Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Cowanesque Lake

This park offers over 300 campsites with restrooms, hot showers, dumping stations and firewood for sale. The park is open all year round. Check for dates on openings for pool, campgrounds, and trails. Pets are allowed on the grounds but not on the trails

The trails follow a gorge with multiple waterfalls that weave in and out of small caves and falls. For all you wondering, swimming is not allowed in the gorge. Overall nice hiking. My only drawback is the dog rule and the campsites being so close to one another.

They need a larger pet area. The camping is great. Love the hiking trails

Kids has a great time at this campground. Two playgrounds, a pool, two jumping pillows, mini train, carousel, and activities. Good for bike riding although hilly. The site we booked online had bad measurements, so when we got there we found our trailer wouldn't fit. The camp map is close but not very accurate, so calling them to book if you have any questions is the way to go. We went back to check in when we discovered our problem and got the site swapped with no issues. They're just transitioning to the campspot system this year, and they're working out the bugs. The staff was really great during this whole visit. The new site was a few down from where we originally booked and it was much better. I'd recommend the outer part of the loop that circles the common areas. Woods and shade but very close to all the happenings. The big playground is new and very nice. The small one is mainly two very big playsets (pirate ship and castle). My kids enjoyed both. Two jumping pillows were awesome. Pool was cold but fun. The campground has new owners this year, and renovations are going on. Everything is very clean, and I'm looking forward to the updates they're making. No breed restrictions for dogs. No dog park. Standard GPS directions for this campground are wrong, (coming from 15N they have you turn right at the end of the ramp, you need to turn left) So plot your route before you go. Otherwise it guides you to a gravel road with a no campers sign. The entry road to the campground itself is a very steep, narrow road with a small curve at the top. It's well-maintained but keep an eye out for campers coming down. There's space for getting by but it's tight. Overall this is a very nice campground that's getting some updates that it deserves. The staff is really nice and helpful. We look forward to going back.

Great family campground, decent sized sites, many lake side sites, very clean bathrooms/ showers. Several playgrounds, heated pool, pet friendly with shots paperwork. Good fishing in pond (cant use live bait or keep fish )

Site is sloped, shaded and right next to the bathrooms and water spigot. ATT coverage is decent. Other side of the bathrooms is access to the gorge trails. Pets are not allowed on the gorge trail itself but the rim and other trails are fine.

This facility is perfect for couple of people , private all you need is there , fireplace , fire wood, bathroom , cat and dog))) some of the grounds have hammock upon request. Take your vehicle with you ,no more long distance from a parking lot 👍 The host are very accommodative , and it’s 4 min away from Watkins glen state park. enjoy the Pooh’s story….

We stayed at site 8 which is creekside. It was a large, beautiful site and the sound of the burbling water lulled us to sleep every night. The bathrooms and showers are very clean and modern (tiled, not concrete block for a change). The only downside to the area is the quantity of timber rattle snakes that we encountered, one at our site and one in the woods nearby. Something to keep in mind if you have pets or small children.

We had an abnormal wind advisory warning from NWS on April 30th and almost didn’t go. But we courageously went anyway and much to my surprise it was quite peaceful. Some occasional gusts the first night but after that it was very serene. Campsites are great, we had one of the pet sites. Close to the road but very lightly trafficked and you could hear & see a small waterfall across the street! Facilities were clean. This is my second time there and both times have been great!

Taking everything into consideration, it’s hard to find a nicer campground to stay for a night or two weeks.

• clean, well maintained and monitored.

• large sites on macadam pads. Large fields behind most sites for activities.

• full hook ups available

• numerous hiking trails, large lake for boating, fishing and swimming.

• centrally located between Mansfield, Wellsboro and Corning

*pet friendly. Alcohol allowed

the only draw back is that it fills up quickly and you need to reserve many months ahead of time especially for holidays. Not group camping friendly because of the reservation system. No pavilions for group activities within the Campground

The campground at Cherry Springs State Park has 30 sites and vault toilet restrooms. Pets are not permitted.

But don’t go for the camping. Cherry Springs State Park is an International Dark Sky Park and measures a 2 on the Bortle dark-sky scale. Go for the night skies - to see the stars and the Milky Way.

There are nearby state parks with daytime activities (try Lyman Run State Park for the swimming beach, hiking, and ATV trails).

