Jellystone Park™ Akron-Canton — Hotel in Lake Township

This place was a tough one. We had never been and had researched and saw many negative reviews, so our expectations maybe weren't as high. However, we decided to camp here over the Labor Day weekend in 2019. Overall, our stay was very pleasant and fun. We had good neighbors, which may have helped too. But our kids had a blast.||||Pros:||- Lots, and I mean lots, of activities for kids. They run a constant activity schedule that includes fire truck rides, tye dying (extra $), Yogi bear visits and him and his friends play games, nice playground, kids loved gaga and the big slide. The other kids also all seemed very courteous to one another||- Mini golf was in excellent shape and the kids had a blast. We played several times.||- Yummy yummy ice cream - they have so many flavors its near impossible not to find one you like||- The pool was lots of fun, although yes, dirty (felt more like a lake)||- Our campsite was a decent size and we were on a little creek so it felt private||- The staff - we had only positive experiences with the staff. Everyone was pleasant and accommodating. We had guests on 2 of the days we were there, and they helped to get them to our site, even allowing one to drive back and drop off their stuff prior to parking in the lot.||||Cons:||- Yes, you have to pay for fire wood. And it doesn't take very well, so be prepared with lots of kindling||- The pool - yes it's fun, but it does need improvement. We chalked it up to being the last weekend of the season, but the bottom is dirty with algae. The water isn't dirty per se, but it doesn't look the most appetizing. They really could stand to replace the pool liner. For adults, it wouldn't be my cup of tea, but the kids loved the obstacle course and big slide.||- The visitor cost is sky high. But in fairness, they do charge $12.50 for people who are not campers to use the public pool. So, $15/day for access to your camp site, all the mini golf, activities and pool time you can stand isn't unreasonable. I would think $10/day for all of those activities is more reasonable. But you can also just have a guest for $5/day. I get why campsites charge fees - to keep the population to a reasonable amount. If it was free, there could be so many people there.||- Terrible terrible wifi. We were pretty close to the entrance and couldn't use it at all. So don't plan to use this while visiting.||||I do think this site gets a bad rap because it is expensive. But I've been to other sites that are not much cheaper and do not include the water park, mini golf and lots of other activities. If you want basic camping, this isn't the place to go - your overnight fees basically include the cost of using all the activities - and if you aren't going to use them, it doesn't make a lot of sense.||||Our kids had an absolute blast and are already asking when we can return. They loved doing archery in the barn. The campers App is super helpful here as it sends you reminders for all the scheduled activities, and it also updates real time if anything changes. We did not have any issues with water pressure as other reviewers suggested. We didn't have any issues at all with the facilities. My only complaint was how far the showers are from the main campground. They are all the way up by the pool. But they are decent. They are shared with the pool, so keep that in mind as well. Also, there was only two toilets by the campground, but we never had an issue with waiting. This is definitely a site where you want to use the sewer that is provided and hook up for showers and toilets if possible.||||Our campsite was nice, gravel area for our TT, the site next to us even had a concrete pad for the picnic table. Each site has a fire ring and a picnic table. We were on the creek so it was pretty private feeling, but some of the other sites are less desirable. They may have someone next to and behind - but we also saw a large group use that to their advantage. To me, you just need to do your research and this is a great...

We camped over the weekend with our children in one of their tent sites (T3). Upon arrival, we received the gate key and were shown to our tent site. In that area, there are five sites, each complete with a fire ring and picnic. The sites share a "Campers' Kitchen" which has a sink (cold water only apparently) and a bathroom. We were quite impressed at the cleanliness of the bathroom for being at a tent site! Clean toilet, clean floor. We saw one of the cleaning staff wearing a "Wendi's Cleaning Service" t-shirt and they said they were out of Canal Fulton. I feel like good cleaning service often gets overlooked, so I was quick to tell them that I was impressed with how clean the tent bathroom was as well as the bathroom/showers behind the General Store.

The tent site area has a big open field where our kids played football much of the time. Since there was not one other tent in any of the tent sites, we had the area to ourselves (benefits of going off season)!

The main reason I chose Jellystone over other cheaper campsites was because they offered programming the entire weekend we were there. When camping off-season, it can get boring real quick. Our kids enjoyed an outdoor movie (except the staff couldn't find the cable to make the sound come out louder, so it was verrrrry quiet).

We also enjoyed the sport of archery as a family. We brought our own bows, and the staff set up the targets for us. Also at the Rec Center, they had glitter tattoos ($3 each). For the price we paid for camping, I kind of wished those were included. However, we DID get free mini golf with our admission.

The mini golf course was very nice and well maintained. This was nice considering some places just don't spend the time or money to do so. Jellystone takes great care of it.

I think the best part of our stay was on Saturday morning at 8 AM when Esther and John went around all of the campsites---including the tent area---with the "coffee cart". If there is anything more wonderful than just tent camping, it is this: having complimentary coffee and doughnuts ($1 each) delivered right to you on a golf cart. What an awesome idea!

After that, they had "Pledge and Stretches" where we went up to the entrance to watch them raise the flags. We said the Pledge and did stretches with Cindy Bear.

Some of the other amenities to the campground included a Gaga ball pit, a giant inflatable jump pad, and playground area, and a pavilion.

Although we stayed during the off-season, the General Store was still open (sold souvenirs and some essentials like toiletries, as well as marshmallow stuff for s'mores). The Pic-A-Nic stand was open, but only for slushies and ice cream. Their ice cream was delicious (I recommend the Cappuccino Crunch)!

Checkout was easy, and we met the manager, Mark, at that time as well. Kind staff.

Overall, I thought the price was a little high for just tent camping. The fact that it had electricity and water (and a very clean bathroom) made up for it though, I suppose. The programming was very nice for the kids. They had firetruck and wagon rides as well.

Thank you for a great stay! The kids had a ball. We'll...

I really wanted to like this Yogi Bear, but unfortunately there were just too many things that weren't well done. My extended family all booked here. In total we had 4 campsites and a cabin. Before I explain some of the not so nice things, I will say that the activity staff were all very friendly and they had a lot of activities planned. I was shocked that many of the camp sites were empty our entire stay Thursday to Monday. The camp map online and the amenities found on the mobile App are not accurate, so keep in mind there is no dog park which was a disappointment. The camp sites are nice, but some of us had trouble with the electric amps. When water was run in the cabin, there were strong sewage smells. The pool appears to be dirty because of the color of the lining however it was very clean and the kids enjoyed it. My parents purchased ice at the store and then when they went to put it in their car were questioned oddly on if they paid for it. When we ordered ice to our site it took 2 hours and a second attempt to remind them we ordered ice. What really turned us off was how rude one of the workers was about wearing out wrist bands. I understand that they do not want people coming in and using their facilities off the street but wearing the same wrist band for your entire trip is ridiculous. AND then yelling at campers who pay way to much to be there anyway is uncalled for. My oldest daughter (7 years old) has extreme sensory issues and sensitive skin from cancer treatments and when I told the lady she could not wear her wrist band she said " Well she cant do anything in the campground without it" My daughter was in tears terrified to even move around the campground. Oh and even with our wrist bands on my family was still charged $89 to use the pool. (Yes, I was refunded but only because I caught the automatic charge to my account). The pool staff takes a 15 min break every hour or so and this means everyone has to get out of the pool. This made life miserable for parents with young kids. For the amount this place costs you don't expect to have these kind of issues arise. My family went to a state park for 1/4 of the cost 2 weeks prior and enjoyed it more. Be cautious when spending your hard earned money...