I would rate at 3.5 if possible. This park is more of a KOA than a Yogi Resort. There is no waking Yogi or tucking him in at night. There is no game time with Boo Boo or watering flowers with Cindy. There are days that pass with no characters seen in the park at all. Our experience: We arrived late at night. No welcome packet was left for us as most campgrounds will leave. There was a list of available sites for the night, which we used until open. Our reservation was thankfully on file and we were given directions to our site. The young lady at the front did advise us to take roads that would have us traveling the wrong way on the one lane roads. My husband had scouted ahead on foot and knew the correct path to take. This campground looses a full star because it is a yogi resort and yet there are only yogi characters on Wed, Fri, Sat and Sun. This was a giant bummer to my kids who have been to other yogi resorts that have allowed multiple visits per day. Adding the the loss of a star are the Yogi activities. Most of the activities here are pay additional. Again this is a huge disappointment in comparison to other Yogi parks. The rates here are more expensive than the Milwaukee Yogi Resort, where they have hourly activities for mostly free all week! The other star is lost over extra costs and constant lawn mower near our site with credit added back for cleanliness and seeing the owners constantly at work. We try to look on the positive so we shook off the loss of the Yogi Resort theme and got into what is available. Here are some pros and cons Pro- *The lake is always open. *The lake is said to be stocked. *The pool is lovely and kept well cleaned. *The pool is warm and entrance stairs are wide enough to accommodate those getting in and out at the same time. *The pool is 3 ft and 6ft. With the dividing rope erring on the side of caution ensuring children playing close don't fall off a sharp drop off. *The beach sand is dredged every morning leaving lovely looking beach. *The beach has toys to play on in the water. Great for little kids to enjoy climbing, jumping and sliding. *The campground is clean. No trash in sight. *Porta potty stations are close to lake and head of hiking trail. (Convenient with small kids.) *Grass is lush and a pleasure to have the kids play / fall on. *No fishing license required! *2 Old school playgrounds complete with hot metal slide and a merry go round free of governance system. This could be a con for some families. We happen to enjoy introducing the kids to classic memories like these. *Trash pick up at site daily. *Extremely quiet and empty Sun - Thurs. Con *There are geese at the lake, which means a lot of geese muck even on the beach. (The dredging does a great job of covering up this fact and there is a hose as wash up station on site) *The hours of office, pool, snack shack, beach toys are really short for a vacation site. Only 10 am - 6 pm. *We are not expert fishermen and couldn't catch a thing. Bummer for a stocked lake. We were not expecting a fish every cast. We tried different locations, different times of day, different baits and lures with no luck. *Most of the activities here are extra pay. (Play on beach toys, kayak, body board, Yogi crafts, and fire wood) *Too few places to fish with little ones (Unless you have a tent site on the lake.) With an empty park during the week we took over different camp sites easily. *No walk through trails in between camp sites meaning you need to walk the entire length of the road or find empty sites to cross through. (This is a large park with LONG roads but mostly empty during the week.) *Manicuring of the lawn happens at all hours of the day. At lunch they actually cut the grass on our campsite while we were inside. Thankfully we had cleaned up the kids toys that morning. The grass clippings were no fun on our rug outside the RV or on the kids toys. The lawn mowers and hedge trimmers were still going at 7pm during dinner. All of this activity following yesterday's Manicuring near our site. *The ranger station is far from the beach / pool side of park. *Yogi characters are not daily visitors. This park seems perfect for families trying to get away from hustle and bustle from the city. We are country dwellers looking for the energy and zing of traditional Yogi Resorts. There is no zing here. Peace and quiet except for the constant lawn scaping. There did appear to be staffing restrictions with the lack of hourly free events, which could be a sign of the economic times more than anything else. The owners clearly care about presentation and cleanliness. This is not a park we will visit again while we have really little ones but perhaps again in the far future. It looks like a blast for the 10 + age kids / grown ups with a strong leaning towards fishing or other lake activities like kyaking. read more

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came in on thursday,May,21. we were planning a fun memorial day weekend with golf carts and wibit bands, we bought the "Smarter than the Average Bear" card which gave us $150 dollar value for $100 which was nice but nothing was open. We had called many times just to be left on hold for 10-15 minutes at a time, which i understand but not only that my family had nothing to do at a place where there's activity's every hour. Not only that the employees were driving like maniacs and almost hit our family a couple times when going around the lake, but they are so understaffed. Maybe if they got their staff under control my family would actually enjoy and want to spend our money here.i wouldn't recommend coming in on a thursday nothing to do and kids will be upset and bored. read more

