Best Tents for Camping with Dogs in 2024

What brings more joy than seeing a dog in its ancestral environment – the great outdoors? The fresh air, exercise, and experience of waking up after a night under the stars is just as fun for your dog as it is for you. Whether you’re embarking (no pun intended) on your first overnight adventure or are looking for a gear upgrade, selecting the best tents for camping with dogs can be daunting. Bringing a dog along complicates the situation; you’re going to need a little more room, for one!

We’ve scoured the internet’s wealth of offerings in search of tents that function alongside fido. Keep reading to find the best tents for dogs (and you) to enjoy the outdoors in.

Our Top Picks: Best Tents for Camping with Dogs

Before we get into it, here’s a quick look at why we selected these tents for camping with dogs.

• Best Overall: NTK Indy GT 3 to 4 Person Tent. NTK’s Indy tents come in various sizes, but the defining feature here is a genuinely spacious vestibule where dogs can sleep, lounge, or clean their muddy paws.
• Best Small Eco-Friendly Tent: NEMO Aurora 3 Person Tent. Not only is NEMO one of the most innovative and committed eco-friendly outdoor companies, but they also create tents with dog owners in mind.
• Best Large Eco-Friendly Tent: NEMO Wagontop 6 Person Group Camping Tent. Need room for more sustainability and more bodies? NEMO has options.
• Best Budget: Coleman Sundome. It might not impress your gearhead friends, but the Sundome is perfectly functional for light camping and has the comfy square footage your dog needs.
• Best Tent for Car Camping: Coleman WeatherMaster 6 Person Tent. With a vestibule that’s more like a room unto itself, Coleman’s tent is a family favorite.
• Runner-Up Tent for Car Camping: Wenzel Klondike 8 Person Tent. Wenzel’s design is similar to the Weathermaster. You’ll lose a little space… but save a few bucks.
• Best Backpacking Tent: MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2 Person Backpacking Tent. One of the highest-rated backpacking tents on the market, MSR’s Hubba Hubba NX makes that little extra space count.
• Best Ultra-Lightweight: Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2. For the backpacker trying to keep it featherweight, Big Agnes gives you lightweight with (relatively) spacious vestibules.
• Best Large Group Tent (or Small Group Glamping): Core Straight Wall Extra Large Cabin Tent. We’re kind of kidding about the glamping since no one will set this up for you. But since this tent is spacious and high-ceilinged, it’s a good option for bigger groups with multiple dogs.

The best tents for camping with dogs will include a vestibule, which is like a mini-mudroom at the entrance to the tent. They range in size from a shoe corner to a palatial porch, depending on the intended use of the tent. 

For its size, NTK’s vestibule is a force to be reckoned with. This spacious area is a great place to clean your dog off before letting them into the sleeping area. Some dogs like to sleep in such a roomy vestibule, which gives the humans inside more area. Even if you prefer to snuggle up together, many dogs enjoy lounging in a vestibule this size while their owners relax in the campground.

We think this 3 to 4 person tent is the perfect size for a couple with one or two dogs (though NTK offers larger options). NTK also uses heavy-duty material for its floors, which isn’t for everyone as it does increase the weight. However, this tough floor is a good option for dogs with sharp nails. 

NEMO is hard to beat if you’re looking for environmentally friendly and dog friendly. The company, as a whole, is steadfastly dedicated to sustainability. While that comes at a higher price point, part of their commitment to sustainability is making products that last.

We like the Aurora’s pole design, which allows for nearly vertical walls. This means more space for you and a canine companion for when, say, you need to lumber over the space-hog to go to the bathroom at night. Doors on either side, each with a vestibule, also bring greater ease of movement.

NEMO also offers (sold separately) thoughtful camping gear for dogs. For camping, we recommend their pawprint, an indoor footprint that snaps into the interior of the Aurora. The pawprint’s soft brushed material is specifically designed to both protect the tent floor from doggy feet and make a comfortable sleeping surface.

As we noted above, NEMO likes to design its products with our pups in mind, and this tent is no exception. The huge vestibule space means more room for dogs and gear when you’re camping in a group. The high headroom helps make it easier to navigate a pile of humans and dogs alike.

This price point isn’t for everyone, but if you plan to do a lot of camping, the investment in a lasting product could pay off in the end.

Coleman is a brand you’re likely to see frequently recommended if you’re searching for affordable tents, and with good reason. They offer a wide range of sizes at friendly prices. 

