Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Eau Claire, WI

It is a rustic campground 27 sites, pump for water, pit toilets. Has pavilion due to get electricity in July 2023? Canoe/kayak launch on the Eau Claire River. New playground equipment 2022. 27 large rustic sites, firewood available for sale onsite!! No electric but great rustic camping.

The park itself is small and non-descript, not photogenic. The trail along the lake is nice for walking - it is a ridge above the lake with some nice views. Otherwise, the campsites were OK. Ours was secondary growth scrub with moderate shade. Others had nicer trees. Not a ton of birdlife. A lot of people staying there appeared to be there for golfing at nearby courses. Proximity to Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls is convenient. We enjoyed using the Old Abe bike trail. An entry point is near the park and there is a parking lot with clean restroom there. The trail goes for miles in either direction and is paved and well maintained.

So I love goin to this campground. It has nice lakeside sites on a bluff above the water and they are fairly well laid out. There is a trial along the bluff connecting the two main loops of the campground. Showers and restrooms work, but are showing their age. They are scheduled to be rebuilt in the next couple of years...hopefully. One of the best parts of this is its proximity to breweries. Not talking Lienies, that's generally ok beer, but the Brewing Projekt, that's amazing beer. It's in downtown Eau Claire, but worth the drive. Also, if you want pizza, which is something we like to do on the day we arrive Chippewa Falls has pretty much anything you need within 20 of the campground. Nice hiking and biking trails as well. I've camped here in Spring, Summer and Fall and multiple sites.

Stayed here on a east/west camping trip. Beautiful state park. Sites are shaded and large. Big enough that we were able to tie out 2 large dogs each on 30 ft leads. The park has a bicycle path that walkers can also use that’s along the river. Our site backed up to the bicycle path with the river behind us. Great place to walk. Staff and hosts very friendly and helpful. Don’t be alarmed when you drive by a school and housing area to get to it! The park also has an off leash dog park. I wasn’t able to check that out though but have wished state parks would consider adding. Bathrooms extremely clean with the best state park showers Ive ever used (and I mostly camp at state parks across the US). If I get back to this area I would definitely camp here again.

This is a diamond in the rough - exactly what we wanted on our journey.  Our criteria - less than $100, pet friendly and rustic. 

This is a sawmill that has it all - they run the mill when needed, but also have primitive cabins (where we stayed), full cabins with in house bath, electric RV/tent camping and more. Even wood fired pizzas with homemade crust most nights of the week and sometimes live music!

We were in cabin #3 - rustic.  Yes - it did have heat!  A little ceramic heater had it so toasty when it was 30 degrees outside we actually turned it off - so it's sure to please on chilly nights.  The interior was amazing - lumber that I'm sure came from the mill and ceiling planks that were gorgeous - left over planks from many years ago, stored in a shed and re-purposed for the cabin. The bed was very comfortable with clean sheets and squishy (in a good way) pillows. A small covered front porch and we just parked in front.

Bathroom - if you are in a cabin without a bath, it's very nearby. One of the largest, cleanest bathrooms I've seen.  He built it himself. Women's had 2 sinks with a large vanity area, about 3 stalls (very large - you don't have to squish into them) and two very large shower stalls with full doors - not shower curtains. Heated as well.

Pets - easy pet policy. Just let the owner know and it's no problem as long as you are responsible, pick up after them and leash them when necessary.  Just a small charge for them and they were very welcomed here.

He even has event space indoors (heated) and outdoors for weddings and such.  And hiking trails (6 miles) if you choose to take on the outdoors.

The owner plans on adding saunas and a hot tub in the near future - so this would be the place to drop for a while if you want something out of the norm, peaceful, rustic and relaxing. It's off the main road, behind a field in Amish Country.  Lovely place to stay for the night. Very quiet.

Great place to go fishing,swimming and camping! We love staying here for a long weekend and taking the boat out on the water. It is a little busy though and lots of people around. Not a good place if our dog doesn't do well around other dogs. Awesome wildlife, got to see an eagle take a fish right out of the water in front of our boat!

Very woodsy! Mosquitoes, gnats, and bugs galore. Beach is nice, even better that they have a seperate beach area for your leashed dog! (Its where my little terrier learned how to swim:)

I really enjoyed it here! The campsites were big and spaced out enough (though check the map because some are close together).

Plenty of trails, a scenic out look, a beach, pavilion, volleyball, etc.

Dogs are allowed on leash, but cant be on the beach.

Half of the campground is closed for the off season.