Jellystone Park - geese - Campgrounds Near Me - Pittsfield, Illinois

I really wanted to like this place. I loved the idea of a Jellystone yogi bear campground. The kids liked it. The new splash area is really really cool. My main complaint is the cleanliness. I know it's a campground but with shared bathrooms they need to be cleaned way more often and probably hourly. The door knob fell off when I tried to go to the bathroom and it's clear to me that's not a new issue. I for sure did not break it, It just fell off at the touch. The activities are fine but I think I'd rather try a different jellystone next time. I'm editing and adding one more star because we really did have a lot of fun and Cindy's birthday party was a blast. read more

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Was very fun. Even had smiles from the teenager. No luck fishing though. Many different bated were used at different times of the day and different locations. Not one single fish was caught. read more

Our second visit and probably our last. Cabins and bathrooms were dirty. Bathroom door still broken from last visit. Water inflatables were not all inflated. We would have brought our own golf cart and kayaks but the rules said no. We got there and everyone had theirs. We had problems with our power one night and no one ever answered the after hours number. Not a happy campe! read more

Improve communication, address issues, do not make claims of items you do not have available. The pool chemicals are not correct, you cannot see your feet when in water. Wifi does not work properly, do not plan on working during your stay. Leaking water at camp site 2 people fell in mud pool of sewage water. Rent a golf cart, no lights the wheel fell off. We have stayed before and it was not like this before. This is how we entered a $100 cabana when the pool opened. Check reviews same complaints not addressed. The place needs upkeep and a staff that will listen. read more

Jellystone Park - This is how we walked into $100 cabana rental. I sent an email, stop to talk to front desk and nothing was addressed or refunded. - Campgrounds Near Me - Pittsfield, Illinois

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Overall a nice campground lots for the kids to do. The only complaint we would have is we were placed in a newer section which didn't have much grass it was fine but the people before left lots of debris on the site and the road you travel to get further back cars fly down which creates lots of dust also makes it nerve racking to let your children ride their bikes. One car flew around a corner and almost took out a tree. Also they make a big deal about who can drive gold carts and wristbands which I respect but than in The park kids were driving them and flying down the road. Someone is going to get hurt at some point. They do require life jackets in the inflatable area for everyone which is nice. They do allow day passes for people not staying so you aren't guaranteed to be able to get a life jacket on the Saturday of our visit it was super crowded and long wait to get life jackets. They do some activities around the campground but most of them were either out of the thing or changed the activity so we didn't try anymore after walking to get s'more's and they were supposedly out but all the workers were sitting there eating them. read more

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My family and I have come to this campground since it became a Jellystone; We will not be back. EVER! I am not sure what has happened over the last 2 years, but this campground is a dump now. When my family first started coming to this campground it was always clean & well maintained. Now the bathrooms are always broken the weeds are overgrown and all the streetlights are burned out (they have been since last year). The beach is so infested with sand spiders that we had to spray our towels with bug spray, they don't seem to bite but they are constantly jumping all over you it is extremely annoying. Speaking of bugs, the mosquitos will eat you alive. Again, this wasn't a problem in years past but they have let the front half of the campground go completely to weeds with standing water for them to breed in. tried to use the shower houses (the 2 out of 3 not closed for the second year) both open ones are broke. The big shower house has 1 working shower in the men's side out of 3. Tried the ones by the cabins nope either don't drain or the water temp keeps flipping from scalding to freezing. The beach is a joke, nothing to do unless you shell out more money for a wristband. the roped off section for the deep end of the lake starts at 3 feet. This is new last year too, the separation used to be at 5-6 foot. I asked if there was anything for adults to do. I was told "we aren't here to entertain adults" fair enough but guess what the adults are the ones paying not the kids. Now there isn't really any point of getting in the water if you are an adult. Tried to do the paddleboards and Kayaks, all the paddleboard paddles are broken, and the Kayaks are about the cheapest ones around and the 2 person ones are terribly uncomfortable to use. They won't let anyone under 16 on a paddle board or a kayak unless with an adult which is fine but they want the kid on the same paddle board as you. That doesn't even work we tried it sinks. You can't just be on different boards by each other. I ask they said it was state law but it isn't I looked it up. My daughter was almost ran over twice by campers on golf carts after dark with our any headlights. I complained and was told that it isn't against park rules to drive a golf cart without headlights after dark. The gal I spoke to said it was my daughter's fault for going to the shower house after dark. The activities staff was lazy and very not interested in what they were doing. Tried to play bingo at the beach pavilion, not enough picnic tables 20-30 people were stuck standing. They used to have a bigger Pavilion but they replaced it with a machine shed with a porch for whatever reason. Want to get a few items we forgot and souvenirs but the ranger station had nothing, I had friends in the Tent cabins guess what no fire ring. TL:DR what was one of the best campgrounds around is now one of the worst. WHO EVER IS RUNNING THIS PLACE NEEDS HELP OR NEEDS FIRED. read more

