Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Kaw Lake

Stayed here while barreling across Oklahoma, tent camping. I was able to reserve the last walk in site (Saturday of 4th of July weekend) around 8pm. You can reserve online thru recreation.gov. All sites are for RV or tent, and there was only one other tent camper. There’s not a lot of privacy (which is the only reason I knocked a star) but it’s right on Kaw lake, is clean and all maintained, and even has showers.

On my way north of Oklahoma City I was in search of a gas station on a pretty baron strip of highway. I saw a few signs for a local community of Perry and thought I would check it out along the way. Just off the highway at exit 185 heading toward Highway 77 there was a small truck stop but more surprisingly located just beside as a part of the same property was roadside motel and RV stop.

 I inquired within and was informed that they have nightly as well as weekly rates available and often are frequented by tourists passing through on the main highway. 

There are only 16 pull through locations but they do allow overnight tent stay, although there is not a discounted rate for tents. 

The property is limited on shade but does have basic amenities and proximity to quick feel before hitting the road again. 

The restrooms are quite nice and offer showers and laundry services as well. They do allow pets and didn’t seem to have an additional charge for this. If you are looking for an easy access location this one is great for a quick pull off however if you are looking for more recreational style campgrounds look at Perry Lake which is only a short distance away.

This campground is so beautiful. I have to be honest, we’re traveling the country and I didn’t have high hopes for liking Oklahoma. This campground has changed my mind. We haven’t even left and I’m already writing it down for us to visit again. It is beautiful here.

+Awesome playground & basketball goal +the VIEWS!

• the open spaces to walk dogs
• T Mobile service is okay.

I really like this lake. I like the campgrounds along the shore. It's a beautiful Lake. I love driving across the dam. On the west side of the dam there is a field with lots of prairie dogs. I love watching the little Prarie Dogs. You can pull over and watch them. I like swimming there. Sometimes you see bald eagles. There are many campgrounds. There is even free places to camp. The campground does give 50% if you have an American the beautiful passport. All the campgrounds are nice and we'll kept. It is a big Lake. Only about 8 or 10 miles from Ponca City. I took a lot of pictures but somehow they disappeared off my phone.

My husband and I stayed here with our 2 dogs. There is no water hookup, unless you have a long hose & are close to any of the bathrooms. Perfect lake views, beautiful sunset, very quiet & peaceful. Couldn’t ask for a better night stay!

This campground was super cool because it was a little "out dated" but it made it cozy! So many beautiful trees and walking paths that it made the stay great. We would get up in the morning and do a short hike that was nearby, and then finish it off with one of the walking paths around the campground, then had breakfast. It was a great way to start the day. They offer RV sites as well as small cabins you can rent. My family and I took our RV, and had a blast. The sites were big enough for the RV and had a picnic table and fire ring within the site. We didn't feel like we were right on top of our neighbors either which was nice. There is a lake within walking distance, so we would head down there during the day. Dogs are allowed, but need to be on leashes. We brought our dog and he had a blast in the lake. They have a volleyball court set up as well as horse shoes which was fun! You can also rent stand up paddle boards from the front desk to take down to the lake. They also have a club house that has a pool table, although we didn't partake in this. There is an area where you can do laundry too, which we thought was pretty cool. This is definitely considered "glamping" to us :) There is also a boat launch if you need that too. We caught some really awesome weather while we stayed here which made the trip amazing! We will definitely be back.

Site #5 was level with plenty of shade. Wide picnic/patio area was clean. There was quite a drop off on 2 sides of this nicely spaced wide site. You could see the glimmer of water through the trees but really just a wooded view. The sun would shine directly on site around noon but mornings and evenings were pleasant. Bathhouse was updated and clean with individual shower stall in each of the 4 areas. Unfortunately there was little water pressure at the bathouse and just disappointing warm water in shower. (UPDATE- WIFE said she had plenty of hot water and she never she's that.) All sites share water but this particular one was too far away for nearest site to share. FYI, Water at site really high pressure, have regulator ready. Gate attendant was polite and actually on post nearly all the time. The lake itself is massive. Had no idea just how big until we saw from a distance. Wish we had a boat to take advantage. We had plenty of areas for walking the dogs. Overall we enjoyed this COE more than others mainly because of the upkeep.

Skiatook(15 min) has a multitude of places to eat. Fast food to actual sit down restaurants are everywhere. I recommend Mac's BBQ.

Surprising find in Oklahoma. Quiet, spacious and cheap. Great campground overlooking Hulah Lake and Dam on the Camry River. I really enjoyed my three night stay here. Decent nearby facilities and water and electric at most sites.

This is a very well maintained RV park. I think the pictures speak for them selves.

