Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Oakdale, PA

OverLl great campground. The sites are a little close together but we still enjoyed our time there. Staff is super friendly and there was plenty for the kids to do, pool, arcade, fishing, and playground. Decent size dog park to let your dogs run and decent trails nearby.

Sites are super big and is a great family owned campground! Super close to a local ice cream shop and has a great dog park and is fully paved. Large fishing area and Camp store! I love that you can use Campers App at this campground and I love getting the Notifications when I camping there!

Good location for outdoor and city experiences, along with a relaxing getaway. Workers and permanent campers are very friendly with all the amenities necessary on site, including nice dog park. A small campground that didn’t have many kids for ours to play with during our visit. In addition, hill keeps permanent campers separate from temporary campers.

In the past 5 years, I've made 13 trips to Raccoon Creek State Park and spent 16 nights in a tent there. It is my local state park and I can tell you lots about it.

The D loop is really great tent camping at Raccoon Creek State Park. It's tents only, no RVs. So it gets a really fun, party vibe on Saturday nights during the summer. There's a trail right to the beach near the D loop, so it's a great place for families to go with pets. The sites are big, wooded, and all close to the bathroom.

The C loop, however, doesn't take pets (which stinks). When we have our dogs with us, we gravitate towards the C loop. It's fine, but it's not as fun as the D loop.

When we don't make a reservation and we have our dog, we end up in the F loop. It's not our preference (but--let's be clear--even the worst site in the F loop is better than NO trip!).

While most of the campgrounds in the park are no pets- there are 2 loops that allow your furry companions! Loop F includes electric spots! Loved seeing the 'neighbors' dogs get excited and curious when I walked my 4-legged best friend around the site. Clean area , close to a modern bathroom (a few stalls & even 2 showers!) Looking forward to going back at the end of the month.

I started camping at Raccoon back in the 60's as a little person with my family. Hadn't been for several decades, but finally got back with my husband and cats the past couple of years. Great park ony a 1/2 hour outside of Pittsburgh. The campground has something for everyone - RV sites with electric (although I wouldn't recommend bringing your 40' rig...sites can be a tad on the smaller side) or secluded sites just for tenting. Restrooms are clean and well maintained. Two loops allow pets F and B, but only some sites in F have electric, so be sure to check if that is what you need. There are many hiking trails that are not too strenuous or you can take a 10 mile trip around the lake. Lots of birds for viewing, particularly near the beach. You can put in your kayak or fish on the shore at the fairly large lake. Boats do require a launch pass which you can obtain from the park office. And don't miss the Wildflower Preserve if you are there in May or late summer! Great place to take the family and relax in nature!

Long holiday weekend trip. Love this park. Designated pet areas, flush toilets and shower house available. Plenty of trails.

Love this campground and lake! The campground is clean and well maintained! Pets allowed witch is a must for us! And I love that you can go across the lake and rent a pontoon boat for the day!

Very quiet park this time of year. Only one loop that allows pets. The spots are very sloped so bring your Lego blocks. Bathrooms were ok but nice hot showers. We we the only campers in our loop so private. I grew up near here and visited the park often. First time camping here.

This place was secluded enough to have privacy with your family but had plenty to do within the campground. We rented a motor boat and paddle board swam in the beach got snacks at t as wellhe snack hut in the beach camp fires had a beautiful large area to set up two tents and an eating are! Pets are welcome very clean place

Family Campground on Leslie Road [map]

• 6 electric sites
• 44 non-electric sites
• Dump station
• No showers; no flush toilets
• Pets are permitted on all sites

Equestrian Camp on Sprucevale Road

• 59 primitive sites (no electric)
• Vault latrines
• Tie-ups
• 12 sites may be reserved; the remaining are first-come, first-served.

Group Camp on Sprucevale Road

• Two group camp sites
• Can accommodate organized groups up to 30 people
• Available by reservation

Stayed here the first weekend of October.  Nice spots and many have good spacing from your neighbors.  Pets are welcome.  Facilities are older but well kept.  Bathhouse is heated with showers that have a fiberglass tub surround, not concrete.  Nice hiking trails that connect through the campground.  Hiking trail maps are not great but the trails are marked well. The Lake is a good walk and looks good for kayaking and fishing.  Brought our kayaks but it was a bit too cold.  Big wide spots are 11 and 16.  Nice hammock hangers on the non-electric spots.

