Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Maysville, WV

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.

Usually go camping with a Little Guy teardrop trailer, but with the current state of the country, didn’t feel comfortable with sharing bathroom facilities. We booked Yurt #1. It was fantastic. The place was spotless, well equipped kitchenette, grill, fire pit, comfortable beds. We loved our neighbors the sheep, goats and llamas. Checking in was easy, with the keys and map at the office. Park was clean and well maintained. Dog park is great. Wonderful way to start coming out of quarantine. Great hiking nearby.

This campground is very close to Luray Caverns and all that they have to offer. There is also a Duke's of Hazzard themed museum and store where they do live music on weekends nearby, it's called Cooter's. This campground is very small but quiet. It does border cow pasture land so when the wind shifts you get the smell but it wasn't constant and it wasn't unbearable. They have 2 swimming pools and a very large dog park. The bath houses were clean and well maintained. I would definitely recommend this campground.

Beautiful views. Adjacent to a working farm where cows, sheep, llamas, chickens and roosters can graze next to the campsites.

The grounds were beautifully manicured and incredibly clean.

It also had the largest dog park area of any campground I’ve ever seen.

Very nice pool, friendly staff and firewood available for purchase. They will even deliver right to your site.

Very close to downtown Luray, which has great shops and restaurants. There is a very nice 2 mile long walking trail, the Luray-Hawksbill Greenway, near the campground that will take you right into town.

Also close by to some excellent hiking, wineries, breweries and distilleries.

The kids had so much fun playing in the water we didn’t have time to hike and see all of it. We spent time in Swallow Falls as well as neighboring Herrington Manor state park where they have a “beach” for swimming and boat and SUP rentals. The prices for rentals were very reasonable and the concession stand was cheap!!! 2.50 for large fries, $1 snow cones, it was nice to splurge on snacks and not drop a small fortune.

We stayed at the camp ground in swallow falls in a pop up camper. The camp ground was quiet and well maintained though it is more suitable for tents and not trailers or RV’s. The bathrooms were decent for public bathhouses, they were cleaned daily but the were outdated. I would definitely come back but maybe with a tent next time and not the trailer. The camp store had the necessities at fair prices. Firewood is sold for $4 a bundle.

We did have a pet friendly site reserved but found out after we arrived that dogs are not allowed out of the campground. In order to hike with our dog we had to access the trail just outside the state park. This would have been nice information to have before arriving with our pet. Pets are allowed within the park Labor Day through Memorial Day.

What a fun campground.  Host are amazing and friendly ( and Jesse parents are pretty nice too, haha). Jesse is the owners dog and she will come out for scratching and pets. You get the feeling that you are welcome there. Amazing views and very enjoyable.

This campground is the highest in West Virginia, it has a total of 65 campsites 30 of which are electric and 35 are non-electric. Each site has a picnic table and fire pit, most of the campsites are open and have little privacy from neighbors. No tent pads, but no more than two tents permitted (but may be charged for the second tent). It has a bath house with hot showers, flush toilets, and coin laundry. There is a dumping station. Reservations can be made by phone or at campground registration but is otherwise first come-first serve. Pets are permitted. The sites are $25 a night.

The park has tons of hiking trails to choose from and two viewable waterfalls. There is a lake that is open to swimming, volleyball, basketball, and tennis courts are in the vicinity as well. Fishing is a large draw as well to this area, both catch and release and catch and keep permitted on the Blackwater River.

Nice little campground. Great spot for fly fishing. Lots of hiking trails, fishing spots and caverns! When we got here, we read signs about “no pets”, but they didn’t ask when making the reservation, so we had no idea until a few days after being here. We have an old dog, and nobody has said anything. We would stay here again, when in this area.

New Germany State Park is situated in Garrett County Maryland. The park has a small lake, a few trails, and two camping loops. The Hemlock loop- the only loop that allows pets, is smaller and is mostly made for tent camping, though one site has electricity, but only big enough for a teardrop camper. There is a bathroom with a hot shower. The problems with the Hemlock loop is the proximity to the other campers. Our neighbors were loud, their kids were louder and their dog was ear- splitting loud. The tent pads are varied in size with sites 52, 53 and 57 being just big enough for a large tent and not much else. Every site has a large picnic table ( that is impressively hard to move) and a fire ring. Some sites are not very level, not not as much that your rolling out of bed in your sleep. There is water, but just at the bathroom area. This makes sense since the loop itself is very small. Deer are dense in these parts, and bears frequent the area. Summer temps usually do not get as nice 85max most of the summer. There is also cross country skiing in the winter. Despite the smaller sites, the Hemlock loop is frequently full, as is the non pet loop, which can accommodate larger tents and RV’s., but no pets.

