Jellystone Park Colorado (Larkspur)

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We recently had the amazing opportunity to visit Jellystone Park in Larkspur, Colorado. They hosted us for a weekend visit to experience all the park has to offer. Here’s our experience- the short story is that we loved it and can’t wait to go back!

We’ve been doing a lot of camping this summer- my parents got an RV and we’ve spent time at various campgrounds around the state. I have to say that I am in love with camping people as they tend to be friendly, generous and love to have a good time. We were so excited to visit Jellystone because it’s fairly close to our house in Denver and my niece goes every year and just loves it.

(We also do the Gaylord Rockies Resort and the YMCA Estes Park each summer and love them too!)

About Jellystone Park Colorado

A bit about the park! Jellystone RV Camp-Resort is located in Larkspur, Colorado (home to the Colorado Renaissance fest where Ricardo and went on our honeymoon). Larkspur is just between Denver and Colorado Springs, and it’s right off 1-25. You can see the cars going by on one side, and on the other, you have a nice forest.

Jellystone is way bigger than I expected, there are over 500 places ot stay when you combine the RV spots and the cabins. The RV spots (or tent sites- you can tent camp here too) seemed to have a cement pad, picnic table, and a fire pit. The vacation rentals (cabins) were located mostly on the outskirts of the RV spots, which was really nice to have them a bit separate.

The whole park is themed after Jellystone park and Yogi Bear, which is super cute. The signage is whimsical, the streets are named after Jellystone characters, and the rec center shows old Yogi Bear cartoons in the mornings.

Yogi bear is out and about at check-in and there is a “Hey Hey Hey” ride around the property each day with Yogi and Cindy Bear in tow. It’s super fun!

Jellystone Park Cabin Rentals

Since we don’t have an RV ourselves, we were excited to visit a fun RV park that also has cabins. We stayed in a Boo Boo Bear cabin for the weekend. It was like a tiny house without a kitchen and we loved it because it was clean and bright. The walls were whitewashed and there were windows along the vaulted ceiling that let in tons of light. We happened to be there during a super moon, and the moonlight actually woke me up at one point, which I thought was super cool.

The cabin slept 6, there was a California King bed right in the middle, and then a pull-out couch that my daughter said was really comfy. There was a double mattress on the floor of a loft up above, and the kids loved playing there when we were hanging around the cabin.

I was worried about food prep and dining space in the cabin, but it wasn’t really an issue. We had a porch with a nice Weber gas grill and a patio set. There was a gas fire pit we used to roast marshmallows too. Then inside there was a table for 4, and a front porch with two chairs and a side table.

The cabin amenities included a mini fridge, a microwave, a Keurig coffee maker and toaster. We took along a microwave egg poacher (best thing EVER!) and a batch of my raisin bran muffins for breakfast. Then we had sandwiches and chips for lunch and ate at the cafe for dinner (more on that in a bit). There was also a tv in the unit but we didn’t turn it on.

The cabins are pet friendly- we saw lots of people with their dogs staying in the cabins. There are also other types of cabins like the Cindy Bear cabins and the Ranger Smith cabins, but we didn’t really have a chance to find out much about them.

Getting Around The Park

Ok so this was the most fun part of our trip.

Since the park is so big, you need a way to get around. We saw people on e-bikes, electric scooters, regular bikes, hoverboards, scooters, and more.

But we opted to rent a golf cart, which was pretty much the most fun EVER. You can rent regular golf carts that seat four, or “limo carts” that seat 6. All of the places with things to do have golf cart parking spots too.

We were there on a really busy weekend and all of the golf carts were sold out, so I was really glad I reserved ours in advance. There were more than 75 carts checked out!

We loved the convenience of a golf cart because it was easier to park, and also because there are a lot of hills at Jellystone, which makes walking and biking a bit tough going uphill.

The golf cart was a good choice also because the girls loved just riding around in the cart for hours at a time. We play the license plate game and saw all kinds of plates we hadn’t seen on the roads this summer. All this to say- I highly recommend the golf cart.

Things To Do At Jellystone Larkspur

Each Jellystone park is different, but at Larkspur there is a LOT to do. The crown jewel is the water zone, but there is so much more.

When we checked in we had to get our keys for the cabin in the main office, and I picked up an activities brochure to see what there was to do. There was everything from a foam party to a scavenger hunt to candy bar bingo.

Each day there was a flag lowering ceremony, and Yogi bear was out and about too.

There is mini golf, gem mining, mini bowling, ceramic painting, and end-of-day movies. So. Much. Fun.

Honestly though? We spent a ton of time at the pools. There is a pool near the cafe and bar- that pool has a hot tub as well.

Then down below next to the putt-putt golf there is a huge pool with zero gravity entry, and a separate water park complex complete with three slides, rope bridges, and one of those huge buckets that dumps water everywhere.

Shady spots and chairs were in scarce supply the day we went, so we took our own camp chairs. You also need to bring your own towels. Some people even brought the EZ Up type shade structures to have their own shade in the pool area.

You can bring your own food into the pool, and there is also a snack bar with some hot food like fries, chicken tenders, breadsticks, etc. The snack bar also sells canned alcoholic beverages and sodas.

Dining

Since we didn’t have a kitchen in the cabin, we chose to eat our meals at the cafe. The cafe is adjacent to the upper pool and next to the bar, and we were glad we ate dinner on the early side as the pool is open to 10 pm and gets really busy after the water park closes.

The kid’s meals included apple slices and a drink, and the drinks were free refills which meant the girls drank a lot of Sprite. Ricardo and I had the buffalo chicken salad and the Philly cheesesteak, both of which were surprisingly good.

You can also get some sundries at the general store, so we bought supplies to make S’mores since I didn’t think of that. You can also eat at the snack bar at the pool, but it does seem to close early so we just took our own snacks.

What To Pack

The weather was mild and the streets were all paved, so we didn’t need too much clothing really, and I wore my Birks the whole time. I was glad I brought the following:

  • Bug repellent
  • Beach/pool towels
  • Camp chairs
  • Cooler with ice (the mini fridge was too small for all our beer and soda)
  • Lots of snacks
  • Hats and sunscreen
  • Own alcohol
  • Own food

One thing I wish we had done was to use the gas grill on the porch. I just didn’t want to deal