Activities range from carnival weekends with apple bobbing and scarecrow decorating to Halloween-themed weekends with costume and campsite decorating contests, Halloween-theme crafts, haunted trails and haunted pavilions
One of the busiest times of year at many Jellystone Park locations are the weeks leading up to Halloween.
That’s when the Yogi Bear-themed parks offer a variety of fall and pre-Halloween activities ranging from making caramel apples and scarecrows to costume, campsite, and pumpkin-decorating contests to trick-or-treating. Some locations even offer zombie hunts, haunted hayrides, haunted houses, and haunted trails.
“Some of our locations give families a taste of Halloween as early as late July and early August, but most roll out their best Halloween themed activities after a weekend or two of fall activities,” Trent Hershenson, vice president of marketing for Camp Jellystone, which franchises more than 75 Jellystone Park locations across North America.
The following is a sampling of the upcoming fall and Halloween activities at Jellystone Park locations across the country that guests can look forward to when planning their next vacation:
— Big Prairie, Ohio: This location’s fall activities include a “Barnyard Weekend” Sept. 16-18 with a petting zoo, scarecrow face painting, a shucking corn competition and a straw bale toss. The park’s annual “Apple Dumpling Festival Weekend” will occur Sept. 23-25 with activities ranging from a kiddie tractor pull to horse-drawn dragon rides, and apple and fall festival activities, including an eight-acre corn maze. Mrs. Saurer’s famous apple dumplings will also be available for purchase. The park will have five consecutive weekends with Halloween-themed activities beginning Sept. 30-Oct. 2 with pumpkin tosses and pumpkin bowling among other events. The last weekend of October will feature mummy races, painting challenges and Halloween costume contests among other activities. https://whisperinghillsjellystone.com/
— Bloomington, Indiana: Autumn at this location begins with a fall art festival Sept. 16-18 that features local artisans bringing their creations to show how they make them as well as crafts in which everyone can participate, including wood burning and candle making. “The Great Scarecrow Weekend” will be Sept. 23-25 with a magic pumpkin patch, ghostly crafts, a scarecrow decorating contest and trick-or-treating Saturday night. There will also be Halloween-themed weekends every weekend in October with a magic pumpkin patch, caramel apples, contests for best costumes and best decorated campsites and trick-or-treating. https://lakemonroejellystone.com/
— Brandon, South Dakota: This Jellystone Park location has a seven-acre corn maze next door to complement the fall activities at the park. Three Halloween-themed weekends are scheduled beginning Sept. 9-11 with the fourth slated for the end of October. Activities will include campsite decorating, Halloween games, crafts and trick-or-treating. https://www.jellystonesiouxfalls.com/
— Grayling, Michigan: This location offers two mid-summer Halloween-themed weekends on Aug. 12-14 and Aug. 19-21 with campsite decorating contests and trick-or-treating. The park also offers three consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 23-25. https://www.graylingjellystone.com/
— Greenfield Park, New York: This location hosts a full week of Halloween activities Aug. 22-28 with ghoulish games, creepy crafts and a haunted house. The park will also have four consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 16-18 with pumpkin painting, pumpkin bowling, a campsite decorating contest and a costume contest during a Saturday night dance.
https://www.sunoutdoors.com/new-york/jellystone-park-birchwood-acres
— Harrisville, Pennsylvania: This location has a variety of scary weekends starting Sept. 9-11 with the park’s “Zombie Weekend.” Activities include a “Zombie Takeover Hayride,” a game of “Pin the Brain on the Zombie” and a silly monster craft. Activities for the weekend of Sept. 16-18 include “eyeball and spider races” and creating your own Halloween mask. The weekend of Sept. 23-25 features a magic pumpkin patch, pumpkin chucking, pumpkin races, pumpkin games and a pumpkin patch picture frame craft. More Halloween themed activities are featured from Sept. 30-Oct. 2 through the end of October, including Halloween costume fashion shows, Halloween crafts and a haunted pavilion. https://pittsburghjellystone.com/
— Larkspur, Colorado: Fall activities at this location include four consecutive Halloween-themed weekends starting Oct. 7-9 that include decorated golf cart parades, campsite decorating contests, costume contests, trick-or-treating and Halloween-themed crafts and activities. https://www.sunoutdoors.com/colorado/jellystone-park-larkspur
— Madison, Maine: This location offers three consecutive Halloween themed weekends starting Sept. 16-18. Activities include a “Nightmare Express” and a “Tour of Terror.” Prizes will be presented to the scariest and most creative campsites. There will also be trick-or-treating on Saturday nights. The weekend of Sept. 23-25 will be a “non-scary” weekend and will feature a magic pumpkin patch, pumpkin painting and fun games. Guests will be invited to dress up their pets for the “Tails and Treats Parade” on the weekend of Sept. 30-Oct. 2, which will also feature a haunted trail. https://yonderhill.com.
— Millbrook, Illinois: This location kicks off fall with a “Fall Fest Weekend” Sept. 23-25 with apple bobbing and scarecrow-making contests and a fall scavenger hunt. A “Friends Giving Weekend” will take place Sept. 30-Oct. 2 when park guests are invited to bring a dish to share in a park-wide potluck. Three Halloween-themed weekends will start Oct. 7-9 with non-scary activities, including magic pumpkin rides, costume contests and trick- or-treating. Halloween festivities Oct. 14-16 will include a “‘Boo!’ Boo Boogie” with a DJ and dancing, with the scariest weekend being Oct. 21-23 with a haunted forest walk. https://www.sunoutdoors.com/illinois/jellystone-park-of-chicago
— Mill Run, Pennsylvania: This location will have eight Halloween-themed weekends. The first two will be Aug. 5-7 and Aug. 12-14 and will feature a campsite decorating competition, a haunted hayride and haunted trail, and trick-or-treating. Six additional Halloween-themed weekends will begin Sept. 23-25 and will also include Yogi Bear’s Magical Pumpkin Ride and a costume parade. https://www.jellystonemillrun.com.
— Pierceton, Indiana: This location will host a Halloween themed weekend Aug. 5-7, which includes a “Trail of Terror,” trick-or-treating, a costume contest, Halloween riddles and Halloween bingo. The park’s “Fall Fest Farewell Weekend,” Sept. 16-18, includes a pumpkin patch for the kids, pumpkin carving contests for adults and children, an Oktoberfest celebration with sausages and kraut and a family movie night. https://piercetonjellystone.com.
— Pittsfield, Illinois: This location will feature three consecutive Halloween-themed weekends starting Sept. 23-25 with activities that include decorating the Pine Lakes Witch House, a “witches house bonfire,” costume contests for adults and children, and a haunted trail maze at night. The park will also offer three consecutive non-scary Halloween-themed weekends beginning Oct. 14-16 with pumpkin painting, costume contests, trick-or-treating and wagon rides. https://jellystonepinelakes.com/.
— Silver Lake, Michigan: On the weekend of Sept. 9-11, this park will have an “Apple BBQ Cook Off Weekend and will offer professional and amateur BBQ competitions with participants from all over the country, an apple pie contest, food booths, a craft show and live entertainment. Halloween-themed weekends will be held again Sept. 16-18 and Sept. 23-25 with a glow-in-the-dark wagon ride, pumpkin carving and Halloween crafts in addition to trick-or-treating. https://www.silverlakejellystone.com/
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 visit www.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 more than 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. Visit www.sunoutdoors.com to learn more.
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