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New Attractions Fuel A 183 Percent Increase In Advance Reservations At Jellystone Park™
Advance reservations are up 183 percent at the Jellystone Park at Tower Park, compared to last year’s figures, an increase park officials attribute to their investments in new amenities as well as new “Red Carpet” RV sites and rental cabins. “We’re investing millions of dollars in improvements and new amenities and people like what we’re doing,” said Zachary Bossenbroek, CEO of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Northgate Resorts, which purchased the former Tower Park Campground in July of 2016 and converted it into the only Jellystone Park Camp-Resort on the West Coast. An impressive lineup of improvements and new amenities are coming to Jellystone Park this spring and summer, including a miniature golf course, which opens in early April, followed by a new fishing pier, beach and “bark park” later that month.
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Bear Cove Village Becomes Tennessee’s Third Jellystone Park™ Camp-Resort
Yogi Bear™ and Dollywood are about to become neighbors. Bear Cove Village, the closest campground to Dollywood, is joining the Jellystone Park franchise network with a grand opening celebration planned for park guests from noon to 2 p.m., Saturday, March 10. We’re going to celebrate by having a ‘Yogi Bear and Friends Birthday Bash’ with Yogi Bear, Boo Boo™, Cindy Bear™ and Ranger Smith™,” said park owner Heather Blankenship. “We will play birthday party games and serve free hot dogs, pizza and cake for all of our guests.” Blankenship is offering 50 percent off all RV sites and rental accommodations on the weekend of March 9 - 10 to celebrate her campground joining the Jellystone Park network.
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Timberline Campground In Waukee To Become Iowa’s Second Jellystone Park™
Timberline Campground will become Iowa’s second Jellystone Park Camp-Resort when it reopens April 1 for the 2018 camping season. “We’re really excited about it,” said Curtis Van Gilder, who is converting the 40 plus-year-old, 115-site campground into the West Des Moines Jellystone Park with his business partner, Marta Sirck-Docan. Dallas County’s rapid population growth, fueled by Apple’s recent decision to build a $1.3 billion data center in Waukee, was a major factor in their decision to convert Timberline Campground into a Jellystone Park, Van Gilder said. “Young families are moving into the Waukee area and bringing young kids, which is a perfect fit for a Jellystone Park,” he said.
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Marine Park To Become Canada’s Sixth Jellystone Park™ Camp-Resort
David Snow and his family have spent the past 21 years building Marine Park into the one of the most sought after seasonal camping destinations in Newfoundland. Now, Snow and his family are working to increase their overnight camping business by transforming their 450-site campground into Canada’s sixth Jellystone Park Camp-Resort. “We don’t want to reinvent the wheel, and by becoming a Jellystone Park franchise we can tap into their experience and expand our overnight traffic,” Snow said.
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Franchise Business Review Recognizes Jellystone
For the first time Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park™ Camp-Resorts appears on Franchise Business Review’s Top 200 list of award-winning franchise opportunities. The company has also moved up 207 slots to #265 on Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 list for 2018.
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Jellystone Park™ Featured On FranchiseBusinessReview.com Podcast
Jim Westover, the Vice President of Operations for Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp Resorts, offers some insight into how the brand has grown since its inception approximately 50 years ago. Listen as Jim is interviewed by Mike Cupfer of FranchiseBusinessReview.com.
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South Haven Jellystone Park™ Wins Regional Camp-Resort Of The Year Award
The Jellystone Park in South Haven has won the Camp-Resort of the Year Award for the Central Region. Park owners Susan and Kyle Novotny received the award from Leisure Systems, Inc. (LSI), the Milford, Ohio-based company that franchises 80 Jellystone Parks across the U.S. and Canada. The award is LSI’s highest award at the regional level. It is given to Camp-Resorts whose facilities and operations exceed all Jellystone Park standards. Recipients must be Pinnacle Club members, meaning they rate 95 percent or higher on the annual LSI assessment of their facilities and operations. Award recipients also must have achieved strong growth in business, implemented sustained improvements and be leaders in the industry.
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Henk John and Mary Ann Kuipers, who own and operate the 220-site Jellystone Park™ in Kingston, received a national award from the company that franchises Jellystone Parks in Canada. The Kuipers received the Maple Leaf Award from Milford, Ohio-based Leisure Systems, Inc. in recognition of their dedication to the Jellystone Park system in Canada during the past year. It was the fourth time the Kuipers have received the award in the past six years.
