Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Maidens, VA

Enjoyed my corner pull-through site F2 even though it was gravel with some muddy spots. There are some paved spots near the entrance (7-10 and 15-19 plus VIP 1 & 2). Fire pits and wood for $6 upon request. Nice office with two small dogs to greet you and a jar of dog treats. Was decked out for Halloween during my stay, and the flower beds, pond, playground, basketball court and dog park were among the nicest. There is even an on-site dog walker, so dog people will really appreciate staying here. I noticed one side of the park (around site 22) is very noisy during the work day as there is a big lumber yard there. The proximity to the Great Outdoors and a couple of cute pub houses was a nice surprise. Recycling dumpster on site.

We’ve got a little 20 acre hobby farm. This historic property has gently rolling hills, with a little creek amidst a couple acres of cleared, open, secluded woodland perfect for pitching a tent and listening to nature. Fields in the back lend a great view for star gazing and looking up at the Milky Way. If the peace and quiet isn’t enough for you, there are pet goats, cats, a dog, and chickens that all love attention. Guests are more than welcome to help in the garden, pick flowers, and enjoy fresh produce and eggs while they’re here. Located 5 minutes from the James River, guests can hop over to the boat landing for fishing, swimming and boating or check out Blanton and Pleasants, a community staple. If you’re a hiker, there’s a state forest and state park just a short 15 minute drive west.

We really like the location of this campground as we wanted to explore the VA wine country, Monticello, Skyline Drive and other sites in the area. Overall, we liked the park which had nice campsites, was very clean and well-kept, and we liked our campsite which was level and had full hook-up. 

Our campsite was a back-in which was in a quiet corner of the campground. The site was long enough for our 45’ motorhome and tow car. The site was perfectly level, gravel, and had nice grass on the patio which our dog enjoyed. All the utilities were well-placed, so you didn’t need additional hoses. The cable hook-up provided us with plenty of television channels and the wifi worked well (albeit we just used it to check email and did not stream anything). Some campsites are pull-thrus (if you don’t wat to unhitch or back up) but it seemed this section was busier with transient campers coming and going and the sites seemed a little tighter. Some back-in sites have a wooded area behind them and more shade than our relatively open site. There are tent sites situated under trees for shade and to add a little privacy. Tent areas have a picnic table and fire pit along with a wooden bench and high table you could use for food prep. The campground does not allow hammocks so make sure you have a tent and were not planning on sleeping in your hammock. 

As you would expect with a KOA, there are lots of amenities and many that are geared towards kids (although we didn’t see too many during our stay). There are two really nice playground with slides, swings, climbing walls, game room, swimming pool, bouncy pillow, etc. There is a small little basketball area with one hoop and a paved surface which is adequate for shooting hoops but not playing a full-court game. The dog park was surprisingly big and we were impressed at the size which was big enough to throw a ball for our lab. Other nice amenities were the fishing pond and a½ mile nature trail in the campground.

This was our first time camping at state park with our dogs and it has been great. We were able to score a campsite with a view of the lake and easy access to the Channel Cat Loop trail. Our tent pad was covered in rubber pieces which made for a comfortable base for our tent, and the separate area with fire pit, picnic table and pattern hooks was awesome. Another couple joined us and there was plenty of room for all four people and three dogs to spread out. Fell even more in love when majority of campsites left on Sunday, leaving peace and quiet all around. Bonus is having the dog only section at the swimming beach, which made for a fun afternoon with our pups.