• 32 Spacious Hookups
• 22 - Drive-through
• 10 - Back-in
• Quaint Picnic Area 
• Convenient On-site Laundry and General Store 
• Shower/Rest Rooms Building
• Rental Cabin
• Free Wi-Fi 
• Safe Storm Shelter 
• Stocked Fishing Pond 

Located just minutes from Lake McMurtry, Lake Carl Blackwell, Karsten Creek Golf Course, Oklahoma State University, and all the rest that Stillwater has to offer, Cedar Crest is situated on 40 acres in a natural setting and offers modern amenities. Despite our country setting, we are easily accessible by paved roads.

I had a nice, one-night experience at the Caney Bend campground. I did not take advantage of Copan lake, but I noticed there was a boat ramp which would be a great amenity for someone with a boat/kayak/canoe. Saw a great amount of wildlife such as birds, woodland critters and even a lizard. I saw one other camper during my time here. Beautiful, early Summer, Oklahoma weather and gorgeous night sky. I gave this site four stars because even though it was a nice experience it wasn't anything special, in my opinion. However, I would be interested in returning and having a full camping/hiking experience instead of just passing through like last time. Also hopefully my device won't be dead like last time so I can actually take pictures of the area. Give this place a try!

Once you get to the campground, it is peaceful with no traffic noise, light pollution or other distractions. The view of the lake is fantastic and it’s easy to relax here. The space between campsites is significantly less than I would prefer but manageable. The maneuvering space needed to back a large trailer is more than sufficient.

However, the road access to this campground is probably the worst that I have experienced. I don’t know if it is an Oklahoma thing or I just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, but the last several miles to this campground are incredibly rough. We are pulling a 34 foot fifth wheel and the slow speed required adds another 30 minutes to what should be a five minutes. To top things off, there is a cross country run event this weekend which has drawn many visitors to the campground, who decided to park on both sides of the already very narrow roads leading to and from the campground area. It is nearly impossible to make turns and pull a trailer of any size through the congestion. This is probably a rare occurrence and I would not hesitate to stay here again, but you would be wise to verify there are no events planned for the duration of your stay before booking your campsite. Clearly this would have been a four star rating for me except for the points that I’ve noted above and five stars if there were more space between campsites.

This is a nice, newer feeling recreation area with a large lake for boating, fishing and water sports. The campground is large with several loops and sites on and off the lake. Most of the sites on the lake were taken by RV'ers, with most tent campers choosing sites up the hill away from the lake (and lake noise). I was in site 44 which backs up to the woods (making it easier to gather downed wood for my fire and cooking). I thought I was going to have the back end of the loop all to myself, but lucky me, someone with a camper decided to be my next-door neighbor. Sigh. It was a fairly nice site with a paved parking pad, picnic table, grill, and fire ring, with plenty of level space for my tent and trees for my hammock. The trees provided a nice wind break from the relentless Oklahoma winds. The shower house on my loop (there was one on each loop and it seemed like a few spare mixed in) was clean and maintained daily. The actual shower portion had two stalls, one handicap accessible, and both with a few resident spiders. Speaking of wildlife, there were plenty of deer in the field in the evening and several turtles and snakes hanging out in the late afternoon. All sites had electric and there was a shared water pump for every two sites. The Recreation Area had a manned gate house and the campground host manning it was very nice and helpful. There weren't any hiking trails in the campground, but then again, its main claim to fame is the lake. If you are looking for things to do in the area, Pawhuska is home to Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman from the cooking channel. Her store and restaurant are in Pawhuska and its a pretty good place to get breakfast or lunch.

Quaint little rv park nestled up next to the woods! Nice wooded walking trail with access to a private lake beach front. Great size lots and lots of room for rv, vehicle and camp/fire area! Clean bathroom and laundry facility on site. Propane refills on site. Friendly owners and quiet neighbors. Nice little hills for snow sledding! Short 15 minute scenic drive to Ponca City. Also, Amazon delivers out here!

This is a good campground if you’re looking to spend all day on the lake and go to sleep when you’re back on the land. It’s a pretty busy campground for boaters. There’s a dock near the entrance. It has hook ups for RVs. The facilities are iffy, there’s one set of pit toilets and a poorly maintained shower building.

Perfect spot for a quick getaway. Water faucets are spread around the campground, but not at every spot. Bathrooms are ok, but not great.

Super nice view and platform. Panicked when the couple with two kids parked behind me. Oh, the yelling. I guess the tension was too much because thankfully they left and never came back. 😂 Other than that terrifying sh** show, I had an absolutely beautiful night. The weather was perfect, and that view was 🔥.

I didn’t use the showers or bathrooms.