Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Normalville, PA

One of the best campgrounds I have stayed at so far the pond is nice and has a 1/2 mile walking path around it with trees and beaches to stop and sit dog park is big and has a place for small or large dogs there is 3 play grounds all different and all well kept

This campground checks all our boxes. Beautiful scenery, quiet location, spacious campsites, full RV hookups, well-placed fire rings, dog park, nice large bathhouses, polite staff, and Wi-Fi that works. 

This is located about an hour away from my home, so we plan on making this our go-to for quick camping getaways throughout the year. 

Highly recommended. Definitely worth checking out.

There are two main loops in this campground. One that is pet friendly and more of a pitch-your-tent-in-the-yard thing and another that is pet-free and wooded. We didn't realize and stayed in the first one. Dogs were barking at all hours and there's no privacy. We drove through the other one and it looks so much nicer. Campsites more spread out with trees in between and way quieter. Will definitely stay there if we return.

The kids had so much fun playing in the water we didn’t have time to hike and see all of it. We spent time in Swallow Falls as well as neighboring Herrington Manor state park where they have a “beach” for swimming and boat and SUP rentals. The prices for rentals were very reasonable and the concession stand was cheap!!! 2.50 for large fries, $1 snow cones, it was nice to splurge on snacks and not drop a small fortune.

We stayed at the camp ground in swallow falls in a pop up camper. The camp ground was quiet and well maintained though it is more suitable for tents and not trailers or RV’s. The bathrooms were decent for public bathhouses, they were cleaned daily but the were outdated. I would definitely come back but maybe with a tent next time and not the trailer. The camp store had the necessities at fair prices. Firewood is sold for $4 a bundle.

We did have a pet friendly site reserved but found out after we arrived that dogs are not allowed out of the campground. In order to hike with our dog we had to access the trail just outside the state park. This would have been nice information to have before arriving with our pet. Pets are allowed within the park Labor Day through Memorial Day.

What a fun campground.  Host are amazing and friendly ( and Jesse parents are pretty nice too, haha). Jesse is the owners dog and she will come out for scratching and pets. You get the feeling that you are welcome there. Amazing views and very enjoyable.

New Germany State Park is situated in Garrett County Maryland. The park has a small lake, a few trails, and two camping loops. The Hemlock loop- the only loop that allows pets, is smaller and is mostly made for tent camping, though one site has electricity, but only big enough for a teardrop camper. There is a bathroom with a hot shower. The problems with the Hemlock loop is the proximity to the other campers. Our neighbors were loud, their kids were louder and their dog was ear- splitting loud. The tent pads are varied in size with sites 52, 53 and 57 being just big enough for a large tent and not much else. Every site has a large picnic table ( that is impressively hard to move) and a fire ring. Some sites are not very level, not not as much that your rolling out of bed in your sleep. There is water, but just at the bathroom area. This makes sense since the loop itself is very small. Deer are dense in these parts, and bears frequent the area. Summer temps usually do not get as nice 85max most of the summer. There is also cross country skiing in the winter. Despite the smaller sites, the Hemlock loop is frequently full, as is the non pet loop, which can accommodate larger tents and RV’s., but no pets.

Stayed 3 nights because I wanted to be centrally located to the he Flight 93 Memorial and Falling Water (about 30 miles to each). The non pet section is heavily wooded and very shady. The pet section is more of a loop set up with some trees. The no pet section had no, zero, zilch cell service so my stay was super quiet. Site 173 was easy to back into and had a large picnic area with a fire ring next to the brook. There is a lake with a small beach and a boat launch and numerous hiking trails. The park will s very nice pretty and during the week fairly empty. I would recommend

A solid place to camp. Nice temperatures for June. A nice little beach for the kids to swim at. Self service ice and wood. Bring exact cash as the the contact station is only open Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Bathrooms are old but cleaned daily, water was hot so no complaints. Later check out was a nice bonus

Some of the sites are quite small and right on top of others. Some like ours were significantly larger. The pet loop was essentially a field with trees around it. The none pet loop was in the trees and so you sometimes had more space and sometimes were right beside you.

The no pet loop essentially cleared out after the weekend and we had tons of space to run around.

I wish more hikes started from the campground. But there was a gravel trail that connected to most of them.

The campground is easily accessible- there are 9 loops and a group site. The best loops for families with pets are Dogwood and Elm. No pets? Go to Ironwood loop and get a site close to the water. Water is readily available. The bathrooms are clean and the showers warm. After October, most of the loops close, the exception being Ash loop, which offers electric hookup for RV. The camp store is stocked well, but dinner may have to come from a local market if you’re planning a cookout at your site. The beach is also pet friendly. There is boat rental and several opportunities for Ranger led activities for all. Recently, the park has been taking part in American Chestnut revitalization. If there is any detractors at all, it’s the casino on the other side of the park. It’s bright and loud ( though and outdoor events are quiet by 10 ish) There is a strict no alcohol policy unless your in an RV or a cabin. Meaning the alcohol must stay inside at all times. Firewood is readily available. The sites can be a bit close, but as a family camper with a load of six people plus two dogs, we never have felt claustrophobic in our site choice. The web site offers limited photos of the sites. This park is our go to place for a weekend with kids and as it’s cheap and nearby, it’s well worth it. As a side note, the food at the casino isn’t bad. Just not a good place for kids. The trails are well maintained. Keep a careful watch for snakes and bears.

