Best Dog-Friendly Camping near St. Clairsville, OH

Dog park!! and right on the lake!! Found this by mistake on our way out, and the dogs loved it. Access to lake, a beach, well fenced. I would give Salt Fork SP extra stars for this one, especially if there were campsites co-located.

Camp ground is easily accessible being just 6 miles from I70, leaving the convenience of Cambridge and city amenities close by while allowing for great trails and solitude. Stayed in campground A, and the front end has little shade, but being here in autumn was perfect for lots of sunshine on site. Sites with trees for tree tents is minimal. Drinking fountains are dispersed fairly frequently throughout campground, but RV hookups with water were limited during my stay. Shower houses and comfort houses all have flushers and sinks.

TICK WARNING!!!! After a morning hike down wooded Trail, we spent A LONG TIME pulling ticks from dogs...even though the temps were in the 30's overnight and everyone was treated with flea & tick protection.

Saltfork is located about 45 minutes from my house, and makes for the perfect overnight trip. 

There are tons of things to do, and lots of space in which to do them. My favorites includes hiking trails, and the lakeside dog park. 

I stay in the primitive camping, it allows for more privacy and quiet. Although it also means you are relegated to the pit toilets. I personally don't mind them, but I know some campers will make the drive to the nicer shower house in the RV heavy side of the park. 

Each site has a picnic table and fire ring, the fire rings in the primitive section need some work, as the grates are very old and small.

In the past 5 years, I've made 13 trips to Raccoon Creek State Park and spent 16 nights in a tent there. It is my local state park and I can tell you lots about it.

The D loop is really great tent camping at Raccoon Creek State Park. It's tents only, no RVs. So it gets a really fun, party vibe on Saturday nights during the summer. There's a trail right to the beach near the D loop, so it's a great place for families to go with pets. The sites are big, wooded, and all close to the bathroom.

The C loop, however, doesn't take pets (which stinks). When we have our dogs with us, we gravitate towards the C loop. It's fine, but it's not as fun as the D loop.

When we don't make a reservation and we have our dog, we end up in the F loop. It's not our preference (but--let's be clear--even the worst site in the F loop is better than NO trip!).

While most of the campgrounds in the park are no pets- there are 2 loops that allow your furry companions! Loop F includes electric spots! Loved seeing the 'neighbors' dogs get excited and curious when I walked my 4-legged best friend around the site. Clean area , close to a modern bathroom (a few stalls & even 2 showers!) Looking forward to going back at the end of the month.

I started camping at Raccoon back in the 60's as a little person with my family. Hadn't been for several decades, but finally got back with my husband and cats the past couple of years. Great park ony a 1/2 hour outside of Pittsburgh. The campground has something for everyone - RV sites with electric (although I wouldn't recommend bringing your 40' rig...sites can be a tad on the smaller side) or secluded sites just for tenting. Restrooms are clean and well maintained. Two loops allow pets F and B, but only some sites in F have electric, so be sure to check if that is what you need. There are many hiking trails that are not too strenuous or you can take a 10 mile trip around the lake. Lots of birds for viewing, particularly near the beach. You can put in your kayak or fish on the shore at the fairly large lake. Boats do require a launch pass which you can obtain from the park office. And don't miss the Wildflower Preserve if you are there in May or late summer! Great place to take the family and relax in nature!

Nice lodge with pool. Pet hedgehog worked the front counter. Bigfoot stuff everywhere. Okay trails.

Long holiday weekend trip. Love this park. Designated pet areas, flush toilets and shower house available. Plenty of trails.

Very quiet park this time of year. Only one loop that allows pets. The spots are very sloped so bring your Lego blocks. Bathrooms were ok but nice hot showers. We we the only campers in our loop so private. I grew up near here and visited the park often. First time camping here.

First come first served camping with water and pit toilets, large sites, area mostly wooded. Archery range and lots of fishing spots. Great for families with pets too! Had a great time and looking forward to our next visit this weekend! I’d give it more stars if it had a shower house or swim area! Bring your solar shower!

This place was secluded enough to have privacy with your family but had plenty to do within the campground. We rented a motor boat and paddle board swam in the beach got snacks at t as wellhe snack hut in the beach camp fires had a beautiful large area to set up two tents and an eating are! Pets are welcome very clean place

Family Campground on Leslie Road [map]

• 6 electric sites
• 44 non-electric sites
• Dump station
• No showers; no flush toilets
• Pets are permitted on all sites

Equestrian Camp on Sprucevale Road

• 59 primitive sites (no electric)
• Vault latrines
• Tie-ups
• 12 sites may be reserved; the remaining are first-come, first-served.

Group Camp on Sprucevale Road

• Two group camp sites
• Can accommodate organized groups up to 30 people
• Available by reservation

Stayed here the first weekend of October.  Nice spots and many have good spacing from your neighbors.  Pets are welcome.  Facilities are older but well kept.  Bathhouse is heated with showers that have a fiberglass tub surround, not concrete.  Nice hiking trails that connect through the campground.  Hiking trail maps are not great but the trails are marked well. The Lake is a good walk and looks good for kayaking and fishing.  Brought our kayaks but it was a bit too cold.  Big wide spots are 11 and 16.  Nice hammock hangers on the non-electric spots.

This is a large state park offering electric only sites

The sites are set amounts the forest and there are several loops to choose from. Loop F is pet friendly. All sites are within walking distance to amenities 

Amenities are quite run down but functional 

Wildlife is beautiful and its a short ~10min drive to the beach area of Raccoon Creek lake. 

