Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Matamoras, PA

Recently, we camped here for a week. We don’t ever post negative reviews like this. The last day, we experienced a violent attack by a very large and aggressive Pit Bull. The Pit Bull did not have a collar or a leash and was accidently let out of the RV to roam free and unsupervised. It immediately ran to our site(4 sites away) and attacked our dog that was tied at the time. The incident was unprovoked. While trying to save our dog, my wife and I were also attacked. The wounds were serious enough to require emergency transport to a hospital for treatment including stitches. All we could think of was what might have happened if our granddaughter had been playing with our dog. 

To put it mildly, their existing pet policy is grossly lacking. They never checked what breed of dog or ask to see documentation of shots when we were registering. Yogi Bear Jellystone Park needs to better manage their pet policy to address aggressive dog breeds and ensure the safety of campers. We camped there for seven days and saw multiple sites have more than one large dog, which in many places we’ve camped at would have been banned due to breed type or size. We have RV’ed extensively across the US and have never seen such careless enforcement of a pet policy regarding aggressive dog breeds. Seriously, think about avoiding this park if you have pets or small children.

Some things you should be aware of before booking: The office, playground, dog park, pool, laundry are located at the top of the hill. Camping spots are downhill, a good distance from the office and amenities. Trash is located off site in a pullout on the road you drive in on. There are 2 showers for women and 2 for men. Both are old and not well maintained or in our experience clean, either. In general the camping spots are not well maintained, weedy, un-level and picnic tables are weathered and warped. This resort campground is composed of mainly residents, the rules (we observed) apply to the overnight campers, not the residents. Children of the residents run free all day and past curfew in the evenings unsupervised. The setting is quiet, the views from the upper level are lovely. With some updating of bath facilities, cleaning and leveling of campsites, uniform enforcement of rules, Pleasant Acres could become a resort destination.

This campground is big. Many people live here, but there are spots to rent. Primitive site or not, they have a spot for you. Very nice people here I’d say. We are currently the only Hispanics here and not 1 person has been nasty to us. The lady at check in was on point and it was super quick. The store has a lot to choose from all organized. Bathhouses are clean, water pressure is good, and the hot water is actually hot. The size of the spaces would depend on where you are. We saw primitive sites that are ginormous. Also saw RV sites that were very close to each other. Our tent site is perfect. An area of the lake is to swim and the other to fish in. Catch and release only. Lots of tress for great shade. Very peaceful and calm atmosphere. Mental vacation definitely. Deer may or may not stop by for a visit. Hiking trails available. They also have a dog park for your beloved pooch.

 Our 4rth state in our 5 state trip is New Jersey! We wanted to see Delaware Water Gap NRA & I found a campground by Newton called The Great Divide. This is a private campground. Very scenic with a small lake, a pond & surrounded by woods. This is also the most expensive campground on our trip at $96.11 a night.

     Lots to do for families- they have kayaks for camper use. Horseshoes, tether ball, volleyball, a pool, a playground, a dog park. There's a swimming beach.

 One strange thing is there's a lot of tent sites & they seemed popular. For the amount of tent/popup sites they only have 1 shower per loop. They are very clean & checked often, but they're used heavily during the weekend. I had better luck Sunday evening. A bench outside the bathroom would have been nice to sit & wait. 

 The rv sites were all full hookup on our loop.

   We came in on a Friday & found out this campground ROCKS!!! They have live bands every Friday & Saturday night during the warm months. This might explain the higher rates. Party on!

We have been hiking here several times, this was our first time getting a campsite. We really enjoyed it. The 5 mile hike around the lake was very pretty with the trees just starting to come into full summer bloom and the bird activity was through the roof. Our site was good size, we didn't have electricity, but didn't need it. Friendly people camping near us and the facilities seemed well kept up. Looked like there is a place to rent boats or kayaks from, we might do that this summer. Lots of people kayaking the lake and there was a launch from right inside the campground. Like other state parks in PA, dogs are limited. Kind of a bummer as one of our favorite things to do is walk around and check out everyone else's unique set-ups. Can't walk your dog in the non-pet parts. But all in all, good weekend and we will be back.