The Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park location in Pelahatchie, Mississippi was voted the top RV Park in the nation in USA TODAY’s10Best 2022 Readers’ Choice competition.
The Jellystone Park location in Cave City, Kentucky was also voted one of the nation’s ten best RV Parks.
Additionally, in USA Today’s 10Best Luxury RV Resorts category, the Jellystone Park location in Caledonia, Wisconsin was ranked among top ten properties.
All three Jellystone Park locations offer exceptional attractions and activities, including some of the best water zones in the country, along with attractive RV sites and deluxe rental accommodations. “We are thrilled that USA TODAY readers ranked several Jellystone Park campgrounds among the best in the nation,” said Trent Hershenson, vice president of marketing for Loveland, Ohio-based Camp Jellystone, which franchises more than 75 Jellystone Park locations across the U.S. and Canada. “These rankings not only reflect the tremendous popularity of Jellystone Park locations across the country, but the efforts of our franchisees to continually improve their parks, which encourages families to return to Jellystone Park locations each year to continue creating great family memories.
The 8 Coolest Campgrounds for Families
“USA TODAY’s top-ranked Jellystone Park locations have each made major improvements in recent years. The Pelahatchie location now features a pool, water slide, splash ground, sandy beach, mini golf, laser tag, human foosball, and many more attractions in addition toa wealth of daily organized activities and interactions with Yogi Bear costumed characters.
We stayed in a Boo Boo cabin for 2 nights on Labor Day weekend. We are a family of 4 and we were very comfortable in our cabin. The cabin was clean when we arrived. I was very impressed with the cleanliness of the restrooms and the showers!Our kids had so much fun with all of the fun and creative activities. The pool and splash park were well kept and super fun for all ages. The beach area was perfect for sandy play. We fished off of one of the many docks. The activity field was a great for a picnic!My favorite activities were karaoke at night and fireworks. The entire park was litter free & we saw staff members checking for trash and bathroom/shower cleanliness throughout our stay.The staff worked so hard to stay on schedule and make sure everyone got to experience the activities!! I was pleasantly surprised that they all still had such good attitudes after working their tails off!! That was super and it makes me think they really enjoy their jobs!Leaving was so hard but as soon as we hit the interstate, we booked our next stay!!!
This was my families second time back. We stayed again in a Yogi Cabin. Was a great weekend it was. We all love the water park area. It can get pretty packed on the weekend, and there is limited umbrellas, so plan accordingly. The cabin was clean and ready to go. I do suggest bringing some extra cooking supplies. We could have used a larger frying pan and cutting board. Overall, it was a wonderful time. We will be back again.
We always make 6-7 Yogi on the lake trips camping a year, we live almost 4 hours away, always have a great time! The management at this park have their stuff together, safe place for the kids to play, plenty of staff at the pool and water park watching, clean bath houses, friendly employees, site’s are nice, clean, and always mowed. Good wifi, cartoon cafe has excellent food and deserts, and they are quick to get your order out. This is our home away from home, we love this place!Matt
Had great time. All kinds of activities kept us busy all day and into the night. Park was clean and well maintained. Friendly and helpful staff. Stayed in Ranger Cabin and provided all our needs. Only negative was loft was only 4 foot tall and tight fit for adults.
Our family had THE BEST time! The campgrounds were clean, the staff was extremely friendly and the cabin we stayed in was great! We are so glad we chose to go there instead of a different camp site. We look forward to going back every summer! And a special thank you to Ms. Kristy (she worked in the ranger station). My son lost his Yogi Bear and she helped him get a new one! Thank y’all again!!
Had a blast. Great for children of all ages! Sucks the weather decided to change halfway through the day but overall kids had a blast including myself. Will for sure be going back as I do every year several times ha. Never disappointed here. Also the lady it the kitchen I don't remember a name milani or something like that pretty sure it starts with an M. She is absolutely a sweetheart, you can tell she loves her job, and well mannered. She's young long hair and was taking orders. Sorry if name is wrong.