The campground was virtually empty which made our stay so much more peaceful and enjoyable. The sites are quite close together with virtually no privacy so if they were busy and full, I'm not sure I'd be leaving the same review. We stayed in early April and were surprised to find it so slow (although it was in the middle of the week). Location is fairly convenient to Shenandoah but it still takes a while to get to some of the more popular hikes once inside the park. We also went to the Luray Caverns which are close which were neat. It was nice that the campground runs along the river and they even have a spot for you to get in and swim. The fact that they have developed hiking/walking/running paths, a "dog park", and a spot to go swimming were pretty outstanding. Bathrooms were amazing. Very clean. Huge showers and hot water. There's also a dish sink on the back side of the shower house. 

They state that you're only allowed to burn the firewood that you purchase from them which is tricky because their office closed very early everyday so we would have to find a place that actually got cell reception to call and ask them to leave out wood for us. It worked, just annoying. 

FYI. The bugs here were crazy, even for it being fairly cool out. The flies were almost overwhelming.

If you’re looking for a place to camp in West Virginia, don’t even bother with this campground, head over to Audra State park instead.

We generally love most camping experiences and make it work, but this one was so bad we left 3 days early. When I kindly called to cancel, the nice Park ranger said he completely understood and would actually refund us for our entire trip (which we didn’t even mention or ask for).

The only good things about this campground were the friendly staff and the updated bathrooms.

Almost all sites are walk-ups, which is NOT noted on their site. Also, almost all sites are on a hill. The pictures do not accurately show this. We had site 33 (probably the worst site). The entire site was on a slant and covered in rocks, I tried to capture it in a picture, but it just doesn’t look as slanted as it feels when you are standing there. There was no flat spot for our 10 x 20 tent, so we had to sleep on an angle. (I felt like I was falling out of bed the whole night!) 33 should NOT be a site.

There is a HUGE raccoon problem here, even during the day. I wish we were warned ahead of time. Many people bring an extra tent to keep their food in. Our dog barked the entire night as the racoons kept coming up to our site and even our tent. At one point they even put holes in the outside of our $300 tent!! The next day we tried to make the best of our trip and decided to check out the lake. We had left our cooler and a couple small Rubbermaid bins of food on the table while we headed down for an hour. The car was far and incredibly hot during the day, and we didn’t want to give them any incentive to go after our tent again, so we had no other option. While we were gone the raccoons tore open our cooler, ate some of our food, and scattered the rest of our food and water in the woods. (This is probably why there is so much food that can been seen scattered near the campsites).

The lake was pretty but there was a ton trash all around it, such a shame. I had to pick up a bunch of pieces of glass on the shore of the campground so my dog wouldn’t get hurt. You technically aren’t allowed to swim in the non-beach/swimming area unless you are jumping off a boat, but people were doing it anyway. You cannot bring dogs in the designated swimming area.

While the bathrooms were nice they are a very far walk from any of the shaded/non-electric sites, and you are not permitted to drive up to them. There are only 2 showers. Both were kept clean but had 100’s of little green bugs and a ton of months and mosquitos on the. To get to the bathrooms you must park at the top of the hill and walk down (not a big deal for us, but may be for some).

The electric sites have no shade or privacy, and they are all on top of each other.

We loved this campground. It was quieter than Deep Creek with shaded good sized camp sites in the Hemlock loop where pets are allowed. The small lake was perfect for swimming, and the hikes around the campground were beautiful. The bathrooms were always cleaned and the staff was super friendly! Overall a very good experience.

Trails are very nicely kept and clear with maps at every intersection so getting lost is very unlikely. There’s areas for swimming and fishing and you can do non-motorized boating like kayaks and such. There’s also a lodge that has a gift shop and snack bar and areas to charge phones and they also have WiFi. A bath/shower house is provided for every site loop, including their pet loop. For kids they have a small jungle gym and critter center. Overall a very nice family camping area.

Sites are located less than a mile from the paved highway. We found 5 spots just off the road. All were easily accessible by cat or with a small teardrop trailer.

True boondocking, haul it in, pack it out. Evidence of a cat hole in the site we picked

Sites were quiet at night. Some traffic related to logging activity. Looks like a popular weekend camp spot for locals.

We camped during the week and had nobody else camping on weekdays.