Helpful Tips:

• Astronomy field is only for serious amateur astronomers and must be reserved (observe from the public viewing area behind the campground)
• Use red light even in the campground (free red cellophane available near the amphitheater)
• Site 26 is the best for unobscured night sky viewing
• Dress warmly (evenings are very cold, even in the summer)
• Do not expect cell service (even within an hour driving radius)
• Be prepared (nearest city of Williamsport is an hour away; firewood may be available at Lyman Run State Park concession stand)

I love that despite there being so many sites, you don’t feel on top of each other in Seneca Village. It’s a state campground so don’t expect it to be anything close to dispersed camping. Trees separated me from my neighbors on either side, woods behind my tent, lots of quiet, no one blasted music or anything like that. I woke up to seeing trees above me and hearing birds. The bathroom was clean, with multiple ways to enter it without going near someone else’s site. The campground felt safe, and you are able to buy firewood (I didn’t due to quite a bit of rain). To get to the gorge trail, you have to walk over to the next site (Oswego I think) but it’s not too far. I would most likely stay at that loop next time though because it seemed to have even more space on each site. I didn’t see any bears and asked a few workers but only one had seen a bear the entire time they’ve been there. Definitely recommend this location. Lots of beautiful trails, red cat wine slushies were delicious, grounds were fun to explore and people were either friendly or kept to themselves which was great. Super dog friendly and I met many of them! Just a note, dogs are NOT allowed on the gorge trail.

I've been coming here every year for a while now. Overall, it has everything you'd want in a campground. They have one of the cleanest bathrooms I've seen yet while camping. The campsites are a good size. Certain sites have more privacy than others, I'd recommend the higher loop if you can. However, some of the sites on the lower loop are close to the road but the road noise isn't too bad. They have designated sites for pets. There are also primitive free sites that are first come first serve. In the colder months, they even have cabins you can rent out. Plenty of hiking and swimming nearby. We always hit up the Forksville General Store for breakfast before we leave. The food is sooo good. I recommend getting the sausage links. Also, the stars are incredible here! I usually come in the fall in October/early November. It's my favorite time to come because it's not extremely packed with campers and the leaves are beautiful. If you come in the fall, make sure you bring a cold weather sleeping bag or heater because the temp does drop. Seriously, a great campground you wont be disappointed!

Pinecreek is a beautiful park in a great area 10 minutes from downtown Ithica New York and Lake Cayuga. The area has everything you could possibly want or need. Fabulous State Parks with spectacular waterfalls, a farmers market right on the lake front, Cornell University and so much more. That being said it may be the reason the campground doesn't offer any planned activities. They do have a swimming pool and what appears to be a large clubhouse/meeting area that is not or was not used while we were there, nor were any activities publicized. They do have a small arcade but it did not stay open past 8 pm and did not appear to be air-conditioned.

Our campsite was a full hookup with a large grassy area for setting up our outside chairs and picnic table. Although we enjoyed our stay we felt it was a bit overpriced for not having much to offer. They also have a very long list of rules & while they do allow pets there is a list of breed restrictions you need to be aware of before booking a reservation. They also charge for electricity on any stays one week or longer which we had not encountered previously at campgrounds where we have stayed.

Overall we enjoyed our stay but not sure we would stay again.

General: It really does feel like you drive to the end of the world to get to this beautiful park/campground. We camped here mid-week at the beginning of November and when we arrived with friends, we were the only two campsites occupied but by the next day, several more campers arrived. There are two campgrounds– one with hookups and one without; both campgrounds are fairly small(in terms of the number of sites). There are also rustic cabins with electricity but no running water. This is another Pennsylvania state park with excellent recycling facilities. Firewood was for sale on the honor system conveniently located near the campsites plus trail maps which was good as we had zero cell service. 

Site Quality: The sites are spaced a decent amount apart and are generous in size. The pet-designated sites are close to the road (154), although there was not a lot of traffic (at least when we were there). Each site has a large picnic table and fire ring and we stayed in the area with electric hookups. Most of the sites are nicely wooded. Bathhouse: This is the third Pennsylvania state park we have stayed at recently and all get an A+ for the bathhouses. Very clean, heated, and the showers appear to be in good condition (did not use so cannot comment on more than the appearance). There was also a dishwashing sink with dish detergent INSIDE the bathhouse (women’s– not sure about men’s!), something I have never seen before but which was appreciated in the colder months. 

Activities: We came for the hiking and there are numerous trails in both the state park and neighboring Loyalsock State Forest, some of which are accessible from the campgrounds. The trails are very well marked and most of them prohibited hunting but when we tried to hike to Cottonwood Falls, hunting was allowed; since we were not wearing blaze orange, we decided to turn back(we did see some “lesser” falls). I recommend the High Rock Trail(accessible from the Visitor Center) but do it in a counterclockwise direction. There is a lot of rock scrambling, but it is a beautiful trail. The visitor center has a nice playground, but it is a mile away from the campground. In season, you can horseback ride, swim, hunt, or cross-country ski or snowmobile. The Park is open year-round. 

Conclusion: This Park turned out to be a hidden gem for us, but I think it was more so because it was so sparsely inhabited; as with many other campgrounds we have stayed at, I’m sure it would have a completely different vibe during the summer months.

