Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts
Family camping at Jellystone Park continues even after the kids head back to school.
“The weeks leading up to Halloween are some of the busiest of the year because our fall festival and Halloween-themed weekend activities are really popular with families,” said Trent Hershenson, vice president of marketing for Camp Jellystone, which franchises more than 75 Jellystone Park locations across North America in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Themed Entertainment.
Jellystone Park’s fall weekends feature a range of seasonal activities, including scarecrow making and family-friendly carnivals with games like apple bobbing. Guests can enjoy caramel apples and freshly baked treats. For Halloween, the parks offer trick-or-treating, costume contests, magical pumpkin patches, and decorating contests for campsites and cabins. Some locations also host haunted houses, haunted trails, ghost races, and creepy feel boxes. Many Jellystone Park locations further enhance the festivities with Halloween-themed dance parties.
Here’s a glimpse of the fall activities planned at Jellystone Park locations nationwide:
— Big Prairie, Ohio: This location’s fall activities include its annual “Apple Dumpling Weekend,” Sept. 27-29, with Grandma Ruth’s famous apple dumplings, apple cider, a bustling vendor event, locally grown fruit, themed crafts, wagon rides, barrel rides, a kiddie tractor pull, horse-drawn wagon rides, live music, and all the apple-inspired goodness you can imagine. This location will also have three “Fall Fever” weekends the last three weekends of October with an eight-acre corn maze, wagon rides, themed crafts, hot chocolate, a costume party and trick-or-treating.
— Caledonia, Wisconsin: This location has six consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 6-8. While all six weekends will have trick-or-treating, the first three weekends are geared more to little kids with activities including a family friendly “Enchanted Hollow Walking Path” on Sept. 6-8 and a magic pumpkin patch and a game of “Wrap a Mummy” Sept. 13-15. Pumpkin painting and a monster-themed dance party are among the activities planned for Sept. 20-22 with a Zombie Apocalypse weekend slated for Sept. 27-29 with spine-tingling activities like "Zombie Doctor" and a thrilling "Zombie Relay.” Activities for Oct. 4-6 include creepy crafts such as crafting monsters and designing a spider pumpkin. Guests can also test their courage with a “Halloween feel box.” The weekend of Oct. 11-14 includes a campsite decorating contest.
— Carsonville, Michigan: Fall activities at this location include a “Harvest Hoedown Weekend” Sept. 13-15 with dance instruction and an exhilarating line dance with a synchronized display of footwork and rhythm. Other activities include a scavenger hunt, apple bobbing, wagon rides and delectable autumn treats like caramel apples, warm cider and fresh baked donuts. This park will also have four Halloween-themed weekends beginning Sept. 20-22 with trick-or-treating, pumpkin painting, a costume contest and a Halloween fashion parade. Other activities include a haunted trail and campsite and cabin decorating contests.
— Endicott, New York: Before diving into Halloween, this location has a “Zombie Takeover Weekend” Sept. 13-15 with a “zombie body part” scavenger hunt, zombie gellyball target practice, and a game of Z-tag in which it’s the zombie’s job to attack as many humans as possible. This park then begins a series of six consecutive Halloween-themed weekends. The last two weekends of September have pumpkin themes and feature magic pumpkin patches, pumpkin chucking, and pumpkin painting contests. The last weekend of September also includes trick-or-treating and a glow-in-the-dark monster-themed dance. The weekend of Oct. 4-6 has a witches and wizards theme and includes witches broomstick races and a magic show in addition to a Halloween trick-or-treat parade and ghost tours. The weekend of Oct. 11-13 features a ghost hunting scavenger hunt, haunted ghost tours and opportunities for kids to share their favorite ghost stories. The weekend of Oct. 18-20 includes skeleton assembly relay races, a skeleton scavenger hunt, and a Halloween trick-or-treat parade. The last weekend of October features a Halloween trick-or-treat parade and a Halloween fashion show.
— Fremont, Indiana: This location has fall-themed weekends Sept. 6-8 and 13-15 with pumpkin rolling and smashing, a caramel apple station and doggie pool days. Beginning Sept. 20-22, the park will have six consecutive Halloween-themed weekends with trick-or-treating, campsite and golf cart decorating, a magic pumpkin experience, and a costume contest.
— Hurricane, Utah: Halloween-themed weekends begin at the newest Jellystone Park location Sept. 27-29 with a spooky scavenger hunt, trick-or-treating and a Halloween-themed dance party. A “Spooky Witch Weekend” is set for Oct. 4-6. Guests can learn magic tricks, create mystical potions, embark on a witch’s broomstick ride and participate in a costume contest. A magic pumpkin patch is set for the weekend of Oct. 18-20, while a “Zombie Apocalypse Weekend” is set for Oct. 25-27 with zombie-themed games and a zombie dance party.
— Jamestown, New York: At this location, Sept. 6-8 is a “Fall Apple Weekend” in which park team members produce their own apple cider which is available for guests to taste. Apple cider slushies will also be available starting this weekend. Other activities include making apple volcanos and apple chucking with giant slingshots. There will also be a magic pumpkin patch. This location will also have five consecutive Halloween-themed weekends starting Sept. 13-15. Every weekend will have either a haunted wagon ride or a haunted house attraction, trick-or-treating, a magic pumpkin patch, spider races, a mummy game, a witch hat ring toss, pumpkin golf, plus Halloween-themed movies and costume dance parties.