I’ve only camped at NGSP once, but is very familiar with the park itself. The camp sites are varied. The website has the camp pad measurements, but I believe they are over stated. There are two loops- one pet friendly, one not. The larger ( not pet friendly) loop is nearer the lake. Some of the sites are close together, some are not as large as they are made out to be on the reservation site. The best sites are 11, 12, 24, 26, 38, 39. They offer the most in shade. 11,12,38, and 39 offer a bit more privacy as well. There is one bathroom that offers warm showers. If you’re camping at sites 14-26, the walk may seem a bit long to use the john. The park has about 15 or so miles of trails. The trails are easy to medium and are open to cross country skiing in the winter months. The lake has a small beach and the water is always cool. We noticed fewer ranger patrols than in other state parks, but we stayed near the beginning of camping season and I don’t know if that was a factor. The ranger station at this time was closed due to COVID. There is NO cell coverage, so bring your conversation starters or a book. Nearby is a few small restaurants, and a small convenience store, but the closest market is in Frostburg. (The local Sav-a-Lot has closed) Also nearby is Savage State Forest with ample trails, ORV access, and fishing, Forbes State Forest (PA), Deep Creek Lake, Swallow Falls, Herrington Manor, Garrett State Forest, Potomac State Forest, and the brand new Wolf’s Den State Park all with their own trails and varied amenities. Kudos to the park for sereneness, but man, that late night long walk to the bathroom sucks.

When I was traveling though this section of Virginia I stumbled upon this KOA, and I must say it is very different than any KOA I have visited. Typically amenities are nice and the places are well maintained in KOA standard, but this one had something which set it apart from others, its remote country feel and setting.

From camp you had magnificent views of rolling green hills and mountains in the distance. The feel of the campground was that of a country cottage and the friendly owners echoed the same hometown feel. This did not feel like a chain, it didn't feel like a private owner who had some land and used it as an after thought to generate some money, instead it felt like someone was welcoming you to stay with them at a B&B of sorts designed for RV Campers. I know that sounds weird, but unlike a lot of campgrounds the vibe f this one is just a little different.

There were 2 pools (open seasonally), a very well maintained bath house, a dog park area, ping pong, a play area, even a yurt for something a bit different and all with amazing views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The tent area is divided into two sections with their own private parking. The amazing green grass of this area, even late into summer made for soft padded sites and made me feel comfortable enough that I didn't feel the need to wear shoes, something which I always feel like I need to do at a campsite. That feeling in itself set this campground apart, it just felt so homey and clean and well maintained enough that I could literally kick my shoes off and enjoy.

I opted for a non-electric site which was $34, basically because I liked the soft padded grass, the electric hook up deluxe sites are $39 and have a gravel pad, but since I could get that anywhere I wanted the feel of being closer to the actual ground. The other difference between the two sites were the covers which rest over the gravel sites which you can add an additional tarp to for shade. Otherwise sites are equally put together with picnic tables and fire rings.

When I visited it was on a weekday and while there were some people staying on the RV side I had the tent area to myself, it was quiet at night in my little corner of camp and I could walk out a bit from my site and see the entire night sky which was amazing!

The experience of staying at this camp was very pleasant and I would recommend it again, the only reason it didn't have 5 stars was the price itself was a bit higher than other accommodations in the area. I feel like this was fair considering the accommodations, however to someone passing by this could also be something which could be a deterrent from stay here.

TIPS:

• Check online for seasonal pool closures if you are planning on taking a dip, if you come during the season which it is closed there are still plenty of things to do so don't worry.
• Nearby are a Dukies of Hazard themed spot and also Luray Caverns which is known for its musical stalactites and stalagmites, it is a must see!!!

Blackwater Falls State Park has been on my list for a while. We finally made the trip last weekend and had a blast! The tent campground non-electric sites were ok. They had a picnic table and a fire ring, the site was pretty level. Our site #37 was near the bathroom which was a plus with kids but did not have a lot of privacy. People were walking right through our site to get to the bathrooms, so weird! It was pretty out in the open with not sparse trees around but I did see some sites that were more secluded. Next time I would choose one of those. The bathrooms were clean, a bit outdated. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The campground was pretty full but didn’t seem crowded or noisy. Overall it was a pleasant experience, we were off doing stuff most of the time so we didn’t spend a lot of time at the campsite. There’s so much to do at this park! Multiple waterfalls, awesome hikes, a lake, a nature center for the kids, a petting zoo... the nearby towns of Davis and Thomas are very cute too with great coffee and food options. (Tip Top Coffee! Hellbender Burritos!) Highly recommend the park! Next time we’re here I’ll try to find a better site.

This place is a great place if you're looking for a totally off the grid weekend. Due to location in-between the tall mountains there is absolutely No CELLPHONE SRRVICE past the first couple campsites and only very spotty at those campsites as well. Also a great location for a day trip/ hike with lots of intermediate-difficult hiking trails/paths to explore following the river but it is not recommended for beginners or small children as it is very Rocky, slippery, with too much potential for a serious injury with inexperienced people. Keep an eye out for lots of the more dangerous varieties of wildlife native to the area big cats, snakes galore, bear, coyotes etc but beautiful views if you're ready for an adventure.