By Jeanni Ritchie
I’ve been exploring RV campgrounds lately.
There’s something wonderfully nostalgic about it as we spent our childhood traveling in various motorhomes Dad and his friend Mr. David co-owned. Our families took turns hooking up to RV sites across the country, turning dinner tables into beds at night, and feeling far superior to the kids who couldn’t lounge on a couch eating chips and watching TV as they headed down the highway.
We knew we’d really struck gold when we pulled into a campground with a playground. That was akin to Heaven.
As I pulled into Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in Lake Charles, my mouth dropped open. Did my superiority comeuppance come courtesy of Gen Alpha kids laughing at the primitive-by-comparison campgrounds we played in?
This was Disneyland for the camping crowd!
Located on Luke Powers Road, the family-friendly resort combines traditional camping with cabins, swimming pools, waterslides, a splash pad, mini golf, a jumping pillow, catch-and-release fishing, live entertainment, and a lake featuring water tricycles and a floating WIBIT obstacle course.
I checked into a Cindy Bear Cabin for a three-day stay and quickly discovered one of my favorite ways to explore the property: a golf cart. I spent several hours in the golf cart watching the sunset over the lake or drafting an essay while the ducks waddled past me at the pond.
Cabins are clustered near the park’s main amenities, with more than 330 RV sites extending throughout the property. Options include back-in and pull-through sites, including lakeview and premium sites.
This is Jellystone, where Yogi Bear, Cindy Bear, and Boo Boo are part of the fun, and the speed limit is exactly 5½ mph!
Jellystone Park publishes a packed daily schedule that can make a stay as busy—or as laid-back—as guests want it to be.
I colored with Boo Boo Bear, made s’mores with Yogi, and took the evening Hey Hey Hey Ride with Cindy Bear through the park. She danced with the kids—she knew all the latest moves!—and we all sang along to requested songs like Choosing Texas.
There were crafts, gem mining, ceramic painting, candy bingo, donuts and cartoons, sprinkler dodge ball, and scavenger hunts as well.
I watched the kids compete in beach water games from the golf cart, but fully participated in the water gun tie-dye activity!
The pools were perhaps my favorite daytime destination. I spent hours reading from an in-pool lounger, swimming, and playing with some new friends. It’s been years since I played the game where you all go under the water and try to guess what someone is saying. I will forever be a ten-year-old girl at heart.
Food is available onsite as well. The Campfire Canteen offers appetizers, burgers, wings, chicken tenders, quesadillas, pizza, sides, and kids’ meals. I had the Bayou Chicken Quesadilla one night and the Classic Smash Burger with fries the next. I enjoyed eating outside on the patio—even in the heat, it’s part of the camping experience.
The beauty of Jellystone Park is that there really isn’t one right way to vacation there.
Kids can race from the pool to the jumping pillow to crafts with the bears. Campers can fish beside the pond or spend an afternoon at the lake. Adults can grab a chair beside the pool and do absolutely nothing for a while.
Or you can do absolutely everything on the schedule!
Whether you arrive with an RV, book a cabin, or bring the family for a day pass, Jellystone Park Lake Charles offers a place where adults can revisit a little childhood nostalgia while a new generation creates campground memories of their own.
Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Lake Charles is located at 4200 Luke Powers Road. They can be reached at 337-433-1114. To learn more, follow them on Facebook or visit jellystonelakecharles.