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The Frankenmuth Jellystone Park™ Achieves Highest Assessment Ratings In The Jellystone Park Network
The Frankenmuth Jellystone Park has won a national award for achieving the highest assessment ratings in the 80-unit Jellystone Park franchise network. The Frankenmuth campground was one of five Jellystone Parks that won The Carroll Award from Leisure Systems, Inc., the Milford, Ohio-based company that franchises 80 Jellystone Parks across the U.S. and Canada. Four other Jellystone Parks in Bremen, Ga.; Mill Run, Penn.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Tabor City, N.C. also received the award after tying each other’s scores for the highest franchise assessment ratings. “It is a real honor for us to receive this recognition,” said Cindy Keinath, a second generation co-owner of the Jellystone Park who works at the 250-site park with her husband, Allen; her brother, Craig, and her parents, Erv and Marilyn Banes.
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Door County Jellystone Park™ Wins A National Award
The Door County Jellystone Park is the oldest campground in the 80-unit Jellystone Park franchise network. But park owners Jim and Jill Kavicky continue to make improvements to the 49-year-old campground, and won a national award for their efforts from Leisure Systems, Inc., the Milford, Ohio-based company that franchises 80 Jellystone Parks with more than 17,000 campsites and vacation rentals across the U.S. and Canada. The Kavickys, in fact, won special recognition from LSI for having the most improved inspection in the Jellystone Park network.
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Richard and Nancy Felber’s campground has only been part of the Jellystone Park network for four years, but the Felbers have won top awards every year from the company that franchises the Yogi Bear themed campgrounds. The Felbers’ latest honor, the Regional Camp Resort of the Year Award, was presented to them in November by Leisure Systems, Inc., (LSI), the Milford, Ohio-based company that franchises 80 Jellystone Parks across the U.S. and Canada.
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Black Canyon Jellystone Park™ Wins The Entrepreneur Of The Year Award From Leisure Systems, Inc.
Black Canyon Jellystone Park has received an Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the company that franchises Jellystone Parks. The 142-site campground received the award after its new managers, Tom and Kay Vail, implemented a variety of improvements along with stricter enforcement of park rules, which have helped increase the park’s occupancies and revenue by 30 percent this year.
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Black Canyon Jellystone Park™ To Market Itself As An Affordable Base Camp For Telluride-Bound Skiers
In recent years, growing numbers of visitors to western Colorado have been using Black Canyon Jellystone Park as a base camp for ATV rides, guided jeep and rafting tours, hunting and fishing trips and visits to national parks. But starting this winter, the 142-space campground with eight lodges and five rental cabins will begin marketing itself as a base camp for a different kind of visitor: Skiers bound for Telluride. “Skiers can stay at our park for a fraction of what it can cost to stay in Telluride,” said Tom Vail, who co-manages the Black Canyon Jellystone Park with his wife, Kay.
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The Jellystone Park in Bremen has received a national award for achieving the highest assessment scores in the 80-unit Jellystone Park franchise network. “We were happily honored and surprised,” said Phil Asztalos, who owns and operates the 104-site campground with his wife, Analyn. The Bremen campground was one of five Jellystone Parks that won The Carroll Award from Leisure Systems, Inc., the Milford, Ohio-based company that franchises 80 Jellystone Parks across the U.S. and Canada.
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Jellystone Of Estes Park Wins Regional And National Awards
Rick Spear and his wife, Shelly, were barely into their 30s when they purchased the Jellystone Park in Estes Park from Rick’s parents. But in the seven years that the Spears have owned and operated the park, they’ve increased their business by 50 percent, demonstrated exemplary park management techniques and served on education and advisory committees to help other Jellystone Parks across the country. In recognition of their efforts, the Spears won the Camp-Resort of the Year Award for the Western Region as well as the Jim Webb Spirit Award from Leisure Systems, Inc. (LSI), the Milford, Ohio-based company that franchises 80 Jellystone Parks across the U.S. and Canada.
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Bill and Kay Pott, who own and operate the award winning Jellystone Park at Mammoth Cave, have earned another national award. This time the Potts received the Dan O’Connell Service Award from Leisure Systems, Inc. (LSI), the Milford, Ohio-based company that franchises 80 Jellystone Parks across the U.S. and Canada. The award recognizes Jellystone Park owners who have made exemplary efforts to expand the campground industry. The Potts easily meet that criteria, having embarked on a $10.7 million expansion of their Cave City resort that they hope to complete before next summer.
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