The Dyrt, an app for camping availability, photos and reviews, has found that more than half of campers camped with dogs in 2023.
The Dyrt’s 2024 Camping Report presented by The All-New Toyota Tacoma revealed that 53.7% of campers brought their pooches to the campsite last year.
While dogs are by far the most popular pets to camp with, 5.8% of respondents said they went camping with cats. Other campers reported bringing along chickens, box turtles, guinea pigs and parrots.
“We often run The Dyrt remotely from our camper van and Brandy, aka The Dyrt Dog, is with us for every mile,” said Sarah Smith, founder of The Dyrt. “Sometimes it seems like she has to pack more gear than us, but it’s so amazing to have her with us 24/7 as we work and enjoy campgrounds across the country.”
Property owners and campground managers worked to accommodate dogs as well as campers in 2023. Dog parks were the third-most-popular amenity to be added to campgrounds, behind only Wi-Fi and pickleball courts. Non-human companions are especially prevalent in the RV camping community, as RV campers were 20.8% more likely to camp with pets.
“I love taking my dog Lola with me camping because to me it reminds me of the quintessential Americana where an individual is hiking on a trail or sleeping under the stars with their beloved friend,” noted The Dyrt camper Steven M. of Utah.
“When Lola sees me packing up the camper and truck, she starts her little zoomies happy dance. The bond we share while out in nature or in the middle of nowhere is priceless. Also, camping and dogs go together like pancakes and syrup!”
Bringing dogs and cats on camping trips was most prevalent in Washington, where campers were 8% more likely to camp with dogs and 24% more likely to camp with cats.
Each year The Dyrt presents the Top 9 for K-9s list of best places to camp with dogs, largely based on reviews and amenities tailored to the tailed. The 2024 list will be released in July.
There are more than 12 million reviews of 70,000 campgrounds on The Dyrt, and some of them include dog- and pet-specific information that is extremely helpful for planning camping trips when being accompanied by four-legged friends.
