Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Marysville, WA

I’ve stayed at Rainbow’s End twice. Both times were in their overflow camping area, which are two spots with water and electric only, under some trees which made for comfortable shade. The staff at the park are nice and professional, the facilities are always clean, and there is a large dog park (it has a somewhat short fence, perfect for my small dogs but be careful with bigger animals). Lots of people live at Rainbow’s end full time. It’s very clean and well maintained. You do get some road noise from the US 101, but it’s not too noticeable. If you aren’t taking advantage of water and electric hookups, it could be a little expensive.

The prices for everything is amazing! The campsites are spacious and run along the creek! There are tent pads that make the ground not so hard under your tent. A table, grill and campfire ring at every site. The cabins are very nice! And are spacious as well. Have a porch swing, campfire ring, table and grill outside. Most cabins have an electric heater and a heat stove inside. The heat stove heats up the entire cabin very well!! They provide trash cans and bags and a broom to help keep the dirt cleaned up!

The bathrooms are very nice and clean. And they have firewood for sale on site. There is an attendant that will be there after work hours for people who are arriving late to get you checked in and answer questions you have. There are a couple of hiking trails, twin lakes, boats, canoes, and bikes to rent on site. There is also an enclosed dog park on site. There are tent sites, cabins, rv sites and even little apartments to rent for your stay. Great place and only 25 miles from town!

It’s crazy wonderful here. This place is close enough to enjoy the towns of lake Stevens and Everett with shopping and casinos, but far enough away to see tons of wild life. I’ve seen herons, woodpeckers, butterflies, deer, pheasants, turtles, eagles, beavers, otters, even a porcupine. Lots of ducks and a bird watchers paradise. I could even bring the dogs along. They loved it. Pets are welcome here. There’s miles of nature trail to walk and could enjoy walking by waterfront. I was so peaceful and relaxing. A real good therapy if you will.

Clean and tidy state park camping. Big camp sites with plenty of room to gather, play, or eat and spaced out nicely from other sites. Ever some of the next door sites are not visible due to the plant life so that is great if privacy is your thing. Close to water. Close to beach. Lots of hiking trails good for all ages. ADA friendly and pets allowed while on leashes.

Steep but short hike, but hey, it's close to town! A 15 minute drive from downtown Bellingham and you get yourself a secluded, quiet lake.

Pone Lake is prettier and has fun boardwalks to explore, but the campsites at Cedar Lake are better (bigger and flatter). Log benches mark the campsites as well as the remnants of past fires, but please mind fire bans, and don't forage!

No toilets, but pets allowed. Bring bug spray! Swimming is possible if you don't harm any shoteplants on your way in.

This is very much an RV park and not really a campground. Seems like a clean little park, but right in the middle of Lynnwood, so if you are looking for a rural setting this isn't for you. 

They offer weekly and monthly rentals, so this is more of a long-term sort of place. 

Website: Northsound RV Park

​Requirements from their site: 

• Your travel trailer must be year 2005 or newer 
• Pet friendly(limit 2) not to exceed 25 lbs. Aggressive breed restrictions apply. 
• No conversion vehicles - sorry van and bus life people 
• No trailers larger than 35' long, ideally.

Bottom line: I’ve only camped at 4 state parks in WA, however, this is the best one I’ve stayed at.

Pros: Secluded Campsites. If you look at the map, you can pick some spots with privacy (tent and rv spots) Great trails in the area. For training, hiking, or just casual walking; you can do all of the above. Pet friendly area. Great views. Coastal views are gorgeous and close by. Bathrooms are extremely clean. Actually probably the cleanest public bathroom I’ve ever witnessed.

Cons: Tight fits for a camper 24ft and larger. Doable, but you’ve gotta be diligent maneuvering in there. Firewood stand was closed during open hours, don’t know what that was all about. Not that big of a deal, just bring your own don’t rely on them.

Wife and I stayed here in April 2019, during our tour of the Olympic peninsula. We stayed in many places from Sequim to Westport, and had a great time. The Dungeness area was great for bird watching, but I wasn't really a fan of the campground. Nothing wrong with it, just too big and busy for me. 

They do take reservations, I guess it's necessary with 60+ sites, and group camping.  At $26/night for non-Clallam county residents, and a $10 reservation fee, this place is no bargain. One nice thing is they do have running water, which is a rarity in the places I usually go, and coin-operated showers. A nice shower sure does beat the adult bath wipes. Firewood is available here, for $5/bundle of 6 sticks. Looks like one round split in to six pieces. 

For the price, I'd almost recommend staying at a VRBO or AirBNB in the area. 

Pets must be allowed, because there were plenty.

