Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Milford, 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.

Campground Review: This is one of my absolute favorite camping areas I have ever been. Namanock Island is only accessible by water and is roughly 4 miles down the Delaware River if you leave from Milford Beach in Milford, PA. There is a ten dollar fee per day to park your car so bring cash as the parking area is not always manned and you’ll have to leave the fee in an envelope that is available just past the entrance. These sites are canoe, kayak, or(in my case) packraft accessible. The sites are maintained by the NPS and are available on a first come first served basis. Also there is no cost to camp on the river save the parking fees you paid in Milford! This was my first time making the trip with a friend and it was awesome to have some company. We stayed at site 13 (marked by a small square sign). Once at the tip of the island you will want to stay to the right on the river and close to the shore of the island(on your left hand side) as the site comes up relatively quickly and you won’t want to shoot past it. It’s a steep climb up the shore so be prepared for that. You have a small piece of shoreline that is mostly rocks. It’s a great spot to sit and enjoy the sun, sounds of nature, and have yourself a cold beer. You are limited to one night on the island. They are primitive campsites which include a fire ring and a primitive toilet. The sites are in excellent shape! This was my first time venturing to the island on a weekend(Friday) night but we had the place to ourselves so that was awesome. I’ve read that if you are going on a weekend that it’s advisable to go earlier in the day. We were on the island by 3 and had no problem securing our site, granted it was early June so your mileage may vary if you are going during the peak of the summer. It's a rare thing to camp on an island and Namanock is so serene and peaceful, you’ll hear the water flowing gently all night, perfection! We had ourselves a nice fire and made hot dogs and s’mores. The next morning we packed up and set off for another site about 8 miles down the river. After camping at the next site we packed up and hiked back along the McDade Recreation Trail to Dingmans Ferry access where we caught the River Runner Shuttle(a free shuttle that runs along the river on Saturdays and Sundays in the summer free of charge) back to the car in Milford. We were pressed for time otherwise we would have made the full 12 mile hike, instead we hiked slightly more than 4 miles. I’ll keep going back to this site as often as I can and can’t recommend it enough. In order to be prepared for the river camping experience 

I would recommend purchasing the National Geographic map of the Delaware Water Gap and/or the DWG map set sold by the NYNJ Trail Conference as they have all of the sites outlined. 

**Product Review **

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time. At Namanock Island, I got to test out the Gregory Zulu 55 pack. This pack comes loaded with features. It fit all of my gear (sleeping bag, tent, food sleeping pad, backpacking chair, packraft, paddle, clothes, etc with absolutely no problem. I am 5’7’’ and weigh about 145 lbs, the small/medium pack fit me perfectly. I really loaded this thing up with my rafting gear for our 4 mile hike back to the parking area and never once felt like I had a hot spot or any discomfort whatsoever. The Zulu features Gregory’s FreeFloat suspension technology designed to move with your body and I’d say mission accomplished, it really felt like it responded well to my movements and never once did it feel uncomfortable! The Zulu comes loaded with pockets both external and internal as well as multiple lashing points which perfectly suited my needs for my packrafting trip as I was able to secure it easily to my raft and lash extra gear externally. The fact that they include a rain cover is a nice bonus! The only issue I had was with my water bladder. I use a platypus big zip 3L which perfectly fit in the sleeve provided for a water bladder however it did not clip in well to the clip provided as it is designed for Gregory’s hydro reservoir. This is far from a deal breaker but worth mentioning. I have a few packs and the Gregory Zulu 55 is 100% going to be my go to for overnights and multi-day efforts! 

For more information and to purchase one for yourself check out the pack at Gregory’s site here: https://www.gregorypacks.com/packs-bags/backpacking-packs/zulu-55-1115ZUL55.html

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!