Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Shenandoah National Park

We had a great stay at Spacious Skies Shenandoah Views in Luray, VA. 

We stayed in a level back-in site(#39) with picnic table on a concrete patio, Adirondack chairs under a pergola on a second concrete patio, clean gravel surface, and fire pit. The site was big enough for our motor home and Jeep. Full hook-ups with 50-amp service. 

Wow, what a view! Sunset over the mountains from our campsite each evening. Who could ask for more? 

The campground is close to Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive as well as Luray Caverns and a few smaller tourist attractions including the Luray Zoo and Bear Mountain Zip-lines. 

They have a clean pool and playground for little kids. The nearby dairy cow farm is fun too. 

You can tell the new owners are making some upgrades including improving the utilities and adding wi-fi. 

The drive in requires about 25-miles through the roller coaster of steep grade(7+%) hills. There’s no way around that, you’re in the mountains. Just be aware and be prepared. 

THINGS I ESPECIALLY LIKED: 

1. The best view from a campsite we’ve ever experienced 

2. Less than 20-minutes from Shenandoah National Park and Luray Caverns 

3. Clean campground

Located within minutes of I81. We stopped for 2 nights to see the Shenandoah National Park on our way to NC. Called last minute and got a site. Very nice customer service. Grounds were very well kept. Our site 112 had water, 50amp and cable. Dump station on premises. Nice dog park for our fur babies and doggie duty stations with bags in several locations throughout the park. Also had a cute playground for kiddos. Didn't use the pool so can't comment. A little highway noise but when windows and door were closed couldn't hear a thing. We'd stay here again. They honor Good Sam discount. Paid $38 with discount.

Loft is my favorite out of the campgrounds I’ve visited in the Shenandoah National Park. I’ve been Big Meadows and Lewis, but never to Matthew’s Arm. No reservations here, so you have to get lucky. But if you do and get a good site, it’s so going to be worth it. We had a site where you park at the top of a hill and hike down a slightly steepish hill to the site. It was shady, wooded, private, and quiet. There were a few sites beside us, but spaced nicely apart. The best tent views are the ones with no cars and bathhouses and this campground definitely gives you that. This one also provides bear boxes for food.

Favorite mini-hike nearby: Black Rock Summit (see photos). Beautiful views of the park, easy (the whole loop is less than a mile with just 175ft. of elevation gain), kid-friendly, and pet-friendly.

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.

In our opinion this is the best campground in Shenandoah National Park. Sites are large and many offer privacy. Sites include fire ring and picnic tables. Some of the sites have a mountain view where you can watch the sunset. The campground has great facilities including flush toilets, hot and cold running water, indoor showers ($1.75 for 5 minutes), laundromat, camp store with groceries, camping supplies, wine and beer, sandwiches, and morning coffee. The sites are $15 per night in this campground, and there is an entrance fee into Shenandoah National Park (we paid $30 for a week). The Appalachian Trail runs thru this campground and offers some great hiking.