Two (2) dump station spots and fresh water taps location throughout the park 

NOTE: Many sites are not level, you will require blocks/timber to level out campers. Tent campers should choose their site using the photos on the state park site. 

All sites have a paved car space.

Atwood lake os a true gem . Has everything you need. The H campground loops are full hookups, some right on the water. Electric, and primitive sites too. Pets welcome on a leash, a beach and hikng also. Docks available  50' from out waterfront lot. We could leave our camper, take the boat over to the beach and drop off the grandkids and me the Nana for swimming at the beach dock. Good fishing,  clean clean clean. Staff at rhe marina are very helpful. There is a snack shop and a full restaurant at the marina with great food, an ice cream dariette just down the road.  I highly recommend trying it, you wont regret it!

This rating is just a personal preference. We needed a spot to stay for the night, and the drive up was not worth it. You drive up a long, steep, windy road to the campgrounds, not to mention the drive to get to the town was very out of the way. If you’re on Sprint or T-mobile - there is no service. We thought it was a little pricey, about $30 for one night. We were also charged 10 extra dollars for having a cat(that never leaves the van) for one night.

I take my wife and dogs here all the time. I love the trails and it has great camping spots. The trails are easy and maintained and my dogs love them too.

Went to Raccoon Creek State Park to camp for Labor Day weekend. We booked campsite F1 since we had 2 dogs and the F loop allowed dogs. This site was great! We could fit two tents and it was nice and secluded from the other sites. I recommend booking a site that is on the outside of the “loops” if you want some seclusion. The inner loop sites are right on top of each other, good for Rvs, not so much for tent camping. The bathrooms were a little bit of a hike, the next loop over, but they where clean and had flush toilets and running water along with a shower and sinks to wash dishes. There was a place to get water across from this site which was very convenient . The dog walking trails weren’t bad, but they where very up and down hill, at points steep and rocky. The spring was a really cool hike (right off the park office parking lot.) Down by the beach they had a place to buy wood, only $5 a bundle and the beach place also sells bags of ice. Overall a really good family campground!

The park itself is huge with many hiking trails, a huge lake with unlimited horsepower (bad for kayaks), an interesting historical museum, a cave overhang and lots of Bigfoot lore. 

The campground is average for an Ohio State Park- think huge, exposed fields with no tree cover, and hundreds of RVs parked 12 feet apart. The sites are tiny and exposed, and the main campground is constant chaos in the summer. Think 6-10 dogs surrounding your site and barking all at once, all night long. 8-15 children on bikes going back and forth, mostly on training wheels (NOISY!), screaming from your driveway from 7am to 10pm. Adults who think it is appropriate to yell at full volume to people ten feet away, all day and all night long. Parents who scream at their children from four feet away. You get it- the opposite of peaceful. I left a day early, I was so frazzled by the five dogs across from me barking at each other all day and all night (they were all at the SAME SITE. Why did they bark at each other? Why did no one stop them?) and all the yelling people. Insanity. 

I drove by the primitive site and it looked much more peaceful, but it was also a big grassy lot with the tent spaces side by side, maybe 18 feet apart. Not sure if they were sloped or not. Note it is a long drive from the primitive site to the shower houses, and this site has pit toilets. 

The bathrooms in the main campground were average- not clean but not disgusting, so that's a plus. 

This park has a reputation for having a party atmosphere and I didn't observe that from my site, but when I was in the nature center, this dude walked in and he was one of the drunkest people I have ever seen in my life. Don't get me wrong: I drink a lot, I've experienced a lot of drinking environments, but this dude was HAMMERED. He followed me all around the nature center, wouldn't leave me alone, and the ranger just asked him if he was feeling ok. I shudder to think that this dude was driving a boat- he would have killed someone. But this isn't the park's fault, just note that I think that there is a big party atmosphere on this lake and take caution.

In all, I would try the primitive site to see if that's better, but I'll never camp in the main campground again. There are other campgrounds nearby that are probably more peaceful than this one.

I stayed at salt Fork for 2 weeks. I never saw so many hunters in my life. My site was really amazing. The changing leaves gave excellent views. The lodge has an indoor pool and good food. Make sure you have plenty of gas. The nearest gas station is 20 mins away. They had a ton of ticks. I pulled 4 off of my dog.

This is my go to spot for camping when I have to just get away from it all. It's close to home plus it is a great place to take the dog out to swim and chase geese and ducks. A great little beach area to lay out and enjoy the 🌞 sun. The hiking trails are in excellent condition and the park keeps them clear of fallen debris.

Raccoon Creek is half an hour from Pittsburgh, and it's a big park with lots to discover. In addition to 7,000+ acres of woods, Raccoon has pretty much anything a camper could want: good scenery; a nice little lake with a beach and concession stand (in summer); more than 20 miles of trails; a backpacking loop with primitive camping and Adirondack shelters; picnic areas; cabins; fishing; hunting in the late fall; a canoe rental shop… The campground is enormous and has all different kinds of campsites--sunny, wooded, solitary, tightly packed, dog-friendly, dog-free. It's even got a few dismal little sites that are open year-round, except that the road to them may be snowed over in winter. Make sure you check out the online map and reserve a good campsite in advance, because a lot of them are crowded too close together. Raccoon is great, a fun, woodsy place. It gets really crowded and doesn't exactly have the wilderness feel that I like. Hiking here is more like "taking a walk in the woods," which is better than no walk in the woods. Raccoon is the # 1 "go-to" for Pittsburghers who don't pre-book at Ohiopyle or some wilder place in time for Memorial Day or Labor Day weekend.