Many consider Patterson State Park an over flow Park for when the famous “Dark Skies” Cherry Springs State Park or the large Lyman Run State Park with its lake for swimming, boating and fishing gets full. Indeed, many who couldn’t get a reservation at either of these larger state parks have ended up at this first come, first serve rustic campground. This is how I discovered the often overlooked beauty of this little park. First the location of this park makes it easy to take advantage of the amenities of the two nearby parks and it’s only a hop skip and a jump from mini golf and a newly installed zip line in Sweden Valley, Pa. If Hiking is your thing, the STS trail system runs right through it. On one side of the road (they must allow horse back riding on that section of the trail as we saw trailers of horses pull in to trail ride). There are two pavilions, one with a fire place . There is one rustic toilet. This is rustic camping, no electric, a pump for water but it is also pet friendly and has cell service. One of the best features and why we will definitely be back is that at any given time you may have the whole park to yourself. If you are camping with children this can be a plus! They will have plenty of room to play, and it is a poke-stop. It has a take it with you waste management plan that really helped us all think differently about packaging and some of the choices we make. I give this little park 5 yes 5 gold stars. But don’t tell anybody... let’s keep this little gem a secret between us!

General: This is a small 28-site campground located on the east rim of the canyon; seven of the sites are electric and six of them are pet-friendly. We reserved site 17 after looking at the site map because it looked like there was a generous amount of separation between this site and the surrounding ones, however, upon arrival, this was not the case. Although some of the sites are generous in size, there is no physical separation between them. Site 1 would, in my opinion, be the best of the non-electric sites for privacy. Sites 6 and 8, while close to the bathhouse, would likely have people walking through your site to get to the bathhouse. Campers have worn a path between these sites to access it. Props to this park for having recycling bins for plastic, glass, and aluminum. While this park is open year-round, the campground is only open from the second Friday in April through the third weekend in October. 

Site Quality: The parking pad is delineated by rocks but not very clearly defined. There is a generously sized picnic table and fire ring to complete the grassy site. 

Bathhouse: Very clean (we have found most Pennsylvania state parks excel in their bathhouse cleanliness). Hot water (definitely appreciated on this cold weekend!) and one handicap accessible shower (but it was too cold while we were there to want to take a shower although it did look inviting). 

Activities: Two hiking trails on the east rim where the campground is located. The Turkey Path was closed about ¾ mile down (by the waterfall) due to storm damage. Although the trail was clearly marked closed at this point, many chose to ignore it and continue on☹. This trail is challenging as it has steep switchbacks down and back up again and it is narrow and slippery but definitely worth doing. The Overlook Trail, while not long (less than a mile), is also challenging with down and uphills. If you don’t want to (or can’t) access these trails, there is an observation platform where you can enjoy great views of the canyon. All of these trails are accessible from the campground. There is also a long multi-use trail for hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing. There is a nice playground accessible from the campground. 

Conclusion: We were here the last weekend the campground was open and while the fall foliage was not experiencing the best year, it was still very beautiful at this park, and we enjoyed the hikes.

Only went for a long weekend with some friends who were beginner campers. This was the perfect spot to meet up and had water readily available and restrooms/showers. Also dog friendly. We booked 2 sites next to each other we all had our dogs and had a grand time. The only thing we wished to improve our experience would be for more dog friendly places for them to swim. We thought the creek running through the campground would be perfect , but alas it was dry. Don’t buy the firewood here it was very expensive. Bring rabies proof if you are bringing your dog.

Spacious, private campsites, well maintained. Dogs welcome!

The campground is beautifully kept. Bathrooms and sites were nice. Some sites are alittle closer personally esp in the dog area. It was extremely buggy when we went. Our dogs wouldn't come out of the camper because there was no relief. It was the height of rattle snake season. A site near ours and very close to the playground had a rattler under their camper. Alittle too close for comfort. Otherwise, campers, rangers and hosts were nice to deal!

I ended a two-day backpacking trek through the Finger Lakes National Forest at Watkins Glen. After grunting all the way up the long hill to the campground, I checked in with a wonderful and helpful employee. She gave me all the information about the campground and park that I could ever want, and then we laughed a little about the antics of young husky mixes (I had my dog with me on the hike). The campground is dog-friendly, provided that you have a current rabies certificate and keep him/her on leash.

I stayed at a tent site, which has no electricity. RV sites, which cost a little more, provide electric hookups. My camp site and all the neighboring ones were clean. Water from spigots is easily accessible, as are showers and toilets.

The campground is situated walking distance from the main attractions of the park; during the summer, a large swimming pool is a popular place to hang out with family. Hiking trails parallel the creek with beautiful falls. I was disappointed to find that dogs are not allowed on the Gorge Trail, which is closest to all of the falls.

All in all, I loved this campground. It was a very relaxing place to spend the night.

Sites right on the creek! Great for trout fisherman, and those with dogs who love water like ours. Bathrooms were super clean. All the kids seem to love the playgrounds. Staff is awesome and friendly!