Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Dayton, OH

the campground is seriously in need of some tlc and they have gotten rid of the deer exhibit and replaced it with a dog park which is sad because my family spent a few hours each trip just petting and feeding the deer before. also the nature center isn’t what it used to be. bathrooms are always nasty. it’s sad because this used to be our go to campground.

We love camping here! Whether it's tent camping, group camping, RV, cabin, or lodge accommodations they can fill all your needs. Very large park with playgrounds, fishing, swimming, creek access, dog park, archery practice area or walk over to the damn. The bathrooms could use a little better cleaning but all in all it's a great park! We come often and camp at least once a year! Highly recommended.

I’ve been camping here every summer since I was a child. There is always a lot to do for all age groups. They’ve also added in a dog park which is perfect for my fur babies! There’s plenty of trails for hiking and adventuring. Archery range, plenty of spots to fish and keep everyone occupied! Love this campground and will continue to come back for many years to come!

It’s a KOA, but even for a KOA this one was sub-par. Granted, we visited in late March, and they may not have been at peak season form. But... The entry road is one lane. If you meet another vehicle someone has to back up. That’s just poor design. The roads in the campground need grading. Lots of holes and ruts. The site we were given wasn’t level, and it took a bit of maneuvering to get level. The “dog park” was a mud hole. The internet was extremely slow. And, like all KOAs, sites are very close together! However, on the plus side, the showers, bathrooms and laundry were Done all clean and neat. They have a pool (not open when we visited). Also a large playground, jumping pad and a small store. There was also grass between sites, instead of gravel, which is unusual for a KOA.

Autumn is the best time to camp in Ohio. Lots of small bathrooms. Lake access. Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was due to the fact there was no quick reentry. Had to wait for rvs in front of me to register.

Nice sites. Diverse group of campers. Anything from people with full size house refrigerators in bed of pickup truck to people with their pet rabbits

Short hike to the lake. Great beach area and shower facilities. Pet friendly, horse trails, camp store. Liberty is a short drive and has all essentials plus J’s Dairy Inn 🤤

Beautiful park and camping if you like a parking lot for RVs. Lots of families and pets. Not great for tents but theres a couple ok spots. Not secluded. Very little shade but lots to do at the park and its very clean.

This is part of the Dayton Metro Parks (Five Rivers Metro Parks) and it is at the Twin Creek metro park.  This is an old boy scout camp (Camp Hook) back in the day. 

During these COVID-19 times we wanted a place to park that wasn't the traditional Ohio State Parks camp site. We didn't want to share a common bathroom/bath house or playground area.  We picked this as the Twin Creek camp site only has 3 camp sites within the park.  Even then they are out of side from each other. You can somewhat hear the other two camp sites (rarely).  This meant with two little ones we wouldn't have to constantly remind them to socially distance or put on masks.  We were alone but had plenty of park supports. We had two great park volunteers/security stop by to make sure we had everything we need. 

The nice thing about the Dayton metro parks is that each night in the front county camp sites they include a bundle of fire wood. This is not the small sad bundle that you often buy at gas stations or other markets.  This is a huge bundle. It is dry and cut in an easy to use manner. It is also kept in a little box so it is dry even if you do have weather while camping. If you wish to add an additional bundle of firewood the price is very reasonable at $10.00. I do this every time I camp there to support their campsites/metro parks. I have yet to use up their firewood in the box when I camp for a whole weekend. It is also nice that we don't have to put it in our cars so less clean up after camping. It also helps with the whole burn local fire wood so you are not transporting bugs. Or you don't have to cross your fingers and hope someone close by sells firewood. 

The nice thing about their site is the additional tables made it easy for us to socially distance.  When I camp at local state parks and we only have one table it can be tricky to keep coolers, food, and people separated. We also were able to have kids do craft at one of the tables while we were preparing meals. This camp site is listed as a 10 person camp site. There is no water on site so make sure you bring all the water that you will need. 

We also were able to hike the easy trails around the camp site. No need to put the kids in the car unless we wanted to.  Which we still did:) 

We drove into town and discovered a covered bridge that I had missed on an earlier camping trip. (Germantown).  This town also has the Florentine which is one of the oldest inns in Ohio. It was closed while we were in town but it is well worth a stop. The town also has a community pool as well that you can buy a day pool pass. 

The campsite does have two spots that would be neat for a wedding. You can reserve an amphitheater. 

The campsites during peak season are $20 during week days and $28 for weekends. I still find this to be one of the best values for camping in Ohio. Especially, when you consider the level of privacy that you have on these sites.  The vault toilets are one of the best as they are always clean. We have hand sanitizer and toilet paper. We didn't have to share our vault toilet with any other family units. 

All of these small touches really made COVID-19 camping with kids much easier. We look forward to being back at this camp site in the fall. 

Here is the website to make a reservation https://www.metroparks.org/rentals-permits/reserve-a-campsite/?id=786190&api=facilities&type=camp

We love camping @ Cowen Lake State park! There are organized activities on the lake and through the nature center. You can also do your own thing. There are plenty of shady campsites, sunny ones, electric, primitive, pet-friendly, handicapped, and pull-thoughs. We love camping in the shady tree-lined areas where we have big sites for family gatherings. We've been camping here for over 10 years and love it!

This park is know for the lake that is kayak and canoe friendly since it doesn’t allow any kind of boat with a motor. It also features a beach , 2 playgrounds and several hiking trails. Just be careful if you hike with dogs since some trails intersect with a nature preserve which doesn’t allow pets.