We loved everything about This Jellystone park! Our premium RV site 14 was convenient, spacious, and have a great view of the lake and water park. The park was clean and a blast for all ages! Slides were so fast! We especially loved the ability to bring our chairs and pop-up tent to the pool allowing for shade for our sleeping baby. Staff was great too. Could’ve stayed more than a weekend but we’re headed to Florida! ✌🏼
We are beyond satisfied with our weekend getaway. It is so hard to find a place that doesn't charge extra for doing things at the park. Yes certain things did cost but you don't have to pay to swim at the water park. You could also ride the tricycle in the water at no extra cost. Not to mention all the daily activities they have planned to make your experience more enjoyable. By far this is the best place we have been camping this year. It is a must go and we will definitely be going back! The staff was very friendly and the cartoon cafe had the best breakfast and coffee!
This place is amazing we take our kids 5 to 6 times a year. They have amazing views on the lake. There splash pad and pool area is always clean. They even have a restaurant and we have tried a little bit of everything and it is all good. All there staff is amazing and helpful always with smile on there faces. My kids are always asking when can we go back. There cabins look cool we have never stayed in one but we have stayed all over in our camper. Every weekend they do it big can’t wait till we go back. Thanks Nikkie for a great place to take our kids to.
So impressed! What a fun weekend. We tent camped for 2 nights and would have loved a 3rd. The water park is amazing!!! Both of my kids had an absolute blast and were so sad to leave! So many things/ events to do but honestly… sitting in the shade by the splash pad with a hot pizza from the cafe and a cold shaved iced while the kids run wild was the highlight of the trip!! And the bathrooms… let’s talked about that. In the back of the campgrounds where we stayed had the cleanest bathrooms/ showers of any campground we’ve ever stayed. All the workers were friendly and the characters made appearances often! My only complaint were the golf cart rental hours. 4pm- 11am the next day? Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. The majority of the time is while we slept? That really didn’t matter to us as we just drove/walked! Overall, highly recommend!!
We have been to this location twice for long weekend getaways with the kids. We have had such a blast every time! Our kids are 8, 6 and 4 and they love coming to Jellystone! The water park is big enough for both kids and adults to enjoy and small enough that even little ones will be safe in the shallow water. Theres tons of fry activities as well. The staff is super friendly and we love meeting all the other nice campers at the scheduled events. Every day at this park is stuffed full of fun! The store has a great range of necessities you might need and cute merchandise. The cabins are on the smaller side but they’re very well stocked and clean. The layout of the park is pleasant for riding the golf carts around and enjoying the fresh air. The food at the cafe is concession stand style at best but the cabin had everything we needed to cook our own meals. The mini golf course desperately needs maintenance but the kids still loved it. We will absolutely be back again! I recommend this camp to any family looking to vacation, especially since the different lodging and camping availabilities allows you to vacation according to your budget. Love love love Yogi On The Lake!
The Cave City location recently completed an expansion that included construction of a 2.3-acre man-made lake with a sandy beach. U.S. News & World Report named the Jellystone Park at Mammoth Cave one of “The 8 Coolest Campgrounds for Families” in 2016 and the Travel Channel named it one of the 10 best campgrounds for families in 2015.