Will ad more info soon!

Spacious campsites, surrounded by trees. Try to get a lake side site, they are amazing! Hot showers, flush toilets, firewood available for purchase. Great campsite for tent or rv camping. Bring your kayaks, canoes, or inflatables but leave motorboat at home as they are not allowed on the lake. They also upgraded the playground equipment on the dayside beach this year. Only complaint is that there are 2 beaches but dogs not allowed on either beach.

the island is a nice place to visit. we stayed in the north loop on a water front site . great for just putting the kayaks in and going . they are vary dog and family friendly. the camp sites are a little close for my liking but it was a busy labor day weekend and every site was filled . my only big complaint would have to be that they only have one shower house on the other loop(South loop) north loop just have vault toliets . all in all I would recommend this place .

I just stayed here one night because I was passing through the area. It worked out really well. I entered the campground late in the day. It was almost dark. They had a QR code that I used to make a reservation on the spot. I had a great night there. There's a hiking trail that completely goes around the campground. So I was able to walk my dog on that. I'm not sure how it would have been to stay as a vacation Target spot. Probably pretty fine. But it certainly was great on the shoulder season for a stopover.

This campground/park is so beautiful. The campsites are all private and secluded. We really enjoyed that it was all so unspoiled, yet all the areas/paths were well cared for and clean. We brought our dogs and they had a blast too. My only complaint is about the campers who had our site before us. They pulled out of site 111 at 3:10 on Friday the 24th of July and left the site like a pigsty. The fire pit was filled to the rim with garbage; including dirty diapers and underwear filled with poop. It was disgusting. If people don’t know how to clean up after themselves, they shouldn’t camp. Stay home.

Loved our time at East Lake Arbutus. A warm shallow lake for swimming and boating, dog friendly, safe for kids. Lots of electric sites, but no sites with water or sewer so Sunday checkout there’s a line of campers waiting to dump. There are showers, but it costs $0.50 for 4 minutes. We really like how spacious and spread out the camp sites are. With big pine trees everywhere, there are lots of options for tents and campers to place their site. Many have lake views. Most have great hammock areas and good shade. We would definitely return!

Beautiful shaded campground with semi private sites. Nice beach that is a walkable distance from the sites. Lots of walking, biking and horse trails that are full of wild berries. Several stairways down to the lake, no beach at these spots but good for taking the dog in the water since they aren’t allowed on the beach. Wonderful staff in the visitor center. Firewood and ice sold on site. Also boat rentals and free yard games that can be checked out at the visitor center. Clean bathrooms with showers. Lots of boat noise from the lake and a plane noise from a nearby airport. Close to Chippewa Falls for restaurants and stores. A great family destination, not so great for a peaceful couples weekend.

We camped here the end of August. When I booked our site the state park website showed it as the only available site for our 4 day stay. So we booked the 4th night at a different site, same park. However, no one ever came into the original site. We also noticed this occurred with some other sites that were vacant during our entire stay. I’m sure not the parks fault. In state folks (we are out of state so paid more) don’t mind the cancellation fee or book way out and then change. Very frustrating when you have to move your camper for one night. Staff very nice. Flush toilets and bathhouse very clean. Showers with hot water and good water pressure. Sites are wooded and good size. Only complaint is the dirt base all around the campsites (very little grass due to the shade). We are from VA and most state parks have gravel pads. Nice walking trails. Didn’t see the picnic/swim area as dogs weren’t allowed anywhere there. They do have one fishing kayak. Not very good for shore fishing. Not thrilled with site #6 but site #22 was great with a nice view of the lake.

Continuing my quest to visit as many Wisconsin state parks as possible. I stopped by here to check out the campsites for potential future camping and look over the park. When I found was a very well-maintained park, love the viewing area of the lake. Campsites looked good as well.

Beautiful Wisconsin state park. Two campgrounds, the north campground is more primitive, the south campground, where we stayed, has electrical hookups. We stayed here in Oct. of 2014, our first night camping in our new RV. Only stayed one night, but we were impressed. Decent bathrooms and showers in the south campground.

If you’ve been anywhere in Minnesota or Wisconsin, you know about all the trees! As other reviews mention, this campground has a large grassy area - that gives a 100% clear obstruction for Starlink. We work full time, so this was important for us. HOWEVER, the other half of the campground is within a super treed area, so we got to pick!

The bathrooms were sparkling clean. The showers were hot and the laundry was reasonably priced. Had I known how much we liked the area, we would’ve stayed longer. 10/10 would recommend.