26 campgrounds · Check availability for any dates.
Cathedral Pines County Park offers wooded sites with decent fire pits and grills for campers bringing pets. Pet-friendly campgrounds near Medford accommodate tent campers, RV travelers, and those seeking cabin options. Smith Point County Park allows pets throughout its grounds, providing electric hookups and water access with a short walk to the beach. Watch Hill Fire Island Campground offers backcountry beach camping options for dogs and their owners, accessible by ferry across the bay. Southaven County Park's spacious sites allow pets while offering a beautiful lake area perfect for taking little ones. All these campgrounds maintain standard pet policies requiring leashes, proper waste disposal, and considerate noise management.
Several hiking trails throughout Suffolk County parks welcome leashed dogs, offering shaded paths through pine forests and waterfront walking routes. Weather considerations affect pet comfort significantly, with summer months requiring extra water and shade for dogs. Deer frequently visit campgrounds in the area, particularly at Smith Point where some reportedly eat lettuce from visitors' hands, though feeding wildlife is officially prohibited. Watch Hill campers should prepare with strong insect repellent as mosquitoes are described as "vicious" in reviews, which can affect both humans and pets. Cathedral Pines County Park advises securing food properly as raccoons can be invasive after dark. Most locations provide full hookup options for RVs, with Smith Point offering sites backing up to raised balconies overlooking the bay, just steps from Atlantic Ocean beaches.
"The beach is in a walking distance. You can swim or fish there. This camp site has a relatively new and clean facility. There are many farms near by where you can get fresh veggies and fruits."
"However there are too many loud families and the sites are too close in proximity for me."
from $20 - $225 / night
Check Availability"Literally steps to the beach."
"A short walk from the ocean to the bay, both accessible by walking from your campsite. No shade so be prepared to wake early if you’re in a sweltering tent. Staff has been great, no complaints."
"Recently went camping in our pull behind, met some old friends and had a great time. Rangers have a hardon for people screwing up tho. Think they're all that and then some..."
"Great Location Clean Park."
from $33 / night
Check Availability"Great park with a nice 7 mile loop around the lake with decent fishing. Lots of horses and dogs on the trail. 30 or so sites around a central public restroom."
"Hiking trails are beautiful. Dog friendly. Clean bathrooms"
"Beautiful location steps away from the beach. Listen to the waves crashing as you sleep and stargaze over the clear ocean. Not ready for full on camp-life? No problem!"
"Camping gets you away from the bustle. It is a little less than a half mile walk from the ferry dock and located behind the dunes which offer some protection. Take a quick walk down to the beach."
from $35 - $197 / night
Check Availability"* cottages far enough away from each other
- fire ring with Adirondack chairs
- dumpster and recycling within walking distance
- lots of bone dry firewood around for campfire
- walkable beach"
"Overall my experience was positive. Camping Sites
Each camping site has a picnic table and barbeque grill."
from $20 - $285 / night
Check Availability"Campsites are located close enough to the beach/marsh. Multiple playgrounds for the kids although they were closed due to Covid."
"There are dog friendly which was very nice. It is a lil tight from each site but you have the beach and a little hiking trails that makes it worth it."
GuideI grew up in Long Beach. If you’re looking for a spot to camp so you can surf, this is perfect! It’s basically a parking lot, but it’s steps away from some of the greatest waves on the east coast. Showers are clean, there’s a dog park nearby, and the island is very bikable to get around.
benefits: allows dogs childrens playground beach programs like movie nights throughout the summer
GuideCamp Gateway in Brooklyn New York is one of my favorite places to visit. I went to college in New York, and loved to get out of the busy city and go camping and be outdoors. Camp Gateway was always a place that I loved to go. It is pretty close to town-which is crazy because you feel like you are miles away. Camp Gateway does offer a lot of different activities for everyone. One thing I love to do is go kayaking and stand up paddle boarding. My girlfriends and I tried to do this once a month to get away from the city and school. Because you are so close to the city, you can plan outdoor activities as well as some activities in the city. My friends and I stayed 1 night in the campground, and the next day went to a recital show that took us 10 minutes to get to. You can also walk, hike or ride your bike along multiple paths- I have done the Fort Tilden trail (I just walked, but there were multiple people that passed us on their bikes). Within the campground they do have some fire pits- which my friends and I always use because we love cooking smores and hot dogs for dinner. A little further away from the campground, about 10-15 miles there is a place where you can do horseback riding, see the Statue of Liberty (which is gorgeous!), and there is a little beach area. This beach area is where I do my kayaking and stand up paddle boarding. Again, its not very far away...you can either drive there, walk or ride your bike. The road is paved, which is nice. I stayed here also with my parents, and I know my dad went golfing one day (I didn't go, but he said it was awesome)- and again that was only a 10 minute drive from our camping spot. This campground like I said, does offer quite a bit. Sometimes it doesn't really feel like you are "camping" because things are pretty close by, but it definitely is worth going to and trying.
