Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Clear Brook, VA

We recently stayed for a long weekend at the Outlanders campground after we received a referral from a friend and could not have been more happy with our stay.  The RV sites at this campground are very spaced out, you have a lot of room to each side of your RV.  The park and facilities were very clean.  They have a playground for the kids, fishing ponds, cabins, pet friendly with a dog park and they are located right along the Shenandoah river.  You can go tubing on the river but need to provide your own tubes.  The ride down the river from one end of the park to the other is around 30 minutes.  Also for all of the people attached to the internet like us we were able to have plenty of cell signal to hotspot and get internet.

Great campground for families. Large water park that goes to 3 ft. Playgrounds, dog park, canteen, mini golf, jumping pillow, laser tag, pedal cars, gem mining are just some of the amenities. Very pricey during peak season. We did the camp & store at about $50/night.

Overall great camp ground only thing I noticed is at some of the RV sites the hook ups are in crazy spots some are In the neighboring sites area so you have to drag extensions around them. Also the pool and dog park isn’t on site you have to leave to go to it.

This place is right outside the gate of Harpers Ferry NP. We walked to the shuttle bus stop. It is a very large KOA, and was almost empty when we visited in September. The original site the gave us had a large rut and washed out spot, so we could not get level. I checked in the office and the reassigned another space that was much better. Full hook ups, nice clean shower and bathrooms, playground, pool, large dog park.

Usually go camping with a Little Guy teardrop trailer, but with the current state of the country, didn’t feel comfortable with sharing bathroom facilities. We booked Yurt #1. It was fantastic. The place was spotless, well equipped kitchenette, grill, fire pit, comfortable beds. We loved our neighbors the sheep, goats and llamas. Checking in was easy, with the keys and map at the office. Park was clean and well maintained. Dog park is great. Wonderful way to start coming out of quarantine. Great hiking nearby.

This campground is very close to Luray Caverns and all that they have to offer. There is also a Duke's of Hazzard themed museum and store where they do live music on weekends nearby, it's called Cooter's. This campground is very small but quiet. It does border cow pasture land so when the wind shifts you get the smell but it wasn't constant and it wasn't unbearable. They have 2 swimming pools and a very large dog park. The bath houses were clean and well maintained. I would definitely recommend this campground.

Beautiful views. Adjacent to a working farm where cows, sheep, llamas, chickens and roosters can graze next to the campsites.

The grounds were beautifully manicured and incredibly clean.

It also had the largest dog park area of any campground I’ve ever seen.

Very nice pool, friendly staff and firewood available for purchase. They will even deliver right to your site.

Very close to downtown Luray, which has great shops and restaurants. There is a very nice 2 mile long walking trail, the Luray-Hawksbill Greenway, near the campground that will take you right into town.

Also close by to some excellent hiking, wineries, breweries and distilleries.

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.

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.

The campground was virtually empty which made our stay so much more peaceful and enjoyable. The sites are quite close together with virtually no privacy so if they were busy and full, I'm not sure I'd be leaving the same review. We stayed in early April and were surprised to find it so slow (although it was in the middle of the week). Location is fairly convenient to Shenandoah but it still takes a while to get to some of the more popular hikes once inside the park. We also went to the Luray Caverns which are close which were neat. It was nice that the campground runs along the river and they even have a spot for you to get in and swim. The fact that they have developed hiking/walking/running paths, a "dog park", and a spot to go swimming were pretty outstanding. Bathrooms were amazing. Very clean. Huge showers and hot water. There's also a dish sink on the back side of the shower house. 

They state that you're only allowed to burn the firewood that you purchase from them which is tricky because their office closed very early everyday so we would have to find a place that actually got cell reception to call and ask them to leave out wood for us. It worked, just annoying. 

FYI. The bugs here were crazy, even for it being fairly cool out. The flies were almost overwhelming.

Took a long weekend here with our travel trailer. Lots of fun stuff to do for adults, children, and pets. Will definitely visit again!

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.

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.

When we pulled the rangers where blocking traffic to the park. They said that the park was full. OMG they were right. No wonder Maryland is a hot spot for covid 19. After about an hour we were able to get to a camp site. Not the one I reserved. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. After setting up we ventured out to the camp store that is located at the concessions near the packed beach of the lake. We didn't find anything that resembled camping items. So we decided to go mushroom 🍄 hunting. Wow we hit the jackpot. The showers were fairly close and clean. There were a lot of signs that pet prohibited 🚫 in the park. But the cedar loop did have 🐕 dogs. They are just not allowed in the rest of the park. We had good cell service and no reception on the tv

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.

We pulled in after sunset but were pleasantly surprised by our site and the campground when we woke up the next morning! Our site was easily accessible.. nothing real special about it in general but spacious. This KOA has a few 'petting zoo' animals and a quaint little diner! The folks here are very kind and we do wish we could have stayed a little longer to explore the beautiful surroundings. Would stay again!

The sites are very well maintained. Not a fan of kids running around through sites. The Elderberry and Deer Spring loops are no pets, but I’d like to see a no kids policy too. Kidding! In all seriousness, it’s very quiet and really can’t complain. Very well maintained. My only issue is the $9 firewood and the sites being far away from the lake and no trails connected to the campgrounds. Must drive to get to anything worth seeing.

This campground receives 4 stars because it’s pricey. But otherwise it’s fabulous. We went in late April 2015, when they were just building the water slides (which is very fun!). The kids loved the playground, pedal cars, mini golf and the jumping pillow. You don’t really need to leave the campground to have fun! We went to Misty Meadow farm and creamery while there which has THE BEST ice cream. They also have a playground, petting farm, pedal cars, and sunflower fields.

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!

I was there of

Ver Labor Day weekend for Appaloosa music festival. They converted the horse trails and fields into campgrounds for the event so each campsite did t have the usual fire ring or picnic tabke, which was pretty inconvenient. The resprt is more for people wanting to stay in cabins or for thos who have an RV. They had a cute petting zoo and you could go horseback riding as well. There's a cafe and a gift shop on site and a pool area too. Im sure i would jave liked it better if the tent camping was actually part of the resort vs an after-thought.