This was our first official trip in our travel trailer and at Jellystone. I originally booked because construction of a splash pad/ water slide park and pool project was opening in July (2023). Our kids (all under 6) enjoyed it very much, in fact, the water features were one of the most popular activities along with gem mining and fishing at the pond. There's plenty to do like other camp sites such as playgrounds and hiking /biking but also being pet friendly, there was a small dog park area that was convenient. There are also themed weeks and crafts for the kids ice cream, mini golf and food truck on site. Our site was next to the pools and even though we were close, we didn't think there was an issue with noise or traffic to the pool. I was glad to see that employees were all around the camp working maintaining fences and equipment as well as collecting trash and providing great customer service. It seems like everyone there was happy to be there. I wasn't sure what to expect with it being our first time with a trailer but the sites were a bit crowded and camp was jam packed. I figured the week of July 4th would be but I was hoping for a little more space between sites. Maybe other campgrounds have bigger sites with more space but I felt like it was a huge parking lot/ mobile home park. All we needed was a couple of pink flamingos out front. Seriously though, the site could have been a bit less cramped and instead of mostly gravel, some more grass and trees could have helped. Newly planted trees only about 8-10ft high were around our site while other areas had fully matured trees. Do a search on the camp's map and find a site with more trees clustered together as it will be more shadier and have the best chance to set up a hammock. Our premium back up site included 30/50 amp, water and sewer hookups. I can't comment on the cabins as they were still under construction but they looked decent and inviting. Jellystone also has sites for tents for those interested but no dogs allowed on tent sites for some reason. As far as complaints aside from the ones above, I would only really say that I wish they would open the pool earlier and close it later. I get that the pool is open 8 hours but it seems like there were more opportunities to enjoy the water earlier and or later in the day out of the blasting midday sun. The arcade seemed like an after thought with mostly crane games but it did provide another means of entertainment. We didn't do the laser tag since it's not our thing but it looked small and similar to a paintball gun field, also an after thought. The main office and gift shop was nice and well stocked with your usual overpriced souveniers and crap your kids will beg for and you'll hesitantly buy just to quiet them down. The bathrooms and overall camp was clean and the campers were also friendly and respectful to one another. Overall there are a lot of projects going on and construction so naturally you're going to have some people complain about construction equipment or just because they like to complain that an orange saftey cone is impeeding her ability to camp. One such inconvenience was the loss of internet / wifi for several days at the camp due to storms the week we stayed. I guess this ensured that you "unplugged" for a bit but it was odd that Comcast/Xfinity couldn't make it out for several days. I think Jellystone is at an infant stage of just getting bigger with more on the way but in the meantime, they are also fine tuning and working out the bugs with what they have.
Anyhow, I think that at some point in the future we will revisit Jellystone if anything, for the water park but we will also try heading North (NH etc) to experience more campgrounds. Oh and yes, the kids got to meet Yogi, Boo boo, and Cindy Bear during our stay which they loved even though they had no clue who they are! read more