Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Ione, WA

General: 67-site US Army Corps of Engineers campground in two loops along the Pend Oreille River. All sites are water and electric and have gravel driveways. 

Site Quality: All sites were nicely wooded, level and spacious. The roads are paved but the sites themselves are gravel. A BBQ grill/fire pit and large picnic table complete each site. 

Bath/shower house: There is one ADA-accessible all-in-one bath/shower plus regular restrooms. Clean if a little dated. I don’t take long showers but in the middle of mine, the water turned ice cold for the remainder of my shower, however, hubby did not have the same experience! 

Activities/Amenities: Water activities including boating, fishing, and swimming. Non-water activities include paths, including one around the campground that is approximately 1.4 miles, nice for walking, running, or biking. Partially paved and partially gravel. Other activities include two playgrounds (one for younger children, one for older), volleyball, horseshoes, sport court, and a “doggie island” (pet area). Between the restrooms are two dishwashing sinks with hot water, a nice amenity. There is also a dump station. 

We were still setting up when the host came by to give us a map, remind us there was a fire ban, and see if we had any questions or concerns. We stay at many CoE campgrounds and this one certainly measures up!

I love the Colville National Forest and enjoy discovering different campgrounds within it.

I like to camp at Pioneer Park when I am in Newport visiting family and will always choose campsite 14! It is the best out of all the campsites there, very private, incredibly spacious, and with a nice trail to the water. I only tent camp so I don't know how accommodating it is for an RV, however.

The drive into this area is absolutely beautiful. Campground is large, with at least 3 loops. The campground itself is very clean. We saw rangers checking up and driving thru at least 6x through out day and evening. There are flush toilets and spigots throughout the loops. Bathrooms had toilet paper and hand sanitizer.

We stayed in loop 3, spot 61. It was smaller compared to other spots. This campground is big so there isn’t a ton of privacy and spots are close together. You can hear pretty much everyone’s conversations around you. Lots of RVs and families with kids. Lots of sites with dogs, so anytime people did walks with their dog, a symphony of barking dogs would start. Bring earplugs.

First night in, mosquitos were absolutely terrible. Literally swirling around us as we put up the tent. Neighbors were loud past midnight, and there was construction noise over night (woke us up around midnight and 2am).

Second night, still had noisy neighbors but these didn’t stay up as late as the ones from previous night. Mosquitos were not as bad. There was no overnight construction noise.

There are some nice hikes nearby, just be sure to plan accordingly as it gets quite warm.

Overall, while the lake was nice, it was not a place for me considering how busy and noisy it was. I did appreciate how well maintained it is though.

Campground Review:

https://www.seattle.gov/light/Boundary/recreation.asp

Usually I would stay away from campgrounds like Boundry Dam Campground, also known as Forebay Recreation Area. A Free Campground from the Seattle City Lights Project. This place was beautiful and I will be back. 

While I didn't realize it until after I had set up camp, site #22 is the best in the campground and also one of three ADA sites. Since there were few others camping, I now see why it was available.They are unmarked and the only thing telling you this is on a board next to the bathrooms, Site 11,13 and 22 were mentioned as ADA on the board, however the entire campground is ADA accessible except the sites 1-4 which are very close together and tent only sites.  The RV sites are also close together.

Site 22 is backed up to the forest, and the most private site in the campground, there is only 1 site next to you and both of these sites are walk in. You park and then carry your gear in. I found this strange for an ADA site. It isn't a far walk and it is very well paved. 

Each site has a fire ring and picnic table. There are large and small day use areas along the river side, unfortunately only sites 1-5 are on the water, the rest have a water view, but its more like a parking lot. 

The bathrooms are updated, very clean, flush toilets. No showers. They have water spigots close to the sites and they have a lot of power. The landscape was too commercial, I would have preferred if they left the land as it was instead of adding bark chips and planting flowers. Its going to be difficult to keep those growing and maintained. 