With the Sundome, you won’t get exciting features like elaborate vestibules. But the advantage it has over other dog camping tents is the space you’ll have at a fraction of the price of similarly-sized tents, making it a great grab for a quick getaway in the woods. You can’t beat a 7×7 foot sleeping area for under $100. 

For two people and a dog (or two, size depending), we recommend the 4-person.

Look, not everybody needs to backpack the Pacific Crest Trail. Car camping is an altogether separate joy, one that affords roomier tents like the WeatherMaster. Pull your car up, throw your tent out the back, and plop your backside down by a campfire for a few days with friends and pets.

What we think makes the WeatherMaster one of the best tents for camping with dogs is its fully screened in room, separate from the tent interior. It’s a great space for dogs to relax in if they’re getting bitten up by insects, for example. And hey, it’s big enough for you to hang out, too, if that’s the case! 

The hinged door on this tent is a bonus point, especially for anyone with children. Dogs and kids can get in and out a little more easily without the extra material flapping around.

Wenzel’s Klondike is very similar in design to the WeatherMaster but at a slightly lower cost point. You’ll lose a little height, which may be bad news for tall campers. However, we like the addition of a back window, which creates a nice crossflow breeze throughout the tent. We’re looking at you, smelly camping dogs!

Take note that while the tent can sleep 8, that includes 3 people sleeping in the screen room. Therefore, we recommend this tent for a smaller party.

If you’re living the minimalist lifestyle of the backpacker, you know that every inch counts. And when you’re maneuvering around a canine companion, it’s not enough to look at the footprint dimensions. MSR’s tent edges out the competition by using pole design to maximize interior space while remaining lightweight. 

Two doors and two vestibules also increase your ease of access and storage space.

Ready to try out a longer backpacking trip? With Big Agnes’s Copper Spur, you’ll sacrifice some of the headroom you get with MSR’s offering. But the Copper Spur’s super lightweight yet durable materials are a big draw for backpackers who are in it for the long haul.

The dual awning-style vestibules also add a little versatility (and space for a big dog to gleefully launch into the morning).

This behemoth isn’t actually much bigger than other group camping tents in terms of ground area, but it’s tall. The height, combined with the fact that the walls are nearly vertical, make this tent feel more like a cabin than a dome tent. 

This makes CORE’s tent fun for a group environment, especially when you have multiple dogs coming in and out. If your group (pups included) wants to bunk up together but still have the tent experience, we feel this one is the way to go.

Things to Consider While Shopping for Dog Tents

When going camping with your dog, you have their comfort and safety in mind. The best tents for camping with dogs will have ample space for you and any traveling partners you have, canine or otherwise. They’ll also offer quality materials that prevent tearing (from paw, teeth, even noses) and protect you from inclement weather.

However, what constitutes ample space and quality materials can vary widely based on what kind of camping you want to do and how frequently you want to do it.

What to Ask

Some questions to ask yourself as you shop:

1. How frequently will you be camping? Less frequent camping makes expensive high-end materials a diminishing return.
2. How much will you be traveling? And we don’t just mean backpacking. If you’re car camping on a tour, putting up and taking down a cumbersome tent every couple of days can be a burden.
3. How much space do you need? Be sure to factor in how big your dog is and how much room they take up in bed. We’d like to note here that most companies base their maximum capacity on sardines. Take a look at what we’ve called “sleep dimensions” for what the actual sleeping area looks like. We recommend counting a medium to large dog as at least one person.
4. Is your dog an escape artist? One problem you need to avoid is your dog escaping into the night while you sleep. Zipping from the bottom to the top is one way to avoid this, but there are also some tents that offer more elaborate closure to keep you and your dog secure while inside. *note: Do not crate your dog in the tent, especially during the day. Tent’s can and will get hot in the sun and could cause fatal injury.*

Finally, it’s always a good idea to try your tent out in the backyard or a park before you go! Let your pup get a good sniff around the place, and make sure everyone is ready for adventure.

Our Process

For this guide on Best Camping Tents with Dogs, our team spent 3 hours researching the most popular options from over 30 brands and manufacturers big and small. We then read about two hundred user reviews (both positive and negative) to discover what shoppers thought about each camping tent for dogs. After comparing this data, we narrowed our list down to the top 9 on the market. You can count on this research to guide you to a mindful purchasing decision.

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