Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Elk Mills, MD

Elk Neck State Park Campground welcomes pets at its sites in North East, Maryland, offering full hookup RV campsites and pet-friendly cabins year-round. The spacious sites include picnic tables and fire rings, allowing campers with dogs to enjoy outdoor meals while their pets relax nearby. Nearby Woodlands Camping Resort in Elkton provides tent sites, RV spots with electric hookups, and cabins where pets can stay with their owners. Most campgrounds in the area enforce standard leash policies, typically requiring dogs to be on leashes no longer than 6 feet when outside the camper or tent. Both campgrounds maintain clean facilities with trash receptacles suitable for pet waste disposal. Lums Pond State Park Campground, just across the state line in Delaware, features particularly spacious sites with plenty of room for dogs to rest comfortably with their families. Campers browse The Dyrt when exploring the best sites near Elk Mills, Maryland.

Dog-friendly hiking trails surround many of the region's campgrounds, with Elk Neck State Park offering access to Turkey Point Trail where leashed dogs can accompany their owners to the historic lighthouse. Cecil County Permaculture provides more primitive camping with basic amenities including fire pits and outhouses, while still welcoming pets in a natural setting. Seasonal considerations affect pet comfort, with summer temperatures requiring adequate shade and water for dogs. Most campgrounds enforce quiet hours to minimize barking disturbances to other campers. The campground at Lums Pond State Park includes access to a 7.5-mile lake trail perfect for walking dogs, and some visitors note the park has an excellent dog park with water access for swimming. Wildlife encounters are possible in the wooded settings around Elk Mills, requiring pet owners to maintain control of their dogs to prevent chasing of deer, foxes, or other native animals.

Best Dog-Friendly Sites Near Elk Mills, Maryland (75)

    1. Lums Pond State Park Campground

    48 Reviews
    Kirkwood, DE
    10 miles
    Website
    +1 (302) 368-6989

    $22 - $40 / night

    "We hiked the 7.5mile lake trail with our two pups. It was beautiful and along the way there were opportunities to kayak/sup, beach it, or even play on a ropes course."

    "The site itself was set back some, and felt secluded while still being near the parking area.

    Walk to bathrooms and camp store was on the longer side."

    2. Elk Neck State Park Campground

    60 Reviews
    Perryville, MD
    15 miles
    Website
    +1 (410) 287-5333

    $21 - $55 / night

    "Accessible and pet friendly. Great trails and great staff"

    "Our go to State Park for camping as it is pretty close to home. Standard State Park with all the amenities you need. We are tent campers/ non electric (no pets/ no kids)."

    3. Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park at Quarryville

    19 Reviews
    Quarryville, PA
    21 miles
    Website
    +1 (717) 610-4505

    "So we make sure to get close spots so we can walk. You can bring pets but we choose not to as we are not at the camp much. We do go fishing while we are here and my daughter loves this place"

    "We stayed here in November with beautiful weather which meant the large farm behind the campground was spraying manure over their fields. We could smell it."

    4. Woodlands Camping Resort

    3 Reviews
    White Hall, MD
    6 miles
    Website
    +1 (410) 398-4414

    5. Cecil County Permaculture

    1 Review
    North East, MD
    4 miles
    Website
    +1 (443) 945-5492

    $10 - $16 / night

    "Has outhouse, fire pit, running water on side of house near outhouse. An is a wonderful person. Good reception with T-Mobile!"

    6. French Creek State Park Campground

    79 Reviews
    Geigertown, PA
    37 miles
    Website
    +1 (610) 582-9680

    $20 - $75 / night

    "There are numerous hiking trails in the park that seemed to be well marked and maintained. The park is about 20- mins from Reading, and 10 mins from Birdsbroro."

    "There is a connector trail nearby that can get you to most of the hiking trails. Site was nice. Bathrooms okay. This is a pet loop so be aware of dogs. Hiking trails in park were a nice challenge."

    7. Susquehanna State Park Campground

    24 Reviews
    Edgewood, MD
    26 miles
    Website
    +1 (410) 557-7994

    $21 - $50 / night

    "Our site was really good and I love that it had it's own access to the bathrooms. Quite a few of the inner loop sites do. If you're a tent camper Acorn has some very private and secluded sites."