First time visiting Illinois! Wow! What a welcome! We got in a little early and they made arrangements to make sure our cottage was ready. The view was amazing! (See pic) Day two we enjoyed the water toys and paddle boards like a couple of kids! (We are 36 and 32). The yogi country western dance had us laughing the whole time! What a great place and attraction! Cannot wait to come back!! read more

Jellystone Park - Campgrounds Near Me - Pittsfield, Illinois

We HAD been loyal customers of the Pine lakes/Yogi Bear/Jellystone in Pittsfield twice every year for about the past 7 years. Im sad to report that I wont be returning there... ever... In the beginning, it was a good place to go. Bath houses were good enough, providing you can deal with needing a quarter for the shower and the bugs everywhere. Typical camping. The costs have been going up substantially as the place has changed owners numerous times. The now have a lot of activities for kids, however, you pay for it. And, if you are like me, and the 3 other Jeep club members I used to bring, all you want is a place to put your camper, hook up electric and water, and sleep. You don't care about the beach, video games, basket weaving, coloring books, or anything else. This most recent trip cost me $280 for 3 nights for a campsite! It costs more than some of the hotels in town. I was also told that our favorite sites in the 400 section were unavailable this May. It used to be packed with Jeepers, so I thought I was late reserving. It had been declining in recent years, but this time, it was a ghost town. The entire time we were there, not a single 400 section campsite was used. All empty! I also had to pay an extra $40 because I had my 2 adult children with me. Younger children are "included" but adult children cost more? My favorite one is when we have both our Jeeps at the camper to load/unload our food and stuff from the trails and some employee "kid" will come by and tell us we can only have 1 vehicle at the campground at a time and the other has to go to overflow parking. REALLY? Again - all we want is a nice place to put the camper and sleep. We are gone ALL day. We sleep at night. No noise, no music, no parties. We also used to get a discount as members of the Jeep club. I don't even ask about that anymore. Unfortunately, they are the only "real" campground in the area. So, my advice is skip the Jellystone, and for $15/night you can go to the Pittsfield lake campground and at least have electric and water. Its much more rustic, but its super cheap, and you wont get hassled about parking your Jeep, and you will have an extra ~$230 to spend in town. So until Jellystone moves to the next owner, and has a normal ~$40/night camp rate, like EVERY OTHER campground we have ever stayed at across the country, I won't be there.... Good luck, you have been warned. UPDATE.... On our last day, I stopped in the office to cancel the August reservation that I had pre-payed... Remember, this place is very empty.... The poor guy in front of me was getting the Jellystone royal "treatment". The conversation goes like this: Jellystone: "What is the make and model of your truck? Is that your camper you are sleeping in?" (points to utility trailer outside) Poor guy: "No, that trailer has my golf cart in it" Jellystone: "Im sorry, I cant allow private golf carts in the park" (note - there are golf carts EVERYWHERE in the park, most of them loud gas powered ones that annoy you all night) Poor guy: "My wife called, I was with her, that's the first thing she asked about" Jellystone: "Sorry, I cant allow it. Let me know who you talked to you, so I can tell them not to tell people the wrong thing" Poor guy: "OK, fine, we wont use it" Jellystone: "OK, so, are you sleeping in that, or do you have another camper coming?" Poor guy: "no, we have tents to sleep in" Jellystone: "How many tents?" Poor guy:"2, one for me and my wife, and 1 for my kids" Jellystone: "Im sorry, you are only allowed 1 tent per site" Poor guy:" What I am supposed to do? We said we were bringing the golf cart and 2 tents?" Jellystone:"Sorry, I can rent you the site next to yours" Poor guy:"Do I get a discount on that?" Jellystone:"No, sorry that would be another $140" Poor guy:"What happens if I cancel: Jellystone:"You just have to pay the cancellation fee" Poor guy:" Oh My God.... OK, I have to go outside and call my wife to see what we are going to do" Guy goes outside, I feel so sorry for this guy. the campground is empty and they are nickel and diming him too... I walk up and say "Hi, Id like to cancel my reservation for August please!" What a shame.. As a previous business owner myself, I just cant imagine what these people are thinking... read more