ScoutVery nice family oriented, places the beach, which is great except for the birds watch out they come at you. They have a dog park basketball courts playground swimming just about everything.
LegendWe tried this campground without knowing what was safe and where to stay for visit New York City. It is located in Brooklyn and is little removed from everything. The sites are at Floyd Bennett Field which is an old airfield. The atmosphere here is eerily cool at the same time. You basically park and camp on the asphalt by the old hangars. No hookups at all but they do have a camp store and bath house. If you are tent camping, there are some grassy sites.
The campground is located right on Jamaica Bay so there were people fishing all the time from the seawall. At night, you could hear cars doing burnouts right next to us. To get to all the action in the city, we had to take a bus and then the subway. The travel was a headache but better than trying to drive in to New York City in our RV. One way to improve here would be to have some security at night as well as access to clean water and dump station. They remained locked most of the time for some reason.
The best part of this place was the free tour of Hangar B by some guys doing restoration of old planes (HARP). They had some great stories and gave us history of the planes on display.
GuideThis place is kind of a toss up for me. On one hand, I enjoy it because it's a little slice of heaven in the hell of one of the busy areas of New York. I hate this place for the same reason. It's not really camping if you're going to see a play and then go tour the Statue of Liberty. It just doesn't seem right to me. If I HAVE to be in New York, maybe I'd consider staying here again just to get myself out of the city for a bit. But this definitely isn't your "great outdoors/rest and relaxation" kind of place.
GuideSmall campground with good electrical, clean water, sewer and a friendly owner. Each site has grass and a picnic table. There is a wonderful little frozen custard shop down the road called roses farm stand. It’s a perfect campground for seeing the local area or even catching the train to New York City.
RangerThe park itself is lovely and close to some other green areas. The nice thing about this campsite is that it’s so close to NYC. The bad thing about this campsite is that it’s so close to NYC. If you live in NYC this is a good, cheap, super quick escape accessible by public transport. If you’re visiting the area I’d recommend staying in Manhattan/Queens in an AirBNB for the full NYC experience or heading to Long Island, Pennsylvania, “Upstate” New York, or New Jersey for a better nature camping experience. For what it is, this site is a nice green little oasis. It’s National Park Service land and they try really hard to keep things clean and working well with so much traffic. Bring earplus for the airport traffic and the noisy neighbors. Tent sites are pretty and wooded, but there is also a TON of concrete from an old WW2 airfield.
GuideSears Bellows in New York is a lot of fun. It really does offer a lot of outdoor activities for you and your family. I have stayed at this campsite 1 time, and stayed 2 nights. This campground does offer tent sites as well as RV/trailer sites. When I went with my friends in college, we just stayed in the tent sites and really enjoyed it. The campground is very well kept and clean which I really liked. They do have quite a bit of garbage's to dump your trash in. One thing I really liked about this campground is that there was a river/pond close by (Bellows Pond). The first night I stayed here my friends and I rented some rowboats and went on the water. It was a lot of fun, and the price of the rowboat was pretty cheap. The next morning we got up and did some hiking. The trails were beautiful, and the flowers were in bloom. There were people who were also biking on these trails, which looked like so much fun! We also saw some people fishing in the pond- and it seemed like most people were catching. The people who stayed in the campsite next to us were cooking up some type of fish for their dinner that they caught that day. One thing to note is that there are not any electrical hook-ups, so if that is something you need you might now want to come stay here. I would love to come back here someday, but stay maybe a day or two longer to do more things- I would also bring my bike and fishing pole to do more outdoor activities. I would also advise to rent the rowboats because that was a lot of fun!
GuideThe actual beach isn't too nice; not soft sand, broken shells, and cigarettes. However, the campgrounds have nice facilities like a shop, good showers, a playground, and volleyball courts. Be noted PETS ARE NOT ALLOWED in the summer. We were not aware of this.
Suffolk County offers several dog friendly campgrounds near Medford with varying amenities and terrain. Most parks in this area sit at near sea level elevation with sandy soil characteristic of Long Island's coastal region. Weather ranges from hot, humid summers to cold winters, with spring and fall providing moderate temperatures ideal for camping with pets.
