Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Vancouver, WA

Nice RV park, close enough to Portland to work for us. We don’t have a tow car so we relied on public transportation to get to downtown, which was great (though it is a 1 mile walk to the bus stop). There are many long-termers here, but due to their 10 or 15 year RV rule, all the RVs here were really nice and fancy. There’s a little area with a free table, a book exchange, some workout equipment, a kitchen, laundry, and showers. The laundry room had a designated pet washer and dryer, which I always love, so we washed all of our dog bedding here. Showers were really really nice, super hot, good pressure, clean, free. Staff was nice as well. Free wifi that worked pretty well. There’s a small neighborhood dog park right across the street.

We love it! For a lot of reasons. Part of the reason is it’s close, so that’s part good. Driving up there the way we drive (from Vancouver) you go up through ranching/farming territory and it’s nice and green and pretty, so it’s nice getting there. You do have a lot of options, in that the first time we went up there was with our hiking club, and we went up there for a hike around the calderas so it’s easy to do a day trip in a car. Part of our discovery was while we were there is that the food place is really good and very nice. The kids playground was great for the grandkids.

As far as the camping, while it’s open, for the most part you do have a limited amount of privacy in the campground. The campsite we picked was a mix of things: just far enough away from the restrooms where we don’t get all the traffic there, but close enough so it’s not too far either. We were within easy walking distance to two restrooms/showers.

One thing that always looked intriguing is they do have the cabins, so maybe one of these times we’ll rent one. Another thing that some people might like is that they do have horses and some of the trails around the lake you can have horses on, plus a separate area/campground where you can have your horses, which are fun to see.

It’s a small lake but big lake, meaning they do not allow motors on the lake, even electric motors, so it’s all floats, kayakers, etc. A lot of people grab the big inter-tubes and go with that. And of course fishing up there is generally pretty good, especially when they stock it. The trails around the lake are kind of fun also because you have a high trail (very forested) and you also have a certain amount of low trails right on the water where you could have your own spots to fish and swim.

Like most campgrounds, it has its peak season and its off-season, but you can go there year-round if you choose to. The beach area isn’t big, but that’s okay. Wherever you’re heading (from the campsites down to the water, to the playground, to the food shack) you always have different trails and options for how to get from one place to another if you want to explore. If there’s anything you forgot (groceries, fishing gear etc.) you can be in the small town of Battle Ground within 5 miles.

Update: As of June 2018, the RV park is under new management. I was recently quoted $85 for one night for a mid-sized RV. For that price, I'd expect an ocean view and a hot tub, certainly not a parking lot in the middle of Vancouver, Washington. For about half the price I'd suggest any number of nearby parks instead, including Tri-Mountain, Jantzen Beach, or Columbia River RV Parks.

Original Review: This is basically a cement parking lot for RVs off an ugly busy road in Vancouver. Large roads and several large pull-through spots make parking for RVs easy. Spots closer to the entrance are larger (and more expensive), while spots toward the back are often smaller and sometimes have grass and/or large bushes between sites. Bathrooms were clean, though the trash dumpsters were completely overflowing and there were signs threatening a $25 fine for each bag left outside the dumpster. A tiny spot for dogs is in a corner, while a somewhat larger grassy area is marked as "no pets."

Tips: Only Cash and Checks taken. No credit cards.

We stayed here for about 5 days while we tested out our new trailer prior to a longer cross country trip. We are from Portland and this is a short drive from home.

Sites here are spacious and have picnic tables and firepits. We had room for our 28 foot trailer plus 2 pickups (extra charge for extra vehicle though).

Shower facilities were ok - typical campground facilities in my opinion, but at least it was an actual toilet and hot water in the showers.

Not a ton of privacy at each site, but got some shade during each day and plenty of space to stretch out and cook/eat outside or just sit and chill.

There are miles of hiking trails that are family friendly and the dog park has one of the best views I've ever seen from a dog park.

The camp host we met was super friendly and very helpful. They sell firewood and ice every evening.

We've been here longterm since July 2020 and have had a great experience. It's definitely costs more to stay here but we've found the location to be exceptional being close to most things but rural and quiet. It's conveniently close to the fairgrounds so lots of places to walk the dogs etc. They do tout that they are a "resort" but really no amenities to live up to that. They have a nice laundry facility and showers but no dog park (just an area designated to let them do their "business") but no pool, picnic area, etc. They have had on site management here at times but it's very sporadic, but the people they have had when here are very helpful and friendly. I did have a water leak that I reported both using their online report and followed up with a phone call which apparently went unnoticed or unheeded. I only know this because it was mentioned by someone who came by to record our water usage seemed surprised by the leak. (Hey, I did all I could do!) Overall this is a clean and well kept safe location that I would recommend to anyone traveling through, especially with large RV's and although expensive it's been perfect for our longterm situation. Just don't expect a "resort".