Dog-Friendly Camping near Manahawkin, NJ

Dog-Friendly Camping Reviews near Manahawkin, NJ

447 Reviews of 71 Manahawkin Campgrounds

• M

  Michael M.

  Scout

  Oct. 27, 2026

  Turkey Swamp Park

  Water/power at the campsite, and and centrally located dump station. Lots of trees and nice separation of sites

• j

  james Q.

  Scout

  Oct. 26, 2026

  Belleplain State Forest

  Quiet, Clean and Friendly

  We stayed at the group site campground with our horse.  We found the sites to be large, and  clean.  The staff is very friendly and helpful, and they have fall activities for the family, at the lake and nature hikes.  The porta potty's are very clean, have hand sanitizer and plenty of paper.   Will be returning again in a few weeks.  Plenty of trails to ride on.  A true gem in our own backyard.

• 

  Stuart K.

  Legend

  Oct. 24, 2026

  Lowe's - W Windsor

  Upscale Parking Paradise at This Home Fixer-Upper

  Located just off US Route 1 in the upscale Princeton area, this spacious Lowe's serves up a surprisingly pleasant patch of pavement for weary road warriors looking to catch some shut-eye. Set back roughly 80 yards from the highway, this big blue home improvement retailer offers a generously sized parking lot with relatively manageable traffic, good maneuverability and a quieter atmosphere than you might expect from such a busy suburban retail corridor. The western and southern edges of the lot are particularly appealing for an overnight stay, and with Trader Joe's, Starbucks and several other retailers nearby, convenience certainly isn't in short supply. Better yet, the store management was friendly and accommodating when we called ahead to arrange our overnight visit. 

  HIGHLIGHTS: (1) Spacious, paved parking lot with plenty of room to maneuver larger rigs; (2) Convenient access to US Route 1 and nearby I-95; (3) Western and southern parking areas offer quieter spots away from the busiest customer traffic; (4) Excellent nearby conveniences, including Trader Joe's, Starbucks and several dining options; and (5) Friendly store management that welcomed our overnight stay, plus surprisingly good opportunities for outdoor recreation nearby. 

  LOWLIGHTS: (1) Some daytime retail traffic and occasional road noise, although nothing terribly disruptive; (2) No RV hookups, dump station or dedicated overnight camping facilities; (3) Parking areas closest to the store can become crowded during business hours; (4) Limited greenery and little of the scenery you'd expect from a traditional campground; and (5) While the overnight experience was excellent, this is still a commercial parking lot rather than a destination for an extended stay. 

  Happy Overnighting!

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• 

  Andrea B.

  Traveler

  Oct. 8, 2026

  Colonial Meadows Family Campground

  Great park

  Many long term seasonal sites. Good community. Large shower house good and clean . Pool. Game room. Off leash dog park. Wooded/shady sites or no shade sunny sites. Lots of area to walk or play. Large field, basketball couture, frisky golf, play area and laundry room. We were here all summer (June-october). Lots to do in the area. Good food nearby. Ocean city 10 minutes away.

• J

  John Y.

  Scout

  Oct. 5, 2026

  Ocean View Resort Campground

  One of the best campgrounds I have ever stayed in

  This is one of the largest, if not the largest, campgrounds in Southern New Jersey. While on the pricier side, everything is top-notch. The roads are all paved, and not gravel (I hate trying to sleep and listening to the sound of stones grating together). The sites are more spacious than most campgrounds, so it doesn't seem so crowded. The bathrooms are all modern and spotless. There are numerous bathrooms which means most sites have one nearby. They do charge a quarter for showers to encourage water conservation and donate the money to conservation causes. The pool is large, as is the lake. Both are well-maintained. The camp store is enormous and is really nice and well-stocked with everything one might need from food to pool and beach stuff to camping supplies and equipment. There is a nice cafe with indoor and outdoor seating. The camp store has a lending library of books and DVDs. There are numerous activities that appear to be well-run, The grounds are shaded with many trees for a great wooded campground feel. The campground is so large that it has an internal shuttle with stations scattered about to help people go between the various important sites such as at the pool, the lake and the store. I found other campers, particularly the seasonals, to be more friendly than other campgrounds at the shore. This requires constant tree care including removing dead trees and branches which they do regularly. The staff is friendly and well-trained. I was in a tent, and when a rare October nor'easter came through, I was offered the opportunity to use a cabin free-of-charge. Fortunately my tent and equipment made it through days of rain and high winds just fine . On my first stay in May, I had to run my dog back to Baltimore towards the end of my trip where he was sadly diagnosed with incurable metastatic cancer. When I returned, I was late and unable to check out by 11, but they allowed me to take as much time as needed to clear the site, as nobody was staying there the next day, which was deeply appreciated - I was an emotional wreck. Oh, and I found the complimentary Wi-Fi to be a great service, and sufficiently fast to allow me to stream ultra-high-definition movies at my site - Most campgrounds charge extra for less-than-good service - a lot more. I find that a big bonus. Overall, I LOVE this campground and highly recommend it.

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• b

  bob J.

  Guide

  Sep. 30, 2026

  Atsion Family Camp — Wharton State Forest

  Pine Barrens New Jersey

  This campground is part of the Wharton State Forest and has several campgrounds in the area. Great wooded sites right on a lake. Pretty good separation between sites with good tree separation between sites. Some road noise not overly affecting site.

• D

  Diane M.

  Scout

  Sep. 26, 2026

  Brendan Byrne State Forest

  Just ok

  Restrooms are filthy with mold and mildew.

  Water puddled on the restroom floor.really gross.

  Cabin was mostly clean. The windows were full of dirt and bugs on the tracks.mattresses were terrible.The fireplace was nice. Kitchen was clean.

  Can t wait to move on to a cleaner park.

• E

  Emily R.

  Scout

  Sep. 13, 2026

  Belleplain State Forest

  Don’t go unless you want harassment

  My check in was for 8-6-2026, and bc I’m a new driver and wanted to beat traffic I got there early (7am) so I sit there waiting till check in time. When suddenly the park police show up. He’s accusing me of camping over night there. I told him simply I wasn’t and where I was night prior (would never sleep somewhere without permission). So we go to the store to kill time before we check in. Come back for Check in and the whole staff in just the office alone were so arrogant and cold to my mom and I, leaving rude comments to us and not only where they like that but the staff outside the office was acting like that alongside the rangers and park police. They would watch us the whole visit in the distance parking there cars a little ways watching everything we did,even driving by slowly a bunch of times in just an hour alone. My mom and I couldn’t do anything with out them showing up 2 mins later. Example we were walking our dog enjoying our time(trying to) and all of a sudden one of the office ladies pulls up right in front of us speeding, parks their car, gets out and walks a distance from us standing there and taking pictures of us…. For walking our dog who’s on a leash and didn’t even do anything. The whole trip we felt uncomfortable and unwanted and to find out they police when we were going on walks where coming up to campers near us bribing them with free firewood to get any information on use (told to us by other camper). I paid a lot of money to be harassed and followed the whole time. We never did anything we abide by every rule and keep to ourselves everywhere we go. They even made my mother cry…

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• 

  Adeline M.

  Guide

  Sep. 5, 2026

  Brendan Byrne State Forest

  Beautiful campground, loud campers

  Beautiful campground but made the mistake of going on a holiday weekend, the campgrounds next to us were screaming and blasting music all day and throughout the night so we ended up leaving early. A beautiful campground when there aren’t noisy capers ruining it.