    "The campsites are separated more widely than many other parks in Maryland (Cunningham Falls, Ft. Frederick, Pt. Lookout), and are quite secluded in comparison."

    8. Blackbird State Forest Campground - CLOSED TIL FURTHER NOTICE

    6 Reviews
    Townsend, DE
    21 miles
    Website
    +1 (302) 653-6505

    $25 / night

    "The only thing about this site specifically is the trail was close by so you’d occasionally see people walking by but not enough that it didn’t still feel secluded."

    "I was only one in the forest ATM but saw some hikers occasionally throughout the day walking by."

    9. Muddy Run Rec Park - PPL

    11 Reviews
    Holtwood, PA
    27 miles
    Website
    +1 (717) 284-4325

    "The large lake is great for a day of kayaking and fishing with supplies readily available for rent at the boat dock store."

    "The observatory is open to public once a month, we recommend you plan your trip around this."

    10. Hibernia County Park

    8 Reviews
    Coatesville, PA
    26 miles
    Website
    +1 (610) 383-3812

    $15 - $50 / night

    "This campground has 2 small loops, the Lake Loop and the Fiddler's Loop. Lake loop is the bigger of the two, however the “sites” are smaller and it's more open. It is popular with group tenters."

    "Large campsites at the Lake Loop. Map is a little deceiving- the sites are farther from the lake than I expected and there are no running water bathrooms. Very clean and wooded sites."

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Dog-Friendly Camping Reviews near Elk Mills, MD

741 Reviews of 75 Elk Mills Campgrounds


  • L
    Aug. 6, 2018

    Lums Pond State Park Campground

    Very Dog Friendly

    Campground sites are nice and spacious, bathrooms are good, and there’s plenty to do for everyone. We hiked the 7.5mile lake trail with our two pups. It was beautiful and along the way there were opportunities to kayak/sup, beach it, or even play on a ropes course. We always travel with our dogs and this place has the BEST dog park. Big open space with access to lots of water play. We definitely recommend this spot!

  • Kathy L.The Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 3, 2021

    Philadelphia South/Clarksboro KOA

    Really nice

    We stayed here for a night in transit. Beautiful campground — lots of trees, pond, kids play equipment, dog park, etc. facilities all clean and whole place is well maintained. Easy late arrival. Good location - convenient but far enough off the highway. Would stay here again.

  • E
    Aug. 4, 2021

    Lums Pond State Park Campground

    Impromtu tent camping success!

    I was able to book my site the day before the trip. The site itself was set back some, and felt secluded while still being near the parking area.

    Walk to bathrooms and camp store was on the longer side. Firewood was $5 a bundle, but the register wasn't working and they could only take cash.

    The hiking in the immediate area was beautiful, lots of fun trails and wildlife. Fishing, kayaking, zip lining, tons of great activities.

    The firepits have grates over one half, so campfire cooking is a breeze. Cook up and use the provided picnic table for an easy dinner set up.

    The park itself is very dog friendly and most sites had dogs. There is also an off leash dog park at Lum's pond and dog water dishes outside the camp store.

    The showers and bathrooms were incredibly well kept with hot water and stocked supplies. If you didn't feel like walking so far, the tents had a spiget with running water near the parking areas.

    Reception for Verizon was spotty, t mobile was pretty great. Wish there was an ATM on site though I don't think the cash only situation is a normal one for this campground.

    All in all an amazing trip, and I'll be back as soon as possible.

  • D
    Jun. 5, 2023

    French Creek State Park Campground

    Weekend Trip To Reading

    My family and I stayed at French Creek State Park while attending an event in Reading. The park was clean and well maintained. We stayed in Loop A which had no camp host. The camp hosts were in loops B & C.  We had a full hook up site. The water and electric worked great! The campground was well patrolled by Rangers throughout our stay. The bathhouses appeared to be clean and maintained. The quiet time starts at 9pm and seemed to be followed by most campers. There are numerous hiking trails in the park that seemed to be well marked and maintained. The park is about 20- mins from Reading, and 10 mins from Birdsbroro. There are many stores and restaurants in the area for food and supplies if needed. We had good cellular service with both AT&T and T-Mobile. The one downside was that there was no off leash dog park. We had to take our dog to a dog park in Birdsbroro. We would stay at this park again.