— Lodi, California: This location will have two consecutive “Holiday Shake Up Weekends” the first two weekends of September with Easter egg rockets, a July 4th-style parade and Christmas games. The last two weekends of September are fall-themed with pumpkin rolling and smashing and customized treats at the park’s caramel apple station. Halloween activities are planned for every weekend in October with trick-or-treating, magic pumpkin patches, and golf cart, campsite and costume contests.
— Monroe City, Missouri: This location will have a “S’more Memories Weekend” Sept. 20-22 with lawn games like cornhole, ladder toss and glow-in-the-dark capture the flag. There will also be plenty of s’mores to enjoy. Three Halloween-themed weekends will begin the last weekend of September. Activities include trick-or-treating, themed arts and crafts, pumpkin carving, costume contests and a campsite/cabin decorating contest.
— Nelsonville, Ohio: This location has five consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning the last weekend of September, each with trick-or-treating, a magic pumpkin patch, pumpkin painting, and a campsite decorating contest. The weekend of Oct. 4-6 will also include the park’s 19th annual “Hog Roast” and Karaoke on Saturday night.
— New Douglas, Illinois: This location will have a “Fall Festival Weekend” Sept. 20-22 with fall-themed ceramics and crafts, such as fall wreaths, pine cone turkeys and fall leaf sun catchers. There will also be fall-themed games including potato sack races, pumpkin mini golf and corn on the cob ring toss. The last weekend of September is a “Great Pumpkin Patch Weekend” with pumpkin painting, pumpkin races, pumpkin bowling and pumpkin chucking. Oct. 4-6 is a monster-themed weekend with mummy wrapping races, ghost sack races and games such as Ghost in the Graveyard, and the Halloween monster mash. Oct. 11-13 is a “Zombie Apocalypse Weekend” with zombie scavenger hunts, the undead three-legged race and the zombie run. There will also be a costume contest and trick-or-treating. The weekend of Oct. 18-20 is a “Wizards and Witches Weekend” with wand and hat making activities, a witches and wizards relay, a witch hat ring toss, and a game of pin the broom on the witch. There will also be a costume contest and trick-or-treating. The weekend of Oct. 25-27 is a “Halloween Bootastic Weekend” with ghost races, boo bowling as well as games of ghost waiter and ghost toss, a costume contest and trick-or-treating.
— North Lawrence, Ohio: This location will have three consecutive “Yankee Peddler Festival Weekends” beginning Sept. 6-8. Guests will be able to step back to the time of the pioneers with historical demonstrations, vendors, food, handmade crafts and entertainment for the whole family. The last weekend of September is a fall-themed weekend that includes a caramel apple station and pumpkin rolling and pumpkin smashing activities. Four Halloween-themed weekends will be offered beginning the first weekend in October with trick-or-treating, a magic pumpkin experience, costume contests, and campsite and golf cart decorating contests.
— Pelahatchie, Mississippi: This location will offer five consecutive Halloween-themed weekends beginning the last weekend of September with trick-or-treating, costume contests, pumpkin carving, crafts, and campsite and cabin decorating contests.
— South Haven, Michigan: This location eases into fall for the little ones with a “Magic Pumpkin Weekend” Sept. 6-8 with caramel apples, magic pumpkins and scarecrow decorating contests as well as pumpkin seed spitting contests and pumpkin rolling races. Instead of trick-or-treating campsite to campsite, the park will offer “trunk-or-treat” and give a prize to the best decorated mystical/magical “trunk-or-treat” table in the pavilion. Seven consecutive Halloween-themed weekends will occur beginning Sept. 12-15 with pumpkin decorating, scarecrow decorating, campsite decorating and costume contests. There will also be a corn maze, a haunted house, trick-or-treating and a Halloween dance party.
— Tabor City, North Carolina: This location has a variety of fall activities including a “Western Weekend” Sept. 20-22 with horse races, lasso contests and wagon rides. Five consecutive Halloween-themed weekends are also scheduled beginning Sept. 27-29, the first of which is geared toward young children and includes a movie night. The weekend of Oct 4-6 will also honor breast cancer fighters and survivors. Activities include making cards to encourage breast cancer fighters at North Carolina hospitals. There will also be a pink costume contest and pink campsite decorating contest to honor breast cancer fighters and survivors. The weekend of Oct. 18-20 will include a terror scream contest while Oct. 25-27 will include glow-in-the-dark games.
— Warrens, Wisconsin: A “Fall Carnival Weekend” will occur at this location Sept. 6-8 with various games and activities, including a ring toss, potato sack races, a pie eating contest and face painting. A “Cranfest Weekend” is scheduled for the last weekend of September with cranberry-themed activities and enticements, such as cranberry wreath making and cranberry treats. Halloween-themed weekends are scheduled for Oct. 4-6 and Oct. 11-13 with trick-or-treating, a magic pumpkin patch, and campsite, cabin and tent decorating contests.