This is a large state park offering electric only sites

The sites are set amounts the forest and there are several loops to choose from. Loop F is pet friendly. All sites are within walking distance to amenities 

Amenities are quite run down but functional 

Wildlife is beautiful and its a short ~10min drive to the beach area of Raccoon Creek lake. 

Two (2) dump station spots and fresh water taps location throughout the park 

NOTE: Many sites are not level, you will require blocks/timber to level out campers. Tent campers should choose their site using the photos on the state park site. 

All sites have a paved car space.

This rating is just a personal preference. We needed a spot to stay for the night, and the drive up was not worth it. You drive up a long, steep, windy road to the campgrounds, not to mention the drive to get to the town was very out of the way. If you’re on Sprint or T-mobile - there is no service. We thought it was a little pricey, about $30 for one night. We were also charged 10 extra dollars for having a cat(that never leaves the van) for one night.

I take my wife and dogs here all the time. I love the trails and it has great camping spots. The trails are easy and maintained and my dogs love them too.

Went to Raccoon Creek State Park to camp for Labor Day weekend. We booked campsite F1 since we had 2 dogs and the F loop allowed dogs. This site was great! We could fit two tents and it was nice and secluded from the other sites. I recommend booking a site that is on the outside of the “loops” if you want some seclusion. The inner loop sites are right on top of each other, good for Rvs, not so much for tent camping. The bathrooms were a little bit of a hike, the next loop over, but they where clean and had flush toilets and running water along with a shower and sinks to wash dishes. There was a place to get water across from this site which was very convenient . The dog walking trails weren’t bad, but they where very up and down hill, at points steep and rocky. The spring was a really cool hike (right off the park office parking lot.) Down by the beach they had a place to buy wood, only $5 a bundle and the beach place also sells bags of ice. Overall a really good family campground!

I camped in the Hillside Loop (Dog Friendly).  Not a bad walk to the lake.  Site was reasonable leave and plenty of room for my 32 foot Motor home and car.

I have camped here at least once every year since I discovered Guilford Lake in 2017. The campground is clean (mostly) and quiet. It is dog friendly; all dogs must be leashed. 

PROS:

Quiet. Right on the lake; super easy lake access. Boat ramp. Swimming beach.  Convenient (for me anyway). Pidges' Market general store just a few miles away. Flat and quiet lake for paddlers. All sites are electric. Potable water on site. Dump station on site. Showers and restrooms open 24 hours. Small convenience store with limited hours. Peddle boat and kayak rentals on site.

CONS:

It's crowded; this is a tiny campground. Zero privacy (I was awakened by a guy snoring 2 campsites over). 

Goose excrement all over on the lakeside campsites - bring a small shovel and a lot of plastic bags. Plan on cleaning before you set camp (my site was disgusting). 

There are a few drawbacks but overall I like this campground otherwise I wouldn't keep coming back.

This is my go to spot for camping when I have to just get away from it all. It's close to home plus it is a great place to take the dog out to swim and chase geese and ducks. A great little beach area to lay out and enjoy the 🌞 sun. The hiking trails are in excellent condition and the park keeps them clear of fallen debris.

Raccoon Creek is half an hour from Pittsburgh, and it's a big park with lots to discover. In addition to 7,000+ acres of woods, Raccoon has pretty much anything a camper could want: good scenery; a nice little lake with a beach and concession stand (in summer); more than 20 miles of trails; a backpacking loop with primitive camping and Adirondack shelters; picnic areas; cabins; fishing; hunting in the late fall; a canoe rental shop… The campground is enormous and has all different kinds of campsites--sunny, wooded, solitary, tightly packed, dog-friendly, dog-free. It's even got a few dismal little sites that are open year-round, except that the road to them may be snowed over in winter. Make sure you check out the online map and reserve a good campsite in advance, because a lot of them are crowded too close together. Raccoon is great, a fun, woodsy place. It gets really crowded and doesn't exactly have the wilderness feel that I like. Hiking here is more like "taking a walk in the woods," which is better than no walk in the woods. Raccoon is the # 1 "go-to" for Pittsburghers who don't pre-book at Ohiopyle or some wilder place in time for Memorial Day or Labor Day weekend.