Many activities for kids including mini golf, 2 playground areas and a water park. Although the water park and mini golf are open to public, they were not overly crowded.
One major issue is with the bathroom facilities - or lack thereof. What once was only seasonal sites, lies an area in the upper end of the campground designated for many tents and pop ups. Bathrooms were not necessary previously; but now with just one toilet / sink for men and one for women … it just isn’t enough for the amount of people on those sites. The toilet was constantly getting backed up and there was always a line. Also there wasnt even a mirror if we did need it and we needed to drive to get a shower - which there weren’t many of.
A second issue was the abundance of poison ivy surrounding our electrIc and water … making it pretty interesting to wash dishes.
Overall we had a nice trip but the bathroom facilities made tent and popup camping pretty difficult.
Jellystone Akron-Canton was a nice place. My mom wanted to go there because she thought the kids would like it more with all the activities. It was my family with 3 kids aged 11-13, my sister's family with kids aged 5-15, my parents, my adult daughter and her 3yo son, and my brother. You are only permitted one tent per site or there's an additional $15/night charge. They did not charge us for our additional tent which we decided to pop for the kids after night one.As a camper you get a wristband. The wristband gets you access to the mini golf and pool. This campground has a really nice mini golf course! It's free for campers but the public can come and pay to play. Crowds weren't an issue at the mini golf while we were there. The pool was busy. Many poolgoers were public payers. The pool hours were only 11a-7p. It would be nice if they would close the pool to the public a few hours of the day to allow campers exclusive access. There are lifeguards and hourly swimmer breaks. The pool seemed clean.
They have an activity barn where you can make diff crafts (a fee for the nicer ones of course). Our kids did a few of the included crafts and seemed to enjoy them. It would be helpful if the craft options were made more clear, with costs and an example of the finished product.
There were daily activity offerings (rides around the park on a wagon, a firetruck ride, yogi bear visits, food truck Fridays, bingo, daily flag raising, scavenger hunts, etc. - check their website https://akroncantonjellystone.com for schedules. I HIGHLY recommend you download the CampersApp (park code YOGIAC) if you decide to stay here -or any park that utilizes it- because it gives you reminders and updates of what's going on, weather, pay per use services (firewood, ice, etc). It is easy to lose track of time and miss something you wanted to do and this App helps you remember. I think our kids would've been just as happy at a state park because they've been raised to appreciate the outdoors but could see how this could be a draw for kids still learning that and needing constant entertainment. Our kids did enjoy many of the offerings here 🙂.
We only tried the nachos from the food counter. However, we had daily ice cream! The ice cream flavors were unique and DELICIOUS and if you go you have to try the raspberry oreo!
You have to buy their firewood and cannot bring your own. The downside of that is that it was waaaay over priced ($6.75 for 6-8 cuts).
We are tent campers for now. The designated tent spots are near a road that can be a little busy (Hoover Ave.) and at night the campground was louder than we're used to but didn't keep us from sleeping. There are quiet hours but they weren't enforced while we were there. There were two groups staying in cabins who were arguing loudly outside and playing loud music. This campground is not in the woods. It's mostly a plot of land, situated beside roadways and field with some trees and a creek, with camper, cabin and tent sites. Part of the reason we liked the tent sites was because they were tree lots next to a creek. There's less of a woodsy wilderness feel for sure so we prefer state park type campgrounds or park like environments for this reason.
In addition to the above, for the kids there's a huge slide (the burlap …..you sit on to slide down was really filthy because it's left out in the elements) a gaga pit, a playground, basketball, human foosball and pedal carts. As a camper you could check out balls for free. I'm not sure why but the pedal carts weren't being used by anyone. We were here a few years ago and my son ended up in a creek on his after sliding off the gravel road.
The cost to stay here is relatively high but if you truly take advantage (and are able to) of all that's offered, it's reasonable.
The shower house was very nice. Updated showers and flush toilets. There were also sporadic bathrooms around the campground.
The workers seemed friendly enough. Other campers seemed grumpy. We did get a huge storm the first night we were there so maybe that upset them?
So, if you're camping with kids or like to play unlimited mini golf, eat delicious ice cream or swim in a pool while you camp, I highly recommend this place. Otherwise, it's mediocre at best.
