Miles of Yellow Lines

We love to bring our dog, Bailey, camping/hiking and she loves to go with us. She can tell when we’re getting packed up at home before a trip and she gets excited! Here are some tips and tricks that we’ve learned over the years for camping/outdoor adventures with dogs.

These are based on experiences with our dog. Please keep your furry friend’s comfort-level, needs, and abilities in mind when planning your outdoor adventures.

In this post, I use affiliate links to recommend various products that have helped make our travel/camping experiences even better. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission on purchases at no extra cost to you.

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Hiking

Collapsible Water Bowl

Bailey loves to hike with us. When we’re hiking with her, we like to bring her collapsible water bowl. Typically, we’re crossing creeks and she prefers to drink from them, but it’s nice to have the bowl just in case. We can pour some of our water into the bowl for her to drink.

Treats

We also like to bring small treats along so she can enjoy a few if we stop to have a snack. Pup-Peroni is her favorite. We like them because we can break off bits of each stick into any size we choose.

Pup-Peroni Dog Treats (Amazon link)

Campground

Tie Out

When we’re hanging around the campsite, we will often use a tie out to keep her close but still give her a little space to wander. This keeps our hands free as we’re preparing a meal or starting a fire. Even with the tie out, we do not leave her unattended.

We found this tie out and stake set. Typically, there is a post or a picnic table that can be used to tie down, but it is nice to have this stake just in case we’re in more of an open field setting.

Tie Out and Stake Set (Amazon link)

Note that campgrounds have different rules about dogs in the campground. They may have restrictions limiting the length of the tie out cable. If you’re camping in bear country, they may also have additional rules. Make sure you research this ahead of time.

Bedding

Before our first camping trip with Bailey, we found a really cool roll-up dog bed. It’s designed for indoor/outdoor use with a tougher bottom layer and a softer top. It rolls up neatly and clips into place to stay tightly rolled even when not in use. We bought it from Petsmart years ago and it’s still going strong.

We’ve also been really happy with this dog bed/kennel pad we ordered on Amazon. It is washable with a non-stick bottom. It doesn’t roll up, but it’s small enough to tuck into tighter spaces.

Dog Bed (Amazon link)

Light Up Collar

We usually walk Bailey around the campground one last time before going to bed. This is often after dark and even though people generally tend to drive pretty slowly through campgrounds, it sometimes worries me that people may not be able to see her. We put on our headlamps or bring a lantern to walk, but she’s lower to the ground and not as easily seen. I did some searching and found this handy light-up collar. It is rechargeable, so no need to worry about messing with tiny batteries. It is also technically waterproof, although we haven’t put this to the test. We have not transitioned to this as a full-time collar, but we have used it in the evenings at the campground and at home.

Light Up Dog Collar (Amazon link)

Dog Waste Bags

This one’s not so fun, but it is important to pick up after your dog, especially at a nice campground. We’ve been ordering these bags in bulk and we keep a roll in the dispenser on her leash. I’ve purchased several different types of these bags in the past. I like that these are thicker than some cheaper bags.

Dog Waste Bags (Amazon link)

Just for Fun

Bailey loves peanut butter. We got her a licking mat with different groves and patterns. We put peanut butter on this mat, and she licks it off. The groves and patterns create more of a challenge for her to lick all the peanut butter out of these spaces. We also got her a snuffle mat. We hide treats in this mat and she has to sniff them out from between the “grass” (which is really just green fabric pieces). Both are fun treats/activities for her.

Travel

Seat Covers

Whether we’re camping or doing a hiking day trip, Bailey has a knack for getting dirty. This is why I’m glad we have seat covers to protect the inside of our vehicles. These seat covers are waterproof and I like that they protect both the back bench and the back of the front seats. Of course, nothing is perfect. Dog hair still gets in the car, but these help a lot and they keep a lot of the mess contained.

This particular dog seat cover is quite large. We needed something that would fit all the way across the back bench of our Chevy Silverado. If you have a sedan or smaller crossover, you may want to look into a similar, but smaller cover.

Dog Seat Cover (Amazon link)

While we’re talking about seat covers, we’ve found two seat covers that work well for the front seats. We roll them up and keep them in our vehicles. We’ll use these if we get muddy or sweaty on a trail run or hike.

Individual Seat Covers (Amazon link)

Duffel Bag

A while back I had the idea to get Bailey a small duffel bag for her camping items. We can’t fit the roll-up bed in this bag, but we can fit her food/water bowls, bags of food (single-serving sandwich bags that we load at home), tie out, extra dog waste bags, a few toys, and some treats. We load up her bag, zip it up, and we know everything’s good to go. This way, I can also organize items more than if we threw everything into a tote bag, and I don’t have to worry about it falling over and dumping out the contents.

Water Activities

Dog Life Jacket

We took Bailey on a canoe trip with us. She had never been in a canoe before, and although we know she can swim, we wanted to be extra-safe and bought her a dog life jacket. She actually really seemed to like wearing it and we felt better knowing that she had a floatation device. I also liked its bright color, which made her extra-visible. We found our dog life jacket at Petsmart.

Miscellaneous

We’ve found a great portable fold-up dog crate that comes with a small dog bed for extra comfort. It folds up easily and has soft sides rather than the hard metal wiring of most crates.