Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Sumter, SC

Beautiful large sites, mostly pull thru with pool, pickle ball courts, full gym, large clubhouse wit meeting room. Bsths with showers, playground, dog park and more.

This RV Resort has the largest sites around and also great amenities including pool, 4 pickle ball courts, clubhouse with large meeting room, full gym and very nice bathrooms . Full laundry and playground, dog park and more

A very nice attendant greeted us as we approached the gate and opened it so we did not have to exit our RV. The sites are very spacious and are staggered so each RV is not looking into another. The Resort is located within walking distance to some restaurants in the quaint town of Lake City, SC. We travel with 3 dogs and appreciate the gated dog park. We would most definitely stay here again if in the area.

The.grounds are immaculate, the showers and laundry (Free) are well maintained and the dog park has a water fountain for the dogs. It's within walking distance to the various  restaurants in town .

A great park...except for the trains.  The rails are within one block of the campground and the trains run frequently, day and night and are use their horns A LOT.

If you are a sound sleeper and have a really loud AC in your rig, enjoy the place, otherwise, make it a short stay.

Busy park, but if you're visiting the Columbia area a fine place to stop. They have a dog park and our pup loved getting to run off leash. Campsites are pretty close together and some are a little on top of each other but we were in spot 79. It was a pull through and the living space was separated a bit more. It was across from the bathhouse which is quite convenient.

This spot is so close to I95 (look for exit 169) that you’ll both feel and hear the swoosh of passing by traffic 24/7. So, while you’ll incur ease and convenience, that will come at a cost (privacy and quietude being what you will sacrifice most).  Located in the NE pocket of the Palmetto State, Florence RV Park, while not a destination per se, could be a nice (and incredibly easy) layover on your trip destination to anywhere else up or down this major east coast highway artery.

Despite the location, this spot has a lot to offer: an intimate little public pool behind the management office, WiFi hotspots, dog park, scattered picnic tables (in pretty good condition), kid’s playground, 20 / 30 / 50 amp hook-ups, dump station, dog walk area, catch & release fishing pond, propane refueling station, vending machines, small pond for fishing, basketball court, volleyball, badminton and horseshoe rings. There’s even 4-5 log cabins for rent at the front of the property (with full access to all the highway noise) and of course, good old fashioned on-site laundry facilities along with a mini-store that has most of the basics covered as well as fairly spartan shower / bathing facilities. 

Insider’s tip? Here's a few: (1) The further east you are on the property, all the better as you’ll be positioned as far away from I95 traffic and noise; (2) If tent camping, I highly recommend spots #A7 – A13 and if you are RV’ing I recommend #L9 – L18 as well as any of the locations on J, K and F11 – F16; (3) There’s a lot to explore near here, from the Grand Strand of South Carolina, of course, Myrtle Beach and even Darlington Raceway, so if you don’t mind the overpopulated location with its westerly view of non-stop traffic, then this could be a good place to stop for the night or from which to launch your exploration of the area; (4) If you’ve looked at this RV campground’s website, don’t be fooled by the pictures – I don’t think any of them were actually taken of the place, save for the pond, and that was a close-up; and (5) If you are looking for a nearby spot to sample the local fare, I recommend checking out The Drive-In Restaurant with its 50s era nostalgia, big juicy burgers, fried everything, homemade onion rings and thick, creamy chocolate shakes.

Happy Camping!

This is a great campground for anyone who enjoys watersports. Lake Marion is a great place for boating, kayaking, and fishing. Camp sites are mostly level and have water and a variety of electrical hookup options. Some fun but easy hiking trails link the two campgrounds in a loop. Very pet friendly.

