Yakima Sportsman State Park Campground accommodates dogs and cats with several pet-friendly tent and RV sites throughout the property. The park maintains a standard leash policy requiring pets to be secured at all times when outside vehicles or tents. Campers can access several walking trails suitable for dog exercise within the 247-acre park boundaries. RV camping options include full hookup sites with electric, water, and sewer connections where pets are permitted. Several sites feature picnic tables and fire rings positioned on level ground with adequate space for pets to rest alongside their owners. The tent camping areas also welcome pets with similar leash restrictions. Both bathrooms and shower facilities remain accessible to campers with pets. Some visitors note occasional wildlife encounters requiring extra vigilance with pets.
Roza Campground in Yakima River Canyon provides primitive camping with pet-friendly policies approximately 25 miles north of Wapato. This Bureau of Land Management facility permits dogs on all tent and RV sites with standard leash regulations enforced throughout the property. Located on a calm bend in the Yakima River, the campground offers excellent water access for dogs needing cooling off during summer months when temperatures frequently exceed 90 degrees. Sites include basic amenities like picnic tables, fire rings and vault toilets but lack water hookups or shower facilities. The surrounding canyon area features multiple hiking opportunities suitable for leashed dogs. Wildlife presence in the canyon necessitates careful pet management, particularly during dawn and dusk hours. The campground's location 20 minutes from Yakima provides relatively quick access to veterinary services if needed.
"It’s close to Yakima and great for a place to visit while you’re in “The Palm Springs of Washington”."
"Lol A skunk did cross our path and ran behind our tent...but that's all the action. During this time it was $25 a night for tents. It was close to town but not TOO close....BIG park."
$90 - $110 / night
$25 / night
"One thing I love about Washington is that there are so many different places to hike. My husband and I stayed here, which is close to White Pass where there are tons of great hikes."
"We stayed at the campsite #1 which is adjacent to the boat launch."
$15 / night
"This is and ending point for summer rafting trips that start near Ellensburg, WA and a great place for calm water fun. Setup camp in a paved area with overnight fees around $15 per car/site. "
"Not very busy, but it is near a main road and there is some road noise."
$50 - $75 / night
$38 / night
"There was wild roosters running around which was difficult for our retrievers who are pheasant hunting dogs. The mossy cliff was beautiful and fun foot bridge."
"My husband and I don't really ever make our way around the Yakima area, only because the hiking there is more "desert" feel and in the summer the rattlesnakes are out and about."
"No dog park. Great view of the lake from your door. We took a 4 mile, one-way, bike ride to the town of Vantage and then to the Ginkgo Petrified Forest."
"This place is close to home for anyone in central Washington, the sites are giant and the views are amazing."
"Close to the freeway but very quiet. It is not upscale which is why I like it and will for sure come back if I’m in this area again. I definitely recommend this quiet campground."
GuideNice spacious sites. Lots of privacy between sites. No dog park. Great view of the lake from your door. We took a 4 mile, one-way, bike ride to the town of Vantage and then to the Ginkgo Petrified Forest. The town of vantage is very small with a lot of closed shops. Has a gas station and convenience store. That’s about it. Very scenic area and quiet and relaxing.
LegendEastern Washington near the water is my favorite type of landscape. It's a hot, windy, and a true desert climate. When you get near a body of water like you do along the Yakima River, the diversity of life expands and makes for great wildlife watching.
Umtanum Recreation Site is part of several BLM campgrounds lumped together along the Yakima River known as the Yakima River Canyon Campgrounds. All can be reserved ahead of time via the reservation.gov website: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/250985. Standard for most BLM camping in Washington, sites are very basic. Gravel parking, pit toilets, and a picnic table. This place does have a dumpster for trash, not all do. There are no hook ups, no drinking water, and in our case, very little shade. Neighbors are close and there is not a lot of privacy. The day use area is right there too, close to camping and can be loud. It is heavily patrolled by the wonderful BLM folks to keep everything clean and the people orderly. They also give out tickets if you don't mind the warnings for correct passes or day use fees.
