Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park - Tower Park

Let's talk Jellystone in Lodi,CA.  We have a 29ft toy hauler and have been to a few different RV parks including Tahoe Valley () TT Russian River (), Giant Redwoods (), Lake Francis () and some dry camping sites (Moon Rocks & state parks).

Last weekend we went to Jellystone for the first time. Initially we thought "WOW this place is great" and that's because of the first impression: mini golf, escorted to your site (somewhere I read they'd help you back into your site - didn't happen), and the large pull through sites (red blocks on map).

Then it happened, it's like we went across the tracks to what I call "urban camping" (yellow blocks on map). These spots are PACKED. Uncomfortably packed. This is where we stayed. Also I couldn't really find a picture on yelp that really gives the perspective of how crowded it was and I didn't think to take any. Thoughts:

- everyone was so nice. The family staying behind us helped back us in & people next to us we're empathetic about their pop up tent, camper truck and small suv smashed into their site. This site really lets you do whatever.
- Because the sites are small we had to park our truck on the site which was 3 feet from the immovable fire pit (camp site 202).
- Our site and most sites have a small tree which was double edged (cut into the postage stamp space) but brought shade.
- They pick up your garbage every morning if you leave it out. They include a recycle bin.

The amenities were great. We have 8 year old twins who loved the park, the wide space for volleyball and basketball, the jump pad, and the various activities offered throughout the day. The park feels carefree where kids can ride their bikes and scooters. The pools were great and even thought the lazy river wasn't open we thought it was nice to give us coupons for laser tag (didn't do), bumper bikes (didn't do) and to color a t-shirt (we did).

In leaving my kids said this was their favorite place so we're going back but to a better site. Agree w everyone else - this place is pricey but we'll still go back.

Wherever we go we mark sites we'd like to stay at in the future. Consider:
- if you're camping w a group of people I think yellow spots would be great for that purpose.
- If you're from the country (us) and don't like to feel like people are everywhere go w a red carpet spot. They have backup and pull through sites. My husband marked "hell no" to some of the back in red carpet sites because they're surrounded by cabins and will likely still feel like you have people on top of you or peering at you through their windows. This might be a great option if camping w non-campers that stay in a cabin.
- If you have kids I'd recommend staying in the area near the swimming pools and parks. This RV Park is huge so unless you have a golf cart (can rent for just under $100 a night but they rent out fast) it's a trek to get over there from the red spots by the registration area.

We hope you find this useful if you consider camping at Jellystone. If you have questions about the other places we've stayed, let me know!

Happy Camping!

Overpriced and poor service. We booked a Delux cabin for over $400 a night. Asked if we could check in early and got no response and we were told we had to wait four hours for COVID cleaning. My wife being a nurse understood the need for extra cleaning so we waited till after 4pm before they let us drive in. When we arrived there was still trash and the cabin was filthy. Dog hair, people hair, dirt, shoe marks and just no cleaning done. We had to drive back and ask for the cleaning to be done since no one answers the phone. We were asked to leave the cabin for another hour so they could clean. When we brought it up to the management they didn't even bother to contact us back. If your going to use COVID as an excuse at least you could do some very basic cleaning - dirty and not safe since there was no way they did any disinfecting
. Waste of money and poor service.

This place has absolutely no control over their park. I bit my tongue on the first 2 fights this weekend with kids seeking fights with others.   We even had video of the 3rd fight since it became obvious this wouldn't stop and managements wasn't equipped to do anything.  This place isn't safe, certainly not for families with children.  Also it seems the cops are unable to do anything with drunk and disorderly conduct based on what I saw drunk and disorderly people doing in front of 3 cops.   The lord we had rented were clean and well taken care of.   Other parts of the park had 3' high weeds and hadn't seen a caretaker for some time.   Also I'm not sure if it was just the 4 days we were there or if Lodi is usually a wind zone but it was incredibly windy.  I won't be back purely due to lack of accountability for the management team allowing such violence in the park.

