Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Dexter, ME

Overall, this is a great little private RV park with awesome views (from some sites) and great access to the ocean. The park is conveniently located just a few miles from downtown Belfast (a sweet little Maine town) which offers plenty to do and see. Plus, you are just five miles from the cute town of Searsport which houses the wonderful Penobscot Marine Museum and two miles from Moose Point State Park with hiking trails, picnic areas, and more gorgeous views.

The park offers a variety of sites (44 total) depending on if you want oceanfront, ocean view, or a pull-thru. All sites have electric (50 or 30 amp), water, cable and wifi. The five pull-thru sites also include sewer. A mobile sewer pump-out service is available for guests staying one week or longer and there is a dump station. Roads and sites are gravel with grass patios and level. All sites have a fire ring and picnic table. Our Verizon 4G phone and Hotspot worked great but we mostly used the free wifi which worked very well.

Park amenities include private ocean access, horseshoes, playground, laundry, showers/bathrooms, free coffee in the morning, free weekend papers delivered to your site, free donuts on Sunday mornings, and a restaurant on-site. The park organizes a lot of group activities including pot lucks, lobster shore dinners, and free wine and beer during Friday Happy Hours. The laundry has two wash machines/dryers and was clean and tidy.

The Moorings is in a great location. It is just a few miles from downtown Belfast where you will find restaurants, a brewery, boutiques, a movie theater, art galleries, historic museums/sites, and plenty of water-related activities. Grocery stores and fuel stations are within a few miles of the RV Park. Just a mere 20 miles away is the popular coastal town of Camden.   

What we liked about this park is the town of Belfast and how close the RV park is to downtown. Also, the parks small size and friendly people make this an enjoyable place to stay. We like the fact that they had social activities (like free happy hour and donuts) that bring people together. The ocean access in this park is great! A short set of stairs takes you down to the water which is great for exploring, launching kayaks, and letting the dog run/swim when the tide is out. 

The biggest downside for us was the price and lack of sewer and 50 amp at some sites. Our site was $66/night for a FHU (50 amp) pull-thru on the hill in the front of the park without much in the way of a water view. Premier oceanfront sites (with no sewer and 30 amps) are $72/night during high season. That being said, there are not too many options for campgrounds in the Belfast area and we really did like staying here. 

From a dog owners perspective this park gets mixed reviews. The rules ask that dogs be on a 4’ or less lease, you may only have two pets (unless you get prior approval), they must do their business in one small area and are not allowed on most grassy areas throughout the park. We make a consorted effort not too let our dog pee or poop in others yards but we don’t always have control over where that happens. We did like the fact that you could take them down to the ocean to play in the water and on the beach when the tide was out. Within two miles of the RV park is Moose Point State Park with a few miles of hiking trails, picnic area and water access (a daily use fee is charged). Downtown Belfast does have a fenced off-leash 1.4 – acre dog park with water for dogs and benches for owners.

I don’t have many complaints about this campground. There was a slight bee problem during our stay, but that’s to be expected. Most of the bathrooms in the park were closed down except for one, which our site (29) was next to. They have running hot water showers, a large basin sink outside to wash dishes, and flush toilets. The beach isn’t a far walk away, if you wanted to go on a small hike. Pets are allowed at the campground, but not on the beach. There’s also plenty of trails to explore.

If you need firewood, there’s a store on the way to the park that sells some as well as a shaws and a tractor supply in town that sells it as well. The parks fire wood burns too quickly.

Overall, would recommend

We love everything about this campground and were glad we booked for the whole month of September! The campground opened in May 2022 and is just what the Greenville area of Maine needed– a nice, large campground which is big-rig-friendly, nice amenities, and close to downtown. Everything about this park is very well-done from the layout to the landscaping to the fancy fire pits. 

The owners are super friendly and take great pride in how the campground looks. Moose Creek has just over 100 sites and they are expanding in 2023 to include more RV/tent sites, cabins, and a rental house. The place really deserves the title of “resort” with amenities like a large 25 x 90’ heated swimming pool, 3.5-acre stocked fishing pond with kayaks/paddleboats/canoes, large spacious sites, restaurant and bar with live music on the weekends, nice camp store with clothes, gifts, food and RV supplies, dog park, volleyball/basketball courts, and a playground. 

All campsites and roads are gravel with a mix of pull-thrus and back-ins. All sites have a nice picnic table, large gravel patio and well-placed water/sewer/electric hook-up. There is no cable but many sites have a clear view to the sky so you can pick up satellite or over-the-air channels. The only critism we have is that a handful of sites are sloped and we would not be able to get our 45’ motorhome level, luckily our site (#10) was perfectly level. Our favorite sites are 10 and 17–26 which are back-ins with privacy behind you and nice separation between sites. 

The pavilion and café are the hub of activities and a great place to grab a bite after a long day hiking. The food they offer is not what you would typically find in a campground and much more creative like a smoked trout plate, charcuterie, roasted mesquite Brussel sprouts, and slow roasted pork pile nachos. They also have a full bar and great beer list. In addition to bar seating and plenty of indoor tables there is lots of outdoor seating and propane firepits with comfortable chairs. There is live music on the weekends which draws a great crowd and all the bands played a nice mix of music that seemed to please everyone. 

Prices during the summer season are$55 (for a standard site) and$60 for premium– which is a great price in this region of the country and for a nice campsite with lots of amenities. Monthly discounts are available which drastically reduce the price. Campsites are designed for RV’s but you are permitted to put a tent on any site. All the facilities were super clean and the grounds were very well-maintained. The bathhouse (which was spotless) has six individual rooms with toilets and shower and two are ADA accessible. There is on-site laundry with three washers and three dryers costing $2.00/load. 