The campground itself is one little loop with six sites. The loop is an offshoot of a very large gravel parking area for day use. Mostly boat launching and hiking access to Umtanum Creek and Umtaum Ridge trails. You can check the Information Board for rules on day use and camping fees, passes, and how to check to see if a site is reserved.
We arrived on July 3rd in the afternoon. The campground was very quiet and all the sites were reserved. The morning of July 4th, the recreation site turned into a total madhouse. BLM Rangers, Law Enforcement, making constant rounds to patrol the never ending hoards of people coming to park and float the river. There was a lot of noise, dust, drunk and rowdy folks. Friday was calm again until afternoon, Saturday was not as bad as the 4th but still pretty crazy. It was also hot! No shade to be had in our site. After hiking in the morning, we spent a lot of time across the bridge, in it's shadow, in the river.
If you are using this spot as a base to do some hiking, fishing, or floating it's very convenient. I am sure in Spring and Fall when river floating is not at it's peak, it's gorgeous and peaceful. The raptors and songbirds are splendid. We saw Bighorn sheep on the hill, big rock squirrels, wild turkeys with babies, and fish. No rattlesnakes or ticks, but this is prime territory. Hiking down the Umtanum Creek trail, over the suspension bridge, is one of my favorite hikes ever.
TravelerSpent a fun weekend here. Site was easy to back into. Clean and level. Lots of shade and grass. Allows pets (on leash) fun little park for the kids and nice little beach for swimming.
LegendGeneral: 20 RV sites, nine cabins, and open space for tent sites.
Site Quality: Sites 1-13 are located closer to the road while 14-20 are tucked further back closer to the river and we did not hear any road noise in Site 15. All are level. Minimal separation/privacy. Campsites are dirt. RV sites have water and electric.
Bath/Shower house: One single bathroom each for men and women as well as one shower each for men and women. The shower was warm but as a short person, I was not able to adjust the handheld shower nozzle, making my shower just a bit challenging. Showers and bathrooms were clean although the fan in the women’s room had accumulated quite a bit of dirt/dust so I turned it off.
Activities/Amenities: Many games (giant chess, corn hole, etc.) sprinkled throughout the property but otherwise there was not much in the campground itself. Nearby there are hiking/mountain biking trails. Fly-fishing on the river. Recreational water activities on nearby Bumping Lake. A kids' playground within walking distance from the campground is located at Jim Sprick Community Park. There was a full kitchen with a sink, dishwashing soap, stove, fridge, and microwave. I only took advantage of the dishwashing sink.
Be aware there are several cats roaming the property; they were not a nuisance as we like cats (they only came within view and no closer). This is also a wedding venue and a wedding was held the weekend before we arrived. We were the ONLY ones in the entire campground; the store/office was closed when arrived shortly before 6 p.m. on a Sunday after Labor Day (since our site was not assigned when we reserved, a note was left on the door) and we left before it opened the next morning.
This kitschy old western-themed campground would be fun for a wedding or family gathering/reunion, but for us, it was a one-night stop along our route. There was zero cell coverage (Verizon) if that is important to you.
LegendThis is a Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife fishing access site. It is free with a Washington State Discovery Pass for $30/year. This annual pass will also gain you admission to state parks. There are several boat launch sites here and a number of those Sani Cans. The area is spread out over open land with smooth rocks. It can be a bit bumpy if hauling a trailer unless you stick to the smooth rock roads. No shade except along the shore.
For a free site, it has its good points: easy access to highway 24/243 which will bring you to I-90, quiet, wide open space, near the Vernita Bridge Rest Area for free tank dump site. If you arrive on the last weekend of October, there is a huge king salmon fishing derby with about 100 entrants so you will have company. But, it is usually quiet midweek in the spring and fall. It may be busier in the summer midweek as there are lots of fishing enthusiast ps and boaters who live close by in the Tri Cities area.
If you need a quiet place for one night or are hauling a river fishing boat, this is a good place to stay.
TravelerBigger than it looks at first. You can pretty much camp wherever you can drive to. Lots of spots right next to the river. In March the river was pretty swift and the edge sort of steep so we stayed near the boat ramp because we didn’t want our dogs to fall in. I’ve been there in late spring and summer and the river is not nearly as swift. Not very busy when we went. Fire circles made it pretty obvious where “sites” were located.