The campground itself has 20 electric sites , 56 primitive sites and 4 camper cabins. All the electric sites are pull through and all sites have a fire pit but only the electric sites come with picnic tables.

Due to off season and COVID the camp store is closed and there is no camper host or park office staff around.

We did notice lots of downed trees on the poorly marked hiking trails. Some trails just started but no maps were around and no trails were blazed. It was hard to tell where we were headed or how long a trail was. I tried using the new Detour app and it wasn’t very accurate for this park.

We did have good Verizon cell coverage.

Relax on the waters edge in shear tranquility. Perfect beach for swimming, excellent trails for hiking, and awesome lake to boat. Multiple launch ramps provide ease and convenience. Rent a canoe or kayak and head out for some time alone or with your favorite person. The cabins are heated but pets are not allowed. Campground is huge as are the sites. Some are premium, there’s a few ADA and some lakeside making for a great view to enjoy your morning coffee.

Boating, fishing, disc golf, rappelling, rock climbing, picnics, WOW! Put on those hiking boots to enjoy 10 varying difficulty trails, bring your bike for one, and hit the multi-use for mountain biking. Hang out and enjoy the wildflowers, or simply marvel the outstanding trees. The views and scenery are breathtaking. Stay at the campground and enjoy hanging with your pet by the fire pit. Some sites offer only electric while the majority do not. Restrooms and a dump station are provided. Have a large party, there’s a group camp available.

This park has a beautiful lake and nice (although short) hiking trails. The problem is that there is no running water- no showers and smelly pit toilets. There is one spigot for drinking water.

Beware that the campsites are mostly in one big grassy field with no shade. I'd pick a site along the perimeter or along the lake.

This park is overrun with feral cats (or it was when I was there). Some people might think that is cute. I consider feral cats to be wild animals that carry disease. What's really bad about them is that they've been fed so they are comfortable around people. We spent the whole weekend trying to fend them off- every time our backs were turned, they jumped up on our picnic table. They ate our food, which we had to throw away. When we sat by the fire, they rubbed up against our legs, which is disgusting, considering they carry Bartonella, which is transmitted through their fleas and ticks (Bartonella is a co-infection of Lyme, or you can get it on its own. I know- I've had it since middle school. Feral cats probably carry Lyme too, as they are mammals). I can't express how stressful it was, trying to keep these wild cats away from us the entire weekend. I don't know why the park can't get them under control.

Sure, cat people will be offended by my statement, but would you want raccoons or skunks up on your table, eating out of your pots and pans? Would you want raccoons rubbing up against you while you are trying to relax? These cats are also wild animals, yet way too tame for comfort. Ugh,I shudder remembering it.

John bryant has great hiking along the river with beautiful natural rock formations. The sites are spacious, there are play grounds and picnic areas. You can camp one day or a week, easy in and out. The town of Dayton yellow springs is only a five minute drive from enterance. Great attractions

There's a great backpacking trail that's challenging and an easy middle meeting place for friends/family from Columbus and Cincinnati that can meet in Dayton Metroparks/Five Rivers - Germantown and take on the TVT challenge, beautiful hike through hilly terrain, and great spots of overlooks. Bring your pack and hiking poles and take advantage of trekking into the forest. Vault toliet, away from busy/crowded campsites and surrounded by nature. Access to a river for water source (bring your filter system) camp in a tent or hammock.

My wife and I had a great time visiting Hueston Woods and visiting the Raptor Center. Located north of Cincinnati along Ohio’s border with Indiana.

We stayed here with our pop up camper and felt right at home. The bathrooms and shower houses could use some updates and there were no full hook up sites when we went but our site was nice and quiet.

Our dog, loved the miniature golf and visiting Acton Lake.

A well manicured campground just outside Dayton, easy to get to, back in pavement site with 30A electric, picnic table and fire pit. Plenty of potable water spigots around, just not at the site. Dump station near the entrance of the campground. Walking trails along the lake well cared for. Plenty of activity with playground and an outdoor theater. Plenty of water-front pebble beach for enjoyment in the summer. Close to the campground is the marina with a restaurant , but won’t open til Memorial Day.

Addendum: July 2021 - was speaking with a number of people who have been here and they suggest not going during the summer. There is a large influx of rowdy locals who don't quite respect the peace and quiet many of us like.

We stayed in Site 12, which was huge and conveniently located close to a fairly new shower house. That facility was among the very best I've seen! Amazingly clean!

There are many things to do here: Saturday night movies, Bingo, and, of course, the lake. Canoe, paddle board, and kayak rentals.

The park was not full but somewhat busy, yet, outside of kids playing and dogs occasionally barking, there was little noise.

We drove through the entire campground. Some sites were bigger than others. Most sites were relatively flat.

Fall is a good time to visit Caesars Creek. The trees are turning beautiful colors. Also, the park is convenient for the Ohio Renaissance Fair and events at Roberts Arena.

Located within an afternoon’s drive of downtown Dayton and Cincinnati, this park makes the perfect weekend getaway from the day to day grind. Located on a large reservoir, the state park has everything from boating, hiking and mountain biking to just sitting around the campground not doing much. 

One important thing to think about with this state park is site selection. For a park surrounded by trees and forest the campsites offer a surprising dearth of shady maples for the sites. On first visit, one might suppose this was a young park, newly cleared for recreational purposes, but upon visiting some 20 years later, one would be disappointed at the lack of opportunity taken for shade production. Most of the sites nearer the lakeshore or cul-du-sacs, have adequate shade.

The bathhouse was kept very clean, even when it was pretty busy.  Overall, the place was pretty quiet despite the number of campers there.