  • C
    Aug. 23, 2018

    Bar Harbor RV Park & Marina

    RV Park surrounded by water!

    Our first visit (March 2018) was just prior to peak season (lower rates) and we had a site literally 10 ft. from the water! Full hook ups and sites were a little close, but nice. There seemed to be a lot of long term/permanent residents, but most sites along the waterfront remained open. The campground seemed to stress pet restrictions both in the rules section of their registration packet and signage around the grounds. There was a pet exercise/walking area, but could use some sprucing up. However, no one really made an issue of walking your dog around the campground and as the weekend came around, more and more dogs were around.

    You have to drive through a residential neighborhood to reach Bar Harbor, so big rigs take care/caution. Would like to try Bar Harbor again sometime.

  • Mackenzie B.
    Aug. 4, 2018

    Group Camp — Ridley Creek State Park

    love it here

    well marked trails great for hiking. pet friendly! we love walking here with our dog. there are even a few great spots to get a small creek swim in! It also has a greag picnic area with grills.

  • Ellen B.
    May. 23, 2019

    Lums Pond State Park Campground

    Great place in the back yard

    We do Lums Pond at least twice a year if we can get reservations.

    Sites are big and all were redone in the last few years with concrete pads, 30 amp service and full sewer. There are some equestrian and tent sites as well.

    Lots of boating (electric motors only) and kayaking on the pond and a decent amount of hiking. There’s an off leash dog park, equestrian center and boat ramp. Book early because it fills up fast!

  • Joel R.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 9, 2021

    Philadelphia South/Clarksboro KOA

    Best KOA I’ve been to

    This is unquestionably the best KOA I’ve been to. I usually do not like KOA, except when there are no alternatives. This one is way above average. Typically these places are all gravel and dust. This one has paved roads, grass and trees. There is a pond for fishing, too. The only complaint is that, like all KOAs, the sites are on top of each other. The neighbor’s sewer connection is right next to our picnic table! But, the sites are large enough for large RVs, they have 30/50 amp hookups and water & sewer. There are cabins and large tents you can rent. There is a playground, pavilion, laundry, and several shower/bathrooms. (The one near us didn’t have hot water. The office people said they were working on it.) There us also a large, grassy, fenced dog park which my 2 spaniels appreciated.

  • Tamara P.
    Jul. 8, 2020

    French Creek State Park Campground

    Great Park!

    We stayed at site 18 in Loop A. There is a connector trail nearby that can get you to most of the hiking trails. Site was nice. Bathrooms okay. This is a pet loop so be aware of dogs. Hiking trails in park were a nice challenge.


Guide to Elk Mills

Discover the joy of camping with your furry friends near Elk Mills, Maryland, where several campgrounds welcome pets and offer a variety of amenities and activities for a memorable outdoor experience.

Dog-friendly activities while camping near Elk Mills

  • At Elk Neck State Park Campground, you can explore scenic trails that are perfect for hiking with your dog, allowing you to enjoy the beautiful landscapes together.
  • Woodlands Camping Resort features a laid-back atmosphere where pets are welcome, making it an ideal spot for families looking to relax and enjoy nature with their four-legged companions.
  • Blackbird State Forest Campground offers spacious campsites and plenty of room for your pets to roam, ensuring a comfortable stay for both you and your furry friends.

Pet owners appreciate these amenities

Pet-friendly campgrounds include these features

  • Susquehanna State Park Campground offers a variety of access types, including boat-in and hike-in, making it easy to explore the area with your pet.
  • Country Acres Campground is well-maintained and features spacious sites, ensuring a comfortable stay for you and your pet.
  • Beacon Hill Camping provides a friendly atmosphere and clean facilities, making it a great choice for pet owners looking for a relaxing getaway.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular dog-friendly campsite near Elk Mills, MD?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dog-friendly campground near Elk Mills, MD is Lums Pond State Park Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 48 reviews.

What is the best site to find dog-friendly camping near Elk Mills, MD?

TheDyrt.com has all 75 dog-friendly camping locations near Elk Mills, MD, with real photos and reviews from campers.