JellyStone Re-cap!
We recently went to JellyStone Golden Valley and had the BEST time! We went from Thursday to Sunday, and will definitely be going back. This family friendly park sits on a 600+ acres of lush green forest and has beautiful amenities from glamping tents in the trees to luxe cabins in the woods. It’s tucked away at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, between Charlotte and Asheville, so it was a quick + convenient trip with the kiddos.
We arrived late Thursday afternoon, checked in, got our golf cart + fun passes for the boys and headed to where we were going to be staying: the Laurel Cove Lodge. We were SO impressed with the cabin, we had PLENTY of room, and even our own hot tub on the back deck. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for adventure, but glamping is more up my alley! The park does offer premium tent sites, hook-up RV sites, glamping tents, tree-top cabins, and so much more!
We got settled and ended up going down to the pool with the boys, and Theo was SO excited! The water area includes a pool and a separate interactive water playground with water slides and all kinds of fun squirt guns, buckets, and more! This was Theo’s personal heaven on earth. He would have stayed out at the splash pad ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. Later that evening, we ate out by the pool at Creekside Cafe. The menu has lots of yummy food including: burgers, fries, sandwiches, salads, wraps, and ICE CREAM. Blue Ridge Tavern is adjacent to the cafe where you can also have food + adult beverages. The Camp Store is located here as well, and it has lots of necessities, souvenirs, and items that you may have forgotten or need. That evening, I stayed back at the cabin to lay Finley down and Jonathan took Theo out on Yogi’s glow stick hay ride! Who doesn’t love a tractor ride on a cool evening?!
Friday, we stayed out at the pool for the majority of the day. Theo and Jonathan did go on the jump pad- a huge pillow shaped inflatable, and they had a blast on that! We rode around on the golf cart and explored in the evening, the views are just spectacular. We also did some of the mini golf, which was located directly behind the Camp Store, Cafe, Tavern, and pool area. Theo loved getting to play golf on his own time and he even got a hole-in-one! The kids were so exhausted at the end of the day, which was nice to get them settled and in bed, so Jonathan and I could have time together to hang and soak in the hot tub.
The weekend was packed full of adventures. Theo did a couple crafts at the activities cabin, he painted a ceramic race car, and then did some sand art. Jonathan took him to the activities in the morning when Finley was napping, so it worked out perfectly. There were activities and events planned throughout the whole day, so it was nice to pick and choose what we wanted to do and when we wanted to do them without worrying about missing anything.
Jonathan’s parents came up early Saturday morning to spend the day with us, and was a lot of fun! That morning, they came gem mining with us and played a round or two of goofy golf with them as well. One of the most magical moments was when Yogi came and surprised Theo at our cabin. We had just finished dinner and were settling in to watch the Yogi Bear movie when we heard a knock on the door, to our surprise it was Mr. Yogi himself! It was so sweet + special that the park pulled this off since we missed the meet and greet with Yogi. Which leads me to my next point, the staff + employees were so kind, helpful, and friendly. Truly, we had no complaints. Everyone we came in contact with was amazing! Mr. Steve was definitely Theo’s favorite, he manned the water slides and would always play around with Theo with the squirt guns and he always came to talk with us when he finished up his shift.
Theo also went out on the pedal boat with Daddy and Nonnie and Poppie, and he was all about steering the rudder! For a small rental fee, Jellystone offers several different water activities like stand up paddle boards, canoes, kayaks, and pedal boats. You can also bring fishing supplies or purchase them at the camp store and go fishing out on the docks. Some other attractions at the park include: hiking trails, gaga ball, lazer tag, basketball courts, outdoor movies, playground, volleyball, candy bar bingo, pickle ball, and tennis.
We loved our trip! I have already mentioned to Jonathan several times since returning that I am ready to go back! A couple things to add, renting a golf cart is a MUST. To get around to all the places, it was so nice to just hop on the golf cart and zip off to the pool, jump pad, play ground, etc. Be sure to bring linens, or rent them because they are not provided, so just make sure you do this beforehand. Since this campground just opened up Memorial day weekend 2019, there is still some construction happening. It didn’t bother us at all; in fact, Theo enjoyed seeing the bulldozers and construction vehicles! Just thought I should mention that so you are aware. Overall, our trip was fantastic, and we had so much fun making sweet memories with our boys!
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