The fishing dock was also new, sturdy and a beautiful spot for pictures. I have heard, and if you see the reviews under this, there is a waterfall, about a mile away from the dock in the river. Unfortunately I don't have a vessel so was not able to see this first hand. The water was pretty warm, compared to other places in the area. Saw tons of kayaks head out from this point. The waterfall is accessible by water only at this point, however, they are building trailheads, with parking lots and restrooms on the Eastern ridge to provide viewpoints of the waterfall and canyon by 2020. 

Cool fact, this is in the town of Metaline Falls, Washington. The Dam and the town are a features in the Kevin Costner film, The Postman.

There is also  FREE Dam tours Thursday-Monday (so don't show up on a Tuesday like us!) They are offered at 10:30am, 12:00pm, 2:00pm and 4:00pm, I will be back very soon to take advantage of this. Its a Hydro Electric Dam and it goes through a Limestone cave! 

Just up the Road is a Gardner Caves- Crawford State Park, Garner Caves offers tours of the cave at 10:00am,12:00pm, 2:00pm and 4:00pm. This tour you need a discover pass for. Again, I showed up on Monday evening and was unable to do the cave tour this time, however, I have done Gardner caves and that is super neat! 

If you are exploring the upper side of Eastern Washington, or going to Canada, I highly recommend camping, boating and exploring this area. 

Ranger Review: Grubstick Deluxe kit

https://grubstick.com/products/deluxe-kit

As a Ranger for the Dyrt, sometimes I get awesome camping gear, in exchange for a honest review. Today I am reviewing the Grubstick. The Grubstick is a pretty neat camping cook tool. It has a long extendable handle to keep you and yours safe. It also has along several attachments, so you can become a hit with the kids and really inventive with your camp recipes. This camp trip was an adventure and to keep it easy, we roasted some hot dogs for lunch on the second day. 

First, I had the opportunity to get the starter kit and the Deluxe kit. Both pictured here. The Starter kit comes with a Handle, A grub cage (square cage for roasting smore's, fruit, or anything that will fit.) A fork to roast hotdog's and a release tool to open the cage. Its pretty basic but again, pretty great considering your options to cook on this are endless. 

The deluxe kit comes with all of that plus, an extra handle, and additional fork, a burgcage, a Grub Pocket to make bacon cups, bread bowls, etc, A Grubtube for making breadsticks, and a bacon clip! 

I feel like these are meant for quality food. The cheap hot dogs I had, split down the center seconds after exposing them to the fire, making it hard to turn the stick with out the hot dogs also turning, and trying to slide off the stick, so they were not getting evenly cooked. Again, not a testament to the Grubstick at all. I love the idea of it, it just didn't work right with the cheap hot dogs. I am super excited to try them in the future and use the other attachments. They shipped very quickly and they are made of high quality materials, They also came in great carry bags. I actually only brought the grubstick with me instead of my large bulky camp stove, while that would have been a nice idea, always bring a back up- in case there is a sudden torrential downpour that makes it so you cannot have a campfire. 

All in all, very cool tool, I can see using these on family camp trips with the kids and making smores. Brats or polish sausage would work better than hot dogs on the fork.

This is a five star campground based on our criteria. Only reason we give it four stars is they are letting the only trees they have for shade die and they are creating a mess. No shade without them. Grounds are largely in disarray. Also washers are top load agitator type. There are many positives though that will bring us back. It is largely a quiet small campground. It is very reasonably priced and is very dog friendly. There are several places to walk the dogs on leash and off within either walking distance or a short drive to the Colville national forest. Management is really friendly and flexible to changing needs. And they do not require payment until you show up. This is a great spot for golfers as well as non golfers. Note the club has pickle ball courts for free use! Great little restaurant and bar on site too with very cheap drinks ($9 Moscow mule!)

We fell fortunate to have stumbled onto this great camp site. It have two large loops that have 30ish, clean, large, beautiful spots.

There are areas for large group picnics , an area for dogs, a lovely beach and a boat launch.

The place was packed and apparently books quickly.

Very busy campground when there are fishing events. First come first serve except group camp, which is reservable. River view from almost every camp site. This campground is popular with the fisherman. There is a boat launch and a dock for your boat as well. There is also a swimming area and dogs are allowed in the river just not in the marked off swimming area. Bathrooms are well maintained with flush toilets. No shower.