The Verlot campground is in a beautiful location within the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. This small campground showed us that sometimes camping down by the river in a van isn’t really a bad life decision. The campground themselves are 2 small loops that were nicely laid out with a good number of the 26 sites being on the water. Some of the sites are more secluded than other, and a few are setup to be combined with their neighbors to accommodate large groups. Our site (#13) was one of the sites which is more separated from the neighbors on both the left and right by fairly thick underbrush and mostly shaded with the river side being left completely open. We then had a little path right down to the river. Within the site itself you get a nice decent flat area for a tent or 2 and your standard table and fire ring with a grill. There are tons of potable water spigots located throughout the campgrounds and the restroom facilities were simple but clean and fully functional. This is a great location for either just relaxing and taking in the quiet sounds of nature or as a jumping off point to explore more of the National Forest and eventually the Northern Cascades National Park.

Amenities: standard picnic tables, fire rings + grill, flush toilets, potable water

Prohibited: pets off-leash

Nearby Hikes: Lake Twenty-Two Trail, and the Heather Lake Trail

Campsite Review: When exploring the San Juan Islands in North Eastern Washington I suggest you definitely take a moment to visit Deception Pass State Park where camping might seem a little pricey, but your park admission is included in the cost of the campsite. This is a great location to start of your trip if your spending time up in the North Eastern portion of Washington. This campground is composed of several different loops with setups on both sides of the pass for every type of adventurer. There are over 300 different campsites and several that are hike/bike in only, as well as your standard drive up and RV. These sites are spread into different areas of the park, and we stayed in one of the lower loops of the Cranberry Lake campground where many of the sites have open drive ways, but then are really set into the old growth trees. Ours was a drive in which was a little uphill and then set back into the underbrush so you were nicely separated from your surroundings and felt pretty immersed in the forest. You get a decent flat area for your tent(s) with a standard picnic table, and fire ring. We checked in a bit later than expected and were in need of a shower. Thankfully there are pretty decent showers at this campground, though some restrooms were much nicer than others. Make sure to check out a couple before you decide which one to use. We found that the ADA showers were much cleaner and nicer than the regular shower by our site (#172). In order to use the pay showers you have to use a token (2 for a dollar) instead of quarters or dollar bills like most other places. You can get the tokens from the rangers or they have some vending machines on the side of the little camp check in area. There are plenty of excellent hikes you can access throughout the park and watching the fog roll in and out can be pretty awesome.

The one thing that you’ll probably read over and over again is about the jets from the nearby base…. Yes, there are jets and yes, they are loud, very loud. Bring ear plugs. Even if you’re a heavy sleeper, the way the noise bounces around through the valley makes them extremely loud. You never know how late they’ll hang around so just be prepared. They stopped fairly early (around 9:30pm) when we visited, but the flyover time seems variable.

Amenities: standard picnic tables, fire rings, flush toilets, potable water, & Pay Shower Prohibited: pets off-leash

Nearby Hikes: Goose Rock trail and Deception Pass Bridge and Beach Trail

We used this campground to not only hike around and explore the park, but also as a jumping off point to kayak around the island (where we picked up a hitch hiking baby harbor seal) and to head out on some whale watching trips. This is a really incredible area with lots to explore.

Gear Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt I sometimes get the opportunity to test out products and what kept me warm as explored the northern waterways was the Coldpruf Zephyr crew top and pants. Coldpruf has designed their clothing to own the cold and yes, they do. I was kept quite warm with these base layers on. The only drawback I had with this gear was the length of the pants, not in the legs, but in the back rise… While they fit perfectly in the waist and leg length was perfect, the pants still came a up a little short in the back and I could not pull them up and prevent plumber’s crack while wearing them. I have other pairs of ColdPruf base layers which fit perfectly but these pants just came up a little short…Some of the features that I did like about this specific design was:

• How lightweight, and unrestrictive the top felt. Really strong sturdy seams and didn’t mess with my mobility as I was paddling the kayak.
• A really breathable base layer with the vented mesh underarm sections. This is usually a breaking point in wearing a base layer when doing activity as you can’t cool off the areas you need to while still staying warm.
• I really liked the length of the top, this really helped to sort of counter the shortness of the pants.
• The stretch of the material in both the pants and crew top were great for hiking and kayaking.
• Designed and Knit in the USA!! Awesome.

I give the ColdprufZephyr crew top and pants 4/5 Stars!

We stayed here Saturday-Sunday in late May. The campground was nice and clean, but the sites were pretty close together. We were able to make it work, even with our dog-reactive dog, though. Recommend campsite 48 as it seemed to be one of the most private ones. The beach was lovely and not at all crowded. We packed up early and made our coffee/breakfast ah the beach, and were the only ones there for an hour or so. If you have a dog, highly recommend checking out the SniffSpot that is just North of the park!

Perfect spot to enjoy the Fort and lovely beach. Super dog friendly. Free showers

We have a car camping setup. This parking pad worked great for us, and offered lots of space behind the truck for our tarp shelter and dog run. The privacy is very good on 3of4 sides. The trail system starts right at the back of camp, but the access is a little vertical, so not easy if mobility limited! A short walk from the restrooms. This is a busy campground, so there is a little noise, especially on weekends, from people and dogs doing their thing. The bathrooms were very clean. The showers are token operated and the vending machines were out of service.