Poinsett State Park is absolutely beautiful and a true hidden gem. We recently visited South Carolina and after spending the weekend visiting nearby Congaree National Park, we opted to stay at Poinsett State Park for 4 nights in our Mercedes Sprinter campervan. As we had read online, the roads into and around the park are truly in desperate need of repair, but once in the campground, the sites are very nice. Site 24 was perfect as it is the last one with hookups and that allows RVs. The hiking is fantastic- I was able to easily hike several miles each day with my dogs and most of the hiking trails are very peaceful and pretty. Even though we were there in early February, we did encounter some gnats/mosquitos and we had to be incredibly vigilant about picking ticks off of our dogs. The only negative is that the park host was incredibly rude to us. We travel with our two well behaved dogs and ALWAYS keep them on a leash. I spent several hours a day hiking with them and walked through the campground with them on several occasions, which I know the host saw since we walked past him multiple times. On the third day of our stay, as I was bringing one of our dogs back and we were switching leashes and harnesses, our other dog jumped out and got away from us for a minute. We immediately ran after her, and after calling her name, she turned around and came back. She was out for less than a minute, and we were actively pursuing her with leash in hand the entire time. My husband was literally running after her without shoes on. The camp host came and yelled at us claiming that our dog"almost attacked his dog." She's a 9 year old Golden Retriever that is literally the most friendly dog on the planet. She was in our view the entire time and never barked or growled, only went up somewhat near them(several feet away) to say hello. It was clearly a mistake that she got out and something we rectified immediately. He kept yelling at us well after she was in our control. While I 100% understand and agree that all dogs should be on leash, it was clearly a mistake and absolutely nothing happened. It made us feel really awkward and uncomfortable. Then, on top of that, the next day, we couldn't even walk our dogs because there were 2 loose dogs running all over the campground with literal bells on- the camp host of course didn't address what was actually a flagrant violation of the rules by a neighboring camper. Other than that, our 4 day stay was perfect, but this really negatively impacted our stay.

This campground sits on Lake Marion where there is awesome cat fishing. Fishing on Lake Marion you can fish in the stomp holes for bream, bass and catfish. The campground is clean, family oriented, there is part of the park where you could have family parties also there is boat launch areas and a fishing pier.

Built to celebrate the Sesquicentennial of South Carolina in the 30’s . At one time on the furthest outskirts of Columbia SC. It is now firmly in the muddle of the Metro area. Plenty of trailer sites. Tent site and primitive camping. Has recreational areas. Restaurants and shopping nearby

There are quite a variety of things to do at this state park, and the camp sites are spacious. There is a little store where you can buy any of the little things you may have forgotten. There were not too many people camping during our visit, but it could be that not many people want to stand the South Carolina heat! Either way, it made the visit quiet. There are also plenty of geocaches around, if you're into that. There are 2 places to shower in the campground, so I imagine that once it fills up, you may have to wait to shower. It was pretty clean and the water was clear, so I guess you could just go for a swim! I wish we had brought our tubes and some rope to float out on the water!

Pros The pond was beautiful, nice walking trail for beginners, would never consider this a hiking park. Location was close to Colombia and all it offers. Bathhouse was acceptable but nothing to brag about. Toilets were three flushers is you cared about the next guy.

Cons Guessing I may have had the worst site (41) but walking through there were others similar. Site 41 is a pull through lot which declines quickly upon entry and is marred by deep ra9n crevices. You then incline to the area you should probably land as there is an obvious flat spot. Unfortunately in you stop there, your camper door will open on the neighboring fire ring which is the only fire ring on the back side of the neighboring spot in in the fore ground of yours. Asinine. I had to manipulate my camper for an hour to a spot level enough yet not in my neighbor's fire and dealt with a large tree and had to tie back branches to extend my awning. Uggg

Effing covid. The state of South Carolina, the City of Columbia don't have mask mandates. But this state park requires a mask to pee in the urinal. The boss says the county still mandates it.

