spot to hang the hammock and relax after biking or hiking the trails.

Stopping for a quick overnight at the Topeka KOA, the staff was very nice. There is a small store with plenty of affordable firewood which was great for our chilly night. The bathrooms were large and very clean. Being a dog friendly campground, it had a cute little fenced area, but lots of poop not picked up which takes away the fun. (not the campgrounds fault, but nevertheless, no fun to be around. The reason for 4 instead of 5 stars is the proximity to the highway. We had a “deluxe rv site” that backed up to the highway. So tons of highway noise all night. Additionally, the sites were pretty close together and our neighbors had an outdoor tv that was blasting for hours. Takes away from peaceful camping. In the way n, less than a mile from the campground is Happy Basset Brewing Co. - highly recommend, as well as the food truck that was on site On the Hook!! 🐟🍟

Our site was $56.78 We were in Site# 59 The check in was at 12pm but the office was closed until 3:30pm so we grabbed our sheet left out front and got ourselves to our site.

We had Full hook- up with a gravel pull-through.
We travel towing a 14 foot trailer and were able to fit both in our pull through site along with my jeep (although the Jeep had to be parked straight across the front of our site to fit in). Also we were right on the highway.

The site was easy to level.
Our site was not shaded and without any trees. The most FRUSTRATING part is that this was a buddy site (that is NO WHERE on their website). We have rescue dogs and don’t want to share our space with neighbors we don’t know. Literally no one wants to Kumbaya by the fireside with complete strangers. Therefore our trip went from one week originally to two nights. We would have left the next day but the husband wanted to see the Evel Knievel museum.

The lot does not have a concrete patio but has a picnic table and fire grate.

They have a community fire pit with multiple swings around it. They sell wood for $6 a bundle.

They do not provide garbage service at your site so you must walk to garbage dumpster at the entrance.

You are allowed to ride personal golf carts. They do not provide golf cart rentals. There is really not a need to have a Golf cart because it is a smaller campground.

They do have a saltwater Swimming pool. They have a catch and release fishing pond.

There is a Playground. They also offer a weight room and an adorable activities room with air hockey, a library, & a pool table. There is also a scenic walking trail. The trail is almost a mile and they’ve kept it mowed and easy to identify.

They have a basic general store. There is not a snack bar/restaurant on site.

The streets are gravel so not great for riding bikes.

They have cabins for rent and a tent area (electric & primitive options).

They have 2 shower houses. The shower house in the main barn has individual shower/toilet/sink areas. The shower house in the park has the typical stalls. These are kept very clean.

There is a laundry facility in both shower houses. It is a cash only facility.

They have a fenced in dog park which is unfortunately located in the front of the park away from RV sites.

Some fun things to do outside of the campground are the Evel Knievel museum and Brown vs. Board of Education historical park.

Staff are very kind. I would definitely stay here in the future but will know to secure a site that isn’t shared with others