Enjoyable, however some improvements can be made. Check in is no earlier than 4:30pm. However I arrived at 8:30 in the evening. The gate was open to the resort with no employee at the gate or even in sight. I had no idea where to go or what to do. Called the resort and got the voicemail saying they're closed. After roaming around I finally noticed my keys and packet at the front gate. How hard would it have been to give me a call, text or even an email giving me a heads up. But anyway, found my cabin. It was clean and roomy. Beds were a little stiff, also you must bring your own bedding and linens. Woke up the next day and seen everyone driving golf carts. So naturally I wanted a cart too. Went to the registration booth to inquire and was told "Sorry sir" best we can do is give you one tomorrow. "But I check out tomorrow!!!" Well sorry sir. I ended up calling the resort and got a cart reservation for 1pm the same day. The water park and lazy river were closed but reopening soon. I'd recommend going and I'd come back. Also you can download their app for event going on. Wish I knew this. Employees aren't very helpful...

Love all the activities for the kids. There's not very many tent sites but we were able to fit two canopies on our site. There's water and electrical hookups which is nice. The kids love the place and all the additional amenities. We are repeat customers and the kids always ask to come back.

We stayed here in a cabin last year and it was great! So we decided to stay another weekend this year. We checked in and drive to our cabin... our spider web covered cabin. I get California is on fire and everything is covered in ash right now.. but I feel like dirty floors was due to not being cleaned more than ash.
Last year we had a stocked kitchen with pots and pans of various sizes. This year we had one pan with a handle that felt like it was getting ready to fall off, and one tiny pot. We had to make spaghetti one serving at a time. Also, the exhaust fan on the stove was missing. The switch was completely removed..i was heating up tortillas and the score detector went off. I was cooking eggs and the smoke detector went off...
The shower has a handheld nozzle and the bracket was broken. The only way to shower was to hold the nozzle the whole time.
The gaga ball court and kids play area had garbage all over.
Bottom line, this place is way too expensive to have to deal with garbage all around the facility, lacking/broken/non-operational items in the cabin, AND you have to bring all of your own bedding, towels, cleaning & hygiene items.

Awful customer service and policy/procedures. Not worth the headache. COVID closed half the park. All they offered was a $20 credit and it had to be used before end of 2020. Wouldn't even extend the measly credit to the following Spring. Stay away!

Happy with Service so far. Hope the stay is as good as the service I've  received from Chris in guest services registration dept. Chris has been extremely helpful with assisting me with changes or questions we have had with scheduling our first time stay. During this covid time I have been hesitant to plan a family vacation, so I do have many concerns. His patients have been extremely appreciated. THANK YOU CHRIS.  WE can't wait to meet more friendly staff.

This is my second time to this rv resort. We love it here because there is so much for the kids to do. Bumper boats, mini golf, crafts for the kids, movie night, nice pool and playground. Even tho the water slides are not open we still had an amazing time.

I only have 4 stars because the jumping pillow needs to be replaced. It looks like it was ripped and instead of replacing it, they just put a patch on it. Not really working. I was so disappointed as this is my kids favorite.

I have to start by saying that I am a business owner in the bay area.

My living depends on people traveling. I do pet sitting and boarding.

All of my clients have had to cancel their trips due to the current situation we are in. I would never even dream of trying to profit off any of them in this situation. I gave full refunds to everyone.

It's the right thing to do, and it's just good business and customer service.

Not only is Jellystone staying open during this time, which is totally irresponsible.

But they are cutting many amenities and activities.

Now if people still want to come, I guess that's their choice -but shouldn't there be a huge discount if you now can't do all of the things you had hoped to do on your vacation?

Also, people that paid with a gift card for the reservation, are being told they can't get a gift card back.

They are getting a credit that they have to use within one year.

Many people may not be able to go again in one year. Maybe they aren't even local and this was their vacation.

So many people are losing their jobs and will be in a horrible financial mess for a while. They probably really can't come within a year, maybe longer.

Also when people are canceling, they are nickel and diming them for the $25 cancellation fee, the $10 cancellation fee for the golf cart, and the $2 cancellation fee for the linens.

This is a situation none of us have ever faced before. As business owners we need to show compassion and common sense when dealing with our loyal customers.

Jellystone certainly isn't doing that.

Shame on you!