Once you successfully navigate all of the backroads past Lake Marion and directly on the shores of Lake Moultrie, you’ll eventually find a small nook in the road where you’ll discover Johnston Landing, which is set off immediately by what looks to be a small bayou playing home to likely some grizzly gators(but truth be told, I never saw any while we were there). If you are coming to these parts, be sure to bring a floating vessel of any type– fishing boat, kayak, canoe or whatever will stay afloat– but if not, no worries, the good people here at Johnston Landing have you covered as they offer a paddle boat, kayaks and a row boat for rent. Insider’s tip? One of the best hikes in all of South Carolina– the Palmetto Trial is just about 5 miles away, but is definitely worth the hike as here you’ll be able to witness first hand the sunken giant Cypress trees, amazing bird watching(Ospreys and Herons in particular). As for amenities, this well-groomed campground offers up fairly new picnic tables, all the basic hook-ups(water, electric and sewage), BBQ/ grills and fairly clean restrooms and showers. Sportsman’s Bar& Grill just down the road is about the only thing decent within close proximity, otherwise, be prepared to cook whatever you plan on dining on for each meal. 

Happy Camping!

Black’s Camp is in the heart of the Santee Cooper area of South Carolina and has been around for several decades. It’s not a destination for someone looking for the “camp in the woods” type person, but it is the destination for those wishing to go fishing and hunting. They are a “full service” fishing camp. They have a boat launch and a marina complete with a gas pump for your fishing boat. There is also a complete tackle shop and restaurant. The store was impressive and had a lot of gift items. When you walk into the store, you feel like it is truly a sportsman’s store. 

With all that said, the campground is across the road and is part of the whole operation. There is also a motel, but that’s not what this review is about. As far as activities, there are no swimming pools, but when you camp here, you don’t camp here for swimming. As I stated before, it is a fishing destination, and there are also guide services for fishing and hunting if you want some help. 

As far as the campground, the sites have all hookups. I didn’t ask about tent camping since we had our teardrop camper this time, but the sites are spacious. However, they are too close together for my comfort and very few trees. The bath house needs updating, but most of the campers probably use their own RV bath rooms since I didn’t see any tenters. 

Overall, I enjoyed the atmosphere of the place, but the campground is mostly just a place to stay when you’re not fishing or hunting.

Having been on the road for about three months before coming to Congaree, we were happy to arrive to such a quiet and tucked-away campground. For $5 per night, Bluff Campground was the perfect spot to hole up for a few days and relax surrounded by the old growth forest of Congaree National Park.

Our time at Congaree was different from the other national parks we visited, because South Carolina had just undergone major flooding and much of Congaree -- especially its trails -- were under water.

With no crowds and not much to explore, our three days in the park was very relaxing. We chose Bluff Campground -- a one-mile walk-in campground near the visitor center -- because we knew it would be less popular than Longleaf Campground, and we knew we’d be spending a lot of time there. The one mile hike seemed further than we thought because of our heavy loads, but once we arrived at our camp, set up our tent, chairs, hammocks, and slack line, we were able to just make the easy walk in and out each day.

The campground itself has no facilities; its only amenities are the fire ring and picnic table at each site. We encountered only one other camper in our two nights here. We did encounter many mosquitoes, though, so don’t forget bug spray!

At Congaree, there are several hiking trails and kayaking trails that we would have liked to do, but with our plans foiled by rain, we spent time at the visitor center, around the short boardwalk trail adjacent to the visitor center, and kayaking through the flooded plains, straight off the boardwalk.

You can read much more about our three days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Congaree)

It was a pleasant stay at Congaree. As a SC resident I was surprised to learn we had our very own National Park and just had to take the short drive from Charleston to experience it - glad we did! The sites did not have water or power but were a decent size. We stayed at tent site 1 which was right at the beginning of the Bluffs Trail. We took our 2 dogs hiking to the boardwalk trail which led back to the Visitor Center.. this was a decent 3+ mile hike our dogs were pooped! Overnight guests should be prepared to gather your own wood as none is sold on site. You can also get water from the Visitor Center (which is a better drive than walk if carrying a large or multiple jugs). The bathrooms on the campground part were essentially glorified port-o-potties (a building surrounding a hole in the ground). The Visitor Center was a better bathroom experience. Overall, I would return here to camp. The hikes were not too challenging but the boardwalk provided a unique experience!