It has a pretty decent campground with nice spots. A great area for hiking and taking walks. Pet friendly. Only downfall is that the lake swimming area is closed

Great location in Western Maryland. 10 min ride to Cumberland (larger town) 5 min ride to small town of Flintstone. Lots of well marked trails that range from beginner to advanced. Lake holds opportunity for numerous activities from swimming, fishing, kayaking, paddle board, and canoeing. No motorized boats which can be a good thing sometimes. The lake even has areas for pets to swim! Campground has tent sites, cabins, camper sites and group sites. All loops have bath houses with showers. Several loops have sites with electric hook ups and pets friendly loops as well. Casino and golf course located on the opposite side of the lake if you wish to visit them while camping.

Very nice campsite lots of people but everyone was very friendly. Heads up when booking only a few areas allow pets. Also on this app it says drinking allowed not the case. Had a great time with lots to see and do in ohiopyle

It's about an hour from my house just of I-68. Has a big lake with swimming, fishing, hiking, canoes and kayaks for rent. It is pet friendly and quite even though it's 5 minutes from the interstate. We love taking long weekend trips there.

Ohiopyle is pretty much a camping family's delight. Aside from the rock water slide, which is burned into the kid's memories, there's great, easy hiking trails and a pet-friendly campsite. Late spring is my favorite time to go because the water is at its highest and everything is lush and green!

We loved this campground. It was quieter than Deep Creek with shaded good sized camp sites in the Hemlock loop where pets are allowed. The small lake was perfect for swimming, and the hikes around the campground were beautiful. The bathrooms were always cleaned and the staff was super friendly! Overall a very good experience.

The pet loop mixes tent camping with RVs, which isn't our preference. The sites are arranged around a big field, which means many of them have no trees or shade. If you planned to hang a hammock at some of these sites, you would be in trouble.

But it's a good park. They've got firewood at the contact station.

We chose this campground for its proximity to home with the chance to swim in the lake.

The camping did not disappoint. We always try to book “outside” loop sites so we don’t have “back neighbors” but none near the lake were available, so we took our chances on an “inside” site in E loop. It was great, smallish, but plenty of vegetation to make it feel private. (Some poison ivy around the edges, though.) The pull-in sites in general seem a bit small (space for our two 4-person tents and that’s it), but are well shaded and separated from neighbors by small patches of woods or bushes. The pull-through sites in our loop were more exposed to the road, but had a bit more space.

There was some noise from the interstate. There were surprisingly few mosquitoes. The bathhouse was clean, but showers were not very warm.

The swimming was unfortunately disappointing. The roped-off swimming area was 3 feet deep at the most. Warm water in August, nice for kids to splash around, but not really good for actual swimming. Bonus for dog people: pets allowed on the beach and in the lake.

During COVID-19, the bathrooms/bathhouses at the beach area are closed; porta-johns only.

We rented paddle boards and a canoe one afternoon and paddled around to one of the lake inlets, which was actually deep and had a good swim. But this is technically not allowed.

If you feel okay about rule-breaking and have water-safe family members (and no pets), I would absolutely choose a site in I loop close to the lake. The sites in E loop closest to the lake are actually up a fairly steep hill from the lake path.

Hiking trails were nice. My kids especially liked the rock scramble-ish up and down the stream gorge on Evitt’s Mountain trail.

Campground Review: This state park in MD is very popular in the fall for leaf peepers and this weekend was no exception. We were there the last weekend in Sept. The areas of the park that were available were pretty full. All electric sites were full. Our site 16 was spacious and private except for the pathway to the bath house but I only saw a half dozen people walking by. There are many paths from the 30 sites in the A or Ash loop to get to the bath house which was decent and clean. My sister-in-law and her husband stayed in a pull through site #15. It was extremely spacious and very private and backed up to the woods. We checked in at 8:05 on a Friday and there were 2 rangers in the office. The campground has a gate. There are loops A-I with A being all electric and pet friendly. B, C, D, and E were pet friendly with a couple electric sites but seemed to be used by hosts. Loops F through I were no dogs and no electric. There is a beach and a dog beach area which is a huge plus! The camp store was open but the Aviary and Nature center were closed for the season.  There appeared to be boat rentals but I didn't inquire. We hiked throughout and around the lake at the campground and then drove to the other end of the lake (there is a 5 mile trail around the lake) and hiked to Canyon Overlook and the dam which was very pretty. There was a scavenger hunt paper we could've used to search for objects in nature. Great for kids! There are 278 sites total with just 30 having electric hook-up. I would definitely camp there again! Hope it's a bit cooler next time. It was nearly 90!

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Product Review: 

I used the Eclipse sun protection clothing for a little bit on Saturday. It was so hot I couldn't keep it on even with the side vents. I had the shawl cover up as well. I found the one size fits all poncho to be too big for me. I am small stature (5'4" and 110 lbs) so one size fits all doesn't usually fit me. I emailed a review to the company and they responded quickly that they were going to offer sized clothing in the very near future! The material was light weight and I think is as good as or better than any other sun protection clothing I've owned. I would recommend it!

Trails are very nicely kept and clear with maps at every intersection so getting lost is very unlikely. There’s areas for swimming and fishing and you can do non-motorized boating like kayaks and such. There’s also a lodge that has a gift shop and snack bar and areas to charge phones and they also have WiFi. A bath/shower house is provided for every site loop, including their pet loop. For kids they have a small jungle gym and critter center. Overall a very nice family camping area.