One of the great aspects of this park is that they put the pavilion and pool in the front of the campground so the noisy aspects are not smack in the middle of the campground and you don’t have to listen to “Marco Polo” all afternoon at your campsite. Since campsites are located in the back portion of the property, you don’t have any road noise. Another great thing is that the dumpsters and recycling is located at the exit gate so there is no stink and crashing sounds of garbage trucks at 8 am. While the surrounding area is popular for ATVing, they do not permit them in the park which cuts down on noise and dust (there is overflow parking for those units across the street). 

Greenville, Maine is one of our favorite towns. The hiking is great, there are tons of places to paddle and fish, and the fall foliage is spectacular. Downtown is a fun mix of outdoor stores, lakeside restaurants, a couple of museums, and a scenic tour boat that travels up and down Moosehead Lake. In early September, Greenville hosts the International Seaplane Fly-in where planes from all over descend on the lake participating in competitions.

This is a great little private RV park with awesome views (from some sites) and great access to the ocean. The park is conveniently located just a few miles from downtown Belfast which offers plenty to do and see and is one of our favorite coastal Maine towns.  We love shopping at the Co-op, eating pizza at Meanwhile in Belfast, lobster at Young's Lobster Pound, and lunch at Chase's Daily.  Plus, you are just five miles from the cute town of Searsport which houses the wonderful Penobscot Marine Museum and two miles from Moose Point State Park with hiking trails and gorgeous views. 

The park is small but offers a variety of sites depending on if you want oceanfront, oceanview, or a pull-thru.  There is no tenting allowed!  All sites have electric (50 or 30 amp), water, cable and wifi. The park recently added sewer to all sites and a dump station is onsite. The roads and camp sites are gravel with grass patios. Sites are level. All sites have a fire ring and picnic table. Our Verizon 4G phone and Hotspot worked great but we mostly used their free wifi which worked very well.

Park amenities include private ocean access, horseshoes, playground, laundry, showers/bathrooms, free coffee in the morning, free weekend papers delivered to your site, free donuts on Sunday mornings, and a restaurant on-site. The park organizes a lot of group activities including pot lucks, lobster shore dinners, BBQ feast, and cold beverages offered during Friday Happy Hours. The office/store has a great book exchange and an assortment of RV/souvenir items for sale. The laundry has two wash machines/dryers and was clean and tidy.

The parks small size and friendly people make this an enjoyable place to stay. We like the fact that they had social activities (like free happy hour and donuts) that bring people together. The ocean access is great! A short set of stairs takes you down to the water which is great for exploring, launching kayaks, and letting the dog run/swim when the tide is out. The biggest downside for us was the price which was $94/night for a FHU (50 amp) pull-thru on the hill in the front of the park without much in the way of a water view. Premier oceanfront sites are $110/night during high season. Park rules say that you may only have two pets (unless you get prior approval), they must do their business in one small area and are not allowed on most grassy areas throughout the park. We make a consorted effort not to let our dog pee or poop in others yards but we don’t always have control over where she goes and found this park very restrictive.

We enjoy our weeks on Moosehead Lake. Lily Bay Campground has spacious and wooded. The staff is very helpful and friendly. There is a beach and a playground. A clean shower and flush toilet facility. The sites have pit toilets that are plentiful and well maintained. Pets are welcomed. There is a boat launch and if you get a water site you can launch your canoe or kayak from there. The hosts clean the sites after check out so they are clean and ready for the next guests. There are no hookups, electric or water on site. Water is available at faucets every few sites. There is a dump station and there is potable water to fill you fresh water tank there. Plenty of hiking, fishing opportunities. You can take a short ride to Greenville for shopping, restaurants, laundry and a hospital. We are Mainers, but Lily Bay always feels like getting away.

Just outside of Greenville is the Little Moose Pond Public Lands. This campsite is one of five primitive campsites located in the tract. The easiest and quickest way to access the campsite is from the Little Moose Ponds Loop Trailhead on Old Squaw Road. From the Loop Trailhead, the campsite is just about a mile walk. The trail is well-marked, just follow the signs and the orange blazes until you see the sign for Little Moose Pond campsite which is just off the main trail. 

The campsite is tucked in the woods so you get some shade and privacy. Since you are right on the water, there are great views of the pond and surrounding woodlands. The site is on the north side of the pond so the morning sunshine greets you and the sunset lights up the southern hillside in the evening. Picnic table, fire pit, and a makeshift toile are provided. The toilet is essentially a toilet seat on a wooden box so there is no privacy but it is tucked away from the trail and campsite enough that it can’t be seen. You will need to call 207-695-3721 to see about obtaining a burn permit before starting a fire. The only water source is from the pond but there is a rake in case embers land outside the fire pit. A couple of canoes are stashed at the campsite and we were not sure who owns them but one was unlocked and there were two paddles propped against a tree. 

The campsite (and access to the Public Lands) are free and you can stay at the campsite up to 14 days. There is no trash receptacle so you must carry all your trash out with you. The campsite is first-come, first-served. If it is occupied, you can trace back about half a mile to the Big Moose Campsite and see if that is available

If your looking for a great little get away where you can get unplugged from society, then this is the place for you. Has a great place to go four wheeling. A place to enjoy the lake and all the fun activities that go along with it. As well as a bathroom facility for showering and all your tolitere needs. The kids can also enjoy the playground, and the various activities they provide. And you may even be visited by the campgrounds own family cat. This place is not only a great place to go tenting, but can also be a place where you can hook up your camper. This beautiful place sits in the woods off the maine road. It gives you the real feel of being out in the woods. It is a very secluded place.