Thought this would be a great place to take the kids camping with all the things it looks like they can do there. It should have been a big red flag though that this would be a way too expensive camping trip!! Right off the bat just the rate per night to bring our camper is around twice as much as a night at a Missouri state park which have in most cases are better camp sites with a lot more space! Then when we get there the camp patrol stopped and states that there can not be any leaks from our hose going into the camper. The hose was dripping up against our camper and we were required immediately to get it fixed or have to go without water. Then we brought some lumber scraps to burn for a fire and when they saw this they stated they had to take it. So we were required to purchase the outrageous priced wood from them. On top of that so many things the for the kids to do cost even more!!! Never will we come here again to camp it is soooo not worth the outrageous cost! read more

It was a booked weekend. They had everything you need available. Yes , you have to purchase everything you want extras but you have to do that any resort. Showers were free. Wish there was a bathhouse by the rustic cabins though. But I think they may building one. Port a potties were getting old. All 17 of us had fun. read more

Had an amazing weekend... until the last half hour before we checked out.... One of our kids lost his wrist band the first night, not once over the course of the weekend was it an issue or even checked that he didn't have his band including when being fitted for a life jacket or to use the pool.... However, this morning while it was hot, muggy and steamy the kids wanted to go jump in the pool for 20 minutes or so to cool off. Our 17 year old attempted to go up with our 10 year old.. was told by a girl that they needed a parent... they come back and I walked up to watch them while they swim and the men packed up the rest of the stuff.. We were again turned away. Apparently it was an issue because they didn't have their bracelets to swim for a few minutes before we left, even though I still had mine on. She wasn't polite, she wasn't nice she was outright rude! Arguing with people that had 2 families spend over $1000.00 over the weekend including additional family paying for day passes, all over 20 minutes of swimming. Absolutely ridiculous. I completely understand "rules" but if that's the case it should have been enforced all weekend. Over the course of the 3 day trip I noticed many many people swimming at the lake and pool with no bracelet. What was a GREAT, but expensive trip ended on a sour note. Not sure we will return after a petty argument of letting kids jump in the pool for 20 minutes without a bracelet. read more

I would like to start off by saying this camping experience was not what me and my family expected at all. We booked a 3 night stay and wanted to leave after the first night, but due to no refunds we ended up staying. The cottage was full of dead bugs and spider webs everywhere from the ceiling to draping down the walls. The windows must have not been installed correctly because flies and mosquitoes got in constantly. A door Net would be extremely beneficial for a place like this. We understand that it's a camping and lodging experience but cleanliness should be top priority. The appliances and pots, pans, and dishes is great but I would like to see the furniture a little more updated. You can litteraly count the springs on the mattress of the sofa sleeper, the recliner looks like its from the 70's and the carpet smells dingy and moldy. We didn't even get to see Yogi, we saw boo but had to chase him down to get a quick pic. Most of the activities you have to pay for which can become inconvenient at times because we already pay so much for the cabin, activities should be included. We chose a pkg that gave us a golf cart rental and a paddle boat rental and free slushies for kids which was pretty fun. We did have a park outside our door which was prett convenient for the kids which i liked. Golf carts should come with cabin stays considering the cabins are on the opposite side of all activities and the pool. The walk alone feels like at least a mile long. Everyone's happy and friendly we just expected a little more from a Yogi Bear Camp Resort. These cabins need some deep cleaning and some serious updating. read more