Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Hamilton, 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!

Generous sized campsites, a lot of them are wooded which we prefer, with around 400 sites there are plenty to choose from! Bathroom/shower facilities are updated and usually well maintained. There is a large public beach but it's on the other side of the park so you have to drive all the way around to get to it, no short cuts. They have a camp ground beach but it's been closed the last 2 years. Lots of hiking trails, bridal trails and a bike path. Wish list for this park: Boat rental, dog park, dog beach/water access. Overall a beautiful park.

This is the best campground we have stayed at. We have been here all summer and we’ve had no complaints. The owners are great people who are always here working and interacting with the campers. Splash pad, pavilion, playground, Gaga pit, and dog park are a few of the great amenities. Each lot has a fire pit and the lots are large. They do activities for the kids every weekend and also have bands! It’s a fun place.

This is newly opened and a lot of work still needs to be done. Currently there is no dog park, hiking trails or bathhouses like it states. Many of the spots aren’t even finished yet.

When looking at the camp map don’t plan on having access to the creek or river. Your lucky if you can even view it.

The ground is all sand. So while if it rains you won’t get muddy, but the sand is a pain and gets everywhere.

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.

Private campsites, nice big lake for swimming, fishing and boating, pets allowed. Perfect for all seasons! Horseback riding available as well!

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 🤤

This was our first time camping here and it was a large park. There was several miles of bike trails , bridle trails and hiking trails. There is also a beach and marina for campers away from the main beach and marina for those just visiting the park for the day.

The nature center offered movies in the evening for guest.

The park was very clean and maintained. Trails were well marked and the camp hosts were very friendly.

We were there over Labor Day weekend and it was a quiet park except for the occasional golf cart late at night going by.

I did see a few dogs off leash which is always a pet peeve of mine.

Verizon cell coverage was good.

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.

Dangerous animals on site! My child was bit by a cat at the playground. The cat had been hanging out around the office and at the play ground for a few days while we were there. We asked the office to trap and monitor the cat per health department sugestion after ER visit following bite. The camp manager has given us several different stories about having trapped the cat and then not having the cat then her husband taking the cat to his siatera house. When animal control and Kentucky dpt of health talked to them they gave them all different stories too. Bottom line is they are dishonest people and have a dangerous animal on their property. Beware BEWARE!!! Especially if you have children!

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!

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 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

Indian Lakes Campground is 10 minutes east of downtown Batesville, an hour to the east of Indianapolis and an hour to the west of Cincinnati. With over 1000 sites they offer a KOA section, year round leased sites, Thousand Trails sites and individual sites. We’re a married couple in our forties traveling with two dogs and a cat in our 37 foot motorhome and members of Thousand Trails. We arrived on April 3rd, the day prior to Indiana Covid-19 stay at home restrictions. The property owners were gracious enough to allow us to extend our stay beyond the normal 14 day limit for our personal safety. We were assigned a 50 amp site with water and sewer in loop 4B. This is an open loop with very few trees for shade. Immediately across from our site is a large field about the length of a football field. We can see the lake in the distance past the recreation and pool areas. During our stay we did not access the restroom, laundry, recreation or store areas as we were practicing social distancing. We plan to make many return trips to this campground in the future. Because we were the first to stay in our site since the campground closed for the winter season we had a little site maintenance/pickup to perform but nothing too out of the norm. The noise from the highway can only be heard about once a week. On weekends there’s an increase in golf-cart users and most neighbors are respectful during quiet hours.

General: Huge state park with over 400 sites. All are pet-friendly and electric. About 20 are FHU. While tent camping is permitted, certain sites are not recommended for it as there would be no place to pitch a tent. One loop is for equestrian camping but when we were there, I only saw one horse trailer, and the rest were occupied by RV campers. 

Site Quality: All camper pads are paved and most appeared level or just very slightly sloped. A picnic table and fire ring complete the site. Some sites have more trees to provide privacy while others are closer together with little separation.

Bath/Shower House: Not all loops have their own bath house and the I loop where we stayed was one of them. We used the one in the H Loop. The bathhouses were clean, and the shower had nice hot water, however, it doesn’t seem like there were sufficient facilities for how large the campground was (H Loop had two showers, two toilets, and three sinks). Hooks or shelves would have been appreciated.

Activities/Amenities: Many activities can be enjoyed here including mini golf (small nine-hole course), soccer, basketball, tennis, volleyball, corn hole, boating, and bicycling. Playgrounds are in several loops (I saw them in C and G). Rentals are available but most are only in season (ended September 30). There is a nature center and several hiking or paved biking/walking trails. There is also a camper beach for boating and swimming.

When we reserved months earlier, we knew that our first night (a Saturday) was 100% full as we got the very last site. What we did not know is that there was a HUGE Halloween celebration complete with 30-40 decorated golf carts parading through the campground. The road was closed until 6:45 pm (we arrived around 7 pm) and cars lined both sides of the approximately two-mile road! If that's your thing, great but it wasn't necessarily ours!

I appreciate that this park encourages so much outdoor activity, but it is not very pedestrian-friendly. I walked the road from one end to the other and there was no shoulder and, in many spots, no place to safely step off into the grass. I’m guessing it is assumed you will either have a car or golf cart to get around. 

One final note: for a park so close to a large city (Cincinnati), I was surprised the cell service was so lacking (on Verizon). We eked out one and occasionally two bars of 4G.