It is a gorgeous area. Our spot was about 20 feet from the water. Sandy campsite is a nice change of pace from dirt ( although I love dirt😁). The staff were incredible friendly and welcoming. I am a solo camper +🐶 and I felt very safe here. Very family friendly place. I really just wish more places would allow dogs at the beach or even have a nice sectioned off part for the doggies. Very heartbreaking to be so close to that beautiful water and not be able to enjoy it because I couldn't bring my bestie. 😕 Otherwise, I love it and will return!!

Clean bathrooms, no showers, fire pits, dispersed water spigots, limited access to the water for swimming. We prefer little to no amenities for camping but a crowd of friends that meet annually were unable to get the usual spot so this was the compromise. Busy, noise did calm down by 10 but be prepared for babies crying, dogs barking and a few campers not noticing the time and enjoying themselves. I can see where many campers find this place better than we did... but we prefer no amenities to have less people around. It is well maintained and it was obvious from the regular ranger patrols and maintenance patrols rules were followed and campground well maintained.

Campsites are clean, well spaced so you aren't sitting on your neighbors lap. It's fairly spacious as far as the hiking and nature paths you can explore. Sites are limited, I think there might be a total of 17 or so, some of which are day use only, but we have FULLY enjoyed our stay both times, and our dog is a huge fan as well! The water is clean, can't really swim considering it's more of a creek, but you can get in and cool off, fish, hike the creek itself or the several beautiful paths that seem to take you into your own private nature getaway. Lol, I am packing up to go again in the next few days. And the people that take care of the park are super small town friendly!

Jake from the Dyrt here!  Brown Barrel is new to the Dyrt but they have an awesome spot in northern Washington, the trees are plentiful, and several mountains are nearby ready to explore.  Check them out and share your favorite pics of your stay!

The place is falling apart and they don't seem to care. If you like being watched while in the bathroom then by all means camp there two way mirrors in both bathrooms. Paint chipping off dirty bathroom and shower only 1 shower. Fish cleaning station overgrown by weeds. When we first got there I was told in a hostile voice that there was no storing anything outside. It was always ok for everyone else to have a bonfire but us. We were on constant alert the entire 6 months there. I asked before bringing a truck to the park if it was alright and she said yes for a week. Then on the fourth night she met us with a pen and paper screaming at me that she was going to have it towed. Oh and our small dog had a small cable leash around the the tree that wasn't ok either. Nothing we did was ok ever! One week doesn't doesn't have 4 days last time I checked. I had bought a truck to replace the other truck we owned after all we lived there for 6 months. I became very sick while there and had to go back and fourth to the hospital never once did they ask how everything was going. Hostile environment even complaining about 5 potted plants. Really why others had them. Long story short if you like to camping in the middle of a subdivision by all means check it out. Be careful not to trip on all the nails sticking up on the docks as they need repair as well then go ahead and see for yourself. I will never go back ever!! Not that they care I think they should sell the place because they don't care.

This is for Crescent Lake in the NE corner of washington, not the one in the olympics(which is also a wonderful campground). This campground consists of 3 sites decked out with picnic tables, a fire pit, tent pad and bear boxes. There is a vault toilet close to all sites and a bear proof trash bin. There is no host, store, water, or other amenities, the perfect rustic getaway! It is run by the US Forest Service and is TOTALLY free!!! No pass or fee needed. It is just up the hill from the pristine small lake on the road to the Vista House. The vista house is a single room with windows overlooking the Pendorile river as it flows through Boundary Dam and into Canada. The Vista House hase mens and womens flush restrooms if you are camping here and need a bit of civilisation! It is 1 mile from a canadian border crossing yet gets very little traffic. The best feature of this campground is the gorgeous turquoise water in Crescent Lake. It is stocked seasonally with brown and rainbow trout. I have seen MANY turtles and frogs on the shores, as well as elk, deer, bald eagles and even a bear! The Boundary Dam is about 20 minutes away and offers free tours plus there are the Gardner Caves close to that, so there are always activities to do. This is a must see treasure of washington and I HIGHLY recommend at least visiting.