Hiking with dogs: Wildwood State Park Campground features trails along the Long Island Sound where leashed pets can join their owners. "There are hiking trails and you can walk to the beach. Note - it is a downhill walk to the beach. The beach is fairly clean and has a small boardwalk," notes Giselle P.
Beach exploration: Watch Hill Fire Island Campground offers backcountry options for dogs and owners. "You can get a permit to backcountry camp instead of reserving a designated campground spot. Just walk down to the beach after check-in and walk east until you see a pole with a tent symbol on it," says Emily S.
Stargazing permits: North Shore parks require special permits for nighttime beach access. "You have to buy a stargazing permit to be out on the beach after sunset, which is kind of strange but really helps prevent hooligans from taking over the beach and destroying the serenity," explains Amber A. from Wildwood State Park.
Fruit picking: Many orchards surround the camping areas for seasonal activities. "There are lots of stores nearby as well as orchards to pick your own fruits. I stayed there one weekend and went to Splish Splash waterpark that's not far away," reports a Wildwood State Park visitor.
Beach proximity: Smith Point County Park offers camping with ocean access. "We had site 30, which had a fantastic direct bay view. Although most sites have views of the bay, some are blocked by seagrass. Literally steps to the beach," shares Gianna.
Wildlife encounters: Pet-friendly sites often feature wildlife viewing opportunities. "And sweet deer. I watched a momma deer nursing two of her babies. This is paradise," notes Patrick C. about Smith Point.
Hot showers: Many Suffolk County parks maintain clean bathroom facilities. "Bathrooms and showers were a good size. Rangers were driving around often," reports Carolyn W. from Indian Island County Park, another location welcoming pets.
Natural environments: Each park offers unique ecosystems for exploring with pets. "The North Shore and South Shore are pretty different. This site gives you the North Shore experience with high bluffs, sandy calm beaches along the Long Island Sound, and views of CT across the water," says a camper about Wildwood State Park.
Insect preparation: Mosquitoes can be problematic, particularly at beach locations. "It was absolutely gorgeous, don't get me wrong. However, it was nearly impossible to enjoy ourselves because we were getting attacked by mosquitoes and horseflies the entire weekend. Even with the bug spray, the relief didn't last long," cautions Rosie R. about Watch Hill.
Site privacy varies: Heckscher State Park Campground has open sites with minimal boundaries. "The campsites are very close together without any defining borders so everybody just walks across each other site's to get to a different one, a path, the bathroom, etc. No solitude, lots of families with kids," notes Jessica C.
Reservation requirements: Most Suffolk County parks require advance booking for sites with pets. "We stayed for 6 nights and it was great. Clean, friendly, safe and relaxing!" mentions Alyssa G. about Wildwood State Park.
Fire pit policies: Not all parks provide fire rings. "Lame not having a fire ring, you have to rent one or bring your own," notes Ossama B. about Wildwood State Park, a policy consistent across several pet-friendly locations.
Playground access: Southaven County Park offers recreational areas for children and pets. "Perfect place to take the little ones has a beautiful lake and a really nice playground highly recommended," shares correl H.
Site selection: Corner sites provide more space for families with pets. "I also like the corner sites as they are bigger," recommends Stephen P. about Smith Point.
Entertainment options: Ice cream trucks frequent some campgrounds. "At nite an ice cream truck comes by, you get visits from the nearby deer," notes Tim M. from Smith Point.
Safety considerations: Staff presence helps ensure security for families. "Rangers came around checking on everyone often so it really did feel incredibly safe," reports Jessica C. about her stay at Heckscher State Park.
Site leveling: Blydenburgh County Park offers flat terrain suitable for RVs with pets. "Camp on grass! Lovely trees. Everyone is nice. Hiking trails are beautiful. Dog friendly. Clean bathrooms," says Ali O.
RV site selection: Different campgrounds cater to different RV sizes. "RV pull through sites were fantastic. It was a great campground for maiden voyage in new rig," shares Lori R. about Wildwood State Park.
Hookup availability: Electric and water connections vary between parks. "Electric and water is nice for pop up," mentions Stephen P., highlighting Smith Point's amenities for smaller units.
Dump station access: Plan for proper waste management with pets. "Shore power was without any problems and park has clean heated bathroom and bike station near dump site," notes frank P. about Indian Island County Park.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dog-friendly campsite near Medford, NY?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dog-friendly campground near Medford, NY is Wildwood State Park Campground with a 4.2-star rating from 24 reviews.
What is the best site to find dog-friendly camping near Medford, NY?
TheDyrt.com has all 26 dog-friendly camping locations near Medford, NY, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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