LegendThis campground is located on the south side of Dog Lake. The campground is extremely small with about 10 sites. The area is large enough for Rv's and campers but only has dry camping available. There are no showers and there is one bathroom with vault toilets. The campsites are on a first come first serve basis and are relatively cheap, and Golden Age passes are accepted. There are a few extra spots for additional cars if you want to pay an extra fee for them. Beware: you are right on the highway so will constantly hear vehicles and semis heading through the pass.
Dog lake is pretty awesome for fishing out of. There are a few banks that are easy to access and you can walk around the lake to find better spots.
The campground is very near Clear Creek Falls which offers a nice area to walk along and view the many falls and the creek winding through the mountains.
There is no phone reception up here.
LegendThis review is for the main campground, there is another group/horse campground across the highway that I did not stay in. The small campground is right off Highway 97. The first part of the campground is where the hook ups, large RV's, small trailers and tent campers are located. The spaces are very close together with very few trees separating spaces. Some spots looked barely big enough for a 2 person tent. In this same area is the only flush toilets/showers (Coin operated). Continuing past this main area and over a small hill is where the tent camping/sheep herders tents are located. Since it was located away from the main camping area it was quiet with regards to hearing fellow campers, the downside is the spaces are closer to the Highway. Day and night, semis speed past the state park on either a downhill straight away or an uphill straight away, regardless it sounds like a freight train or military landing pad all night/day long. It was so loud you had to stop talking until the semi passed. The space I was in was so small my 3 person tent only fit if one side was touching the fire ring. Luckily there was a fire ban so no fire to melt my tent. The space also had full view of the pit toilet, since it was the only toilet on that side, I saw everyone come and go. It was also super close to one of the sheep herders tent site. There were 2 sheep herder tents sites. The spots looked large and the tents looked like they would sleep at least 4-5 people. The other tent sites where much larger, but still all the sites could hear the highway. Note, be careful about leaving food out, zipping your tent up, leaving car doors open. The mice were pretty bad and came out at night driving my dog crazy. There were a bunch of trails that ran through out the park that provided a nice alternative to get to the other side of the park or climb to the top of the hill near the power lines. The camp host was also a very nice gentleman who suggested activities in the near by area. I was exploring the area cause it's new to me, but I wont return cause it's not my type of camping.
GuideThis place is pretty cool. It’s close to Yakima and great for a place to visit while you’re in “The Palm Springs of Washington”.
Yakima Sportsman State Park Campground accommodates tent and RV campers with pets throughout its grounds with no reported breed restrictions. The park maintains clean restrooms and showers, though several visitors note the shower facilities can be inconsistent in terms of maintenance. Each campsite includes a fire ring and picnic table, creating comfortable spaces for visitors traveling with dogs. Multiple pet-friendly hiking trails wind through the park property, and a marshy pond area offers wildlife viewing opportunities where campers frequently spot turtles, frogs, and waterfowl. The park operates from April through November with water and electric hookups available at most sites. Some campers report concerns about security in the surrounding area, recommending keeping pets and valuables secured at night.
Roza Campground in Yakima River Canyon provides primitive camping with pet access along a calm bend in the river approximately 20 minutes from Wapato. This Bureau of Land Management site features basic amenities including picnic tables, fire rings, and vault toilets without hookups or drinking water. Dogs must remain leashed throughout the campground and trails. The riverside location creates excellent opportunities for pet owners to enjoy water activities with their dogs, though swimmers should be cautious of currents. Additional pet-friendly options include Circle H RV Ranch and Sunnyside RV Park, both offering full hookup sites for RVs with pets allowed. Many campers utilize these locations as convenient bases for exploring the Yakima Valley's numerous dog-friendly wineries and outdoor recreation areas that welcome leashed pets on designated trails.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dog-friendly campsite near Wapato, WA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dog-friendly campground near Wapato, WA is Yakima Sportsman State Park Campground with a 3.7-star rating from 21 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 71 dog-friendly camping locations near Wapato, WA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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