My family and I stayed here for the first time and we LOVED it! We have a 3 year old and 7 year old and we just had a tent however the tent site was spaced out nicely and we had plenty of room for our vehicle and canopy without feeling crowded. Our site was within walking distance of the bathrooms and a small park which the kids loved! All the activities we enjoyed were included in our stay. Bear paw beach was probably our favorite. The pool was also very clean and enjoyable. We enjoyed the drone show as well as the dance party before. There’s always something going on! The staff was very helpful and friendly and the coffee shop was a nice perk! Only thing we didn’t enjoy was that the restrooms by our site were very run down.. the womens bathroom only had one working hand dryer and one of the stalls was out of order leaving you with either the stall that wouldn’t lock or the stall that the door would get stuck or the one that the toilet rocked when you sat on it. twice when I was in there a little girl got stuck and had to crawl under the door. Two of the three showers were nice one of them the shower head was faulty and one didn’t drain very well.. I understand it’s a campground and it’s definitely not something that’s preventing us from going back just my honest review. See you next year! 🙂
This was our first time at a Jellystone and I totally get what all the fuss is about now! Although I’m not sure if all locations have this much to do! We will have to be back because we didn’t even have time to do it all! The kids (9, 7,4) loved the pool and water park and spent the most time there. They enjoyed a hey ride, a craft, bingo, LOVED the dance party. I particularly enjoyed our night at Bear Paw Beach with drinks, live music, and the drone show, such a cool venue! We also loved that they had the Christmas light tunnel running by bear paw, which was playing music the lights were set to, we will have to be back at Christmas!! It was possibly the best maintained campground we’ve been to…and we’ve camped at Disney. I loved the theming, everything looked so cute! Love all the mature pine trees! Parts of it make me feel like we are camping in the 70s and I love it! While so many places are understaffed, this campground seemed to be so wonderfully staffed with camp counselor type teens running activities, people cleaning and picking up trash, and other odd duties. It was so well run! Our site was right in the action, but I can see how you could need a golf cart if you were by bear paw. We will be back!!
Fun campground! Lots of things to do. Kids like the light tunnels and Bear Paw Beach. Neat drone show too.Lots of golf cart traffic but kids could bike on the well maintained roads.Little bit of litter issue (lots of unpoliced kids?) but not unclean.
My family had an absolute BLAST here at the campground!! This was our first time camping and it was such a happy and memorable experience. We rented a Boo Boo Cabin and it was such a cozy option that gave us the comfort of shelter without losing the real "camping" feel. There were endless options for activities throughout the day - They really cater to families and kids, which makes the experience so special. Truly, my kids loved this camping experience more than any resort we have visited! We also appreciated the equal mix of tents/cabins/RVs so that however you camp, you will feel welcome. Bear Paw Peach was OUTSTANDING, so that is a must if you visit in the warmer months. Highly recommended!!!
Oh Yogi Bear.. how we love you.I do wish prices were cheaper though. Additional fees when booking are crazy.. and a $10 lock in fee or our site could be given away? If I payed for it... Shouldn't it be mine? Then $8 a night per person including an infant when we stay in a camper?Anyways, the place is clean and there's lots to do that don't cost an additional fee. The water park and pool are very nice. Bear Paw Beach is fantastic and we love spending the day there (it is an additional cost to do the obstacle course). Be sure to tell them you're a camper at Yogi Bear upon reservation to get the discount otherwise you pay full price for it.MOST sites are shaded but with them expanding, there are plenty that don't have a single tree.Staff is young but seem pretty knowledgeable.
Clean, organized, well-maintained and PLENTY of activities for our kids and grandkids to do. This is a large resort with a lot of foot, bike, golf cart traffic on the main roads yet that is NOT a problem. In fact, it demonstrates the pulse of life and activity that is found at this resort.The roads and trails by the campsites themselves are quiet and the sites offer quiet escape from the outside world. The beach is a bit crowded on hot days but the "bouncy" water park is a blast and they have synchronized drone displays at night. FUN!
We have had great experiences each time we have gone and love the campground. Great amenities and wonderful employees. It’s a great place to take your kids! They even worked with us when there was a reservation confusion - we are so grateful!!
We just took our daughter for the first time and mine too actually. My husband has been to Jellystone as a kid. Our daughter loved it! The timing was off on some of the activities, not sure if it was a staffing issue, so we missed some, but the ones we were able to be a part of were fun. I especially want to give a shout out to Ella, the young lady that ran the coloring event. She made our daughter's day extra special by finding us at the pool later to give her a Yogi medal. Meeting Yogi was fun too! I'm only knocking off a star due to the stove and shower issues in our cabin. Overall, it was a really great trip. We will definitely be back!
Had a very nice time with the family. Cabins were clean and comfortable. I wished it would've been an earlier check in and later check out! For all the prep work I would've liked to have enjoyed the camp more on Sunday . The pool needs to be cleaned a bit more. I still have it 5 stars..maybe a 4.8 Here is a pic of waking up the bears!! A fun tradition!!:)
Spend 2 weeks here and had no complaints. There were several planned events with activities on the weekend. The general store had lots of merchandise and the prices are very reasonable for everyday items you may need. Coffee shop was great! Mostly level and spacious gravel lots and a few premium paved lots. Lots of space for our Class A and vehicle and didn't feel like we were right on top of our neighbors. We switched lots after a few days as the first one sloped a bit too much. Would come back if in the area again.
The Jellystone Park in Caledonia has also continued to make improvements. It’s in the process of adding a third swimming pool to complement its existing activity pool, giant water slides, and Yogi Bear’s Picnic Splash water play area. Jellystone Park locations are famous for their fun attractions, organized family activities and theme weekends filled with plentiful interactions with Yogi Bear, Boo Boo, Cindy Bear and Ranger Smith. For more information about these and other Jellystone Park locations across the U.S. and Canada, please visit www.jellystonepark.com.
Location was wonderful! Site 101 was a nice, big, fairly level pull through. Daughter was in cabin 37 right across from us. Very nice well appointed cabin. It was just right for their family of 4. Lots of things to do. Only thing that was less than wonderful was that all the amenities closed at 7:00. So if you are out during the day there is not a lot of time to enjoy.
We absolutely loved it here! We went in June and spent a few days. Important to have a golf cart because this place is huge! Great ponds to fish in and things for the kids to do. Jellystone never disappoints!
Overall this was a nice campground to stay at with a few minor hiccups. We brought our family of four and stayed in one of the Huckleberry cabins. We arrived after check in time, but had to wait a whole hour for our room to be ready. Based off of others experiences, this is the norm. Do not expect to arrive at 3pm and get the key to your cabin. The cabin itself was the perfect size for our family, and had great air conditioning, a full sized bathroom and a large screened in porch. The kitchen was stocked with most of the essentials, but was curiously missing a few items like baking pans. When we asked the front desk about getting some brought to the cabin, it took six hours and a second request to finally get them. The property itself is pretty large, but we got around just fine in our car and saved the money it costs to rent a golf cart. The facilities are great if you have young kids. Our girls really enjoyed the pool, beach and playground. The craft center was a nice find when the weather turned rainy, and gave us some indoor entertainment for a while. The place was packed on a Saturday night, with loud golf carts buzzing around all night. It was much more peaceful on Sunday evening. The prices are a bit high on the cabins, but they do offer a military discount which helped us save a good bit of money. Overall it was a nice stay, though I'd probably avoid visiting on a Saturday night if I could help it.
We only stayed for two nights, so we didn't do the full experience. The kids went on the wibbit and had a great time. They have two pools, which was nice. They also have a man-made beach. The cabins are a little pricey, but not too bad. I wish the cabins were a little more spaced out, though. The putt-putt needs to be updated, maintained,and better-lit at night. It's free for campers and is 24 hours, but it is also nothing to write home about. They also didn't have pencils or score sheets when we went, which was around 10pm.
Second visit, first time staying. Campground is in good shape. Staying 4 nights on our 10 day trip here. Recommend the fishing pond back in sites in the back of the camp. (Will need a golf cart) Park is HUGE. Pond and pools (2) are both incredible. They do have lots to offer for the kids which is great. Will definitely come back. A+ for a jellystone.
Our campsite was clean and since we came at night, our neighbors were very friendly and helpful. Staff was GREAT, helpful, nice and went beyond! Showers were clean and so was pools! They had a pudding slip and slide for all ages and a kickball game that we all enjoyed and wished it lasted longer! Beach was great. Would recommend to any family especially special needs kids. The ones I saw were so happy and content and tired! Loved this place, lovely kentucky hills!
This campground is poorly managed. Many buildings are in need of maintenance and repairs. There are 2 pools. One looks older and needs some major repairs as tile has fallen off the sides. The sites are not level. Our site was filthy when arriving. No one looked it over before we arrived. The water activities look fun, but the water slide is out of order. They have golf cart rentals, but there doesn’t seem to be any monitoring of who is driving them because we saw very young children driving them all over. No one obeys the speed limit or stop signs, including staff. There is a lot to do here and if you are planning to use those amenities this would be an okay place to stay. The activities schedule is amazing. If you only want a pool to cool off after hiking and such, I would stay somewhere else.
My family had a great time! We stayed in a bluegrass cabin. My children loved the loft. Don’t forget coffee filters. I appreciate the staff at the pedal carts. They assisted my children when they were going the wrong way or if they drove off the track. In the summer the jumping pillows are very hot, but wearing socks helped. The park is clean. Staff and other visitors were friendly. There were many shaded areas including the beach, parks, and pools. We had a blast riding the golf carts.
I’ve been going here ever since I was 3 years old and it was one of my favorite vacation spots growing up. The whole family would travel down for their famous water wars weekend which sadly ended a few years back and I’ve never returned. The campground has lots of stuff to do especially for kids and family. But nothing will ever top families traveling from all over the Country to have one massive water wars fight across the campground each year. Some of the most fun I’ve ever had.
We always come to this park every year this year it was totally different my daughter rented a cabin she paid extra to get towels and washcloths and sheets it took all day to get them because we kept asking workers and finally they brought them to her her front door lock was messed up for three days she stayed in it not safe because she couldn’t lock it finally my husband Charles went and talk to someone that was off duty he went and got a lock and put it on her door with Charles’s help they never told us that the big pool wasn’t working that’s the only reason why we came is because of the pool and the slide which it said on the website that the slide wasn’t working but we didn’t see that they don’t do the flag racing anymore which my kids loved doing that every morning took the boats out they the whip bit was smaller it just wasn’t the same half of the activities they didn’t have And we couldn’t even use the one pool because it was so crowded so many people in it We also ask for the manager they gave us the managers email we emailed her two days ago and still haven’t got a response from her it would have been nice if she would have emailed us back We was outside oh 28 my daughter was on site oh 61. Charles Griffith
Great staff and sites! Only bad thing was that the campground was like a golf cart race track all day, can't imagine what it's like when the campground is full. Other than that beautiful campground with tons to do. Pretty quiet at night also.
This place is fun for the entire family. We loved driving the golf cart around, swimming, going to the beach, and the water slide. Then, we had a campfire at your own cabin. What could be more fun than that? We have already been twice this year and plan to go back. While you are here, visit Dinoworld next door and Kentucky Down Under Zoo.
Amicoson Pickleball Paddles
Amicoson Pickleball Paddles
About Camp Jellystone
With more than 75 locations across the United States and Canada, Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts feature fun attractions such as pools and water slides, non-stop family activities, up-close fun with Yogi Bear characters, and glamping-style accommodations. For more information about Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts, please visit www.jellystonepark.com. For more information on franchising opportunities, please visitwww.jellystonefranchise.com. Camp Jellystone is part of Sun Outdoors’ family of brands.
About Sun Outdoors
Sun Outdoors is a leader in outdoor hospitality and is committed to its mission of offering guests exceptional and transformative outdoor experiences. With over 150 locations across the U.S. and Ontario, Canada, Sun Outdoors offers guest several ways to stay: from RV sites to vacation rentals, from tent camping to glamping, whether they stay for a weekend, season, or longer.
The mission of FOTR (Families On The Road) is to educate, inspire and support all families who choose to live a fulltime traveling lifestyle. Stay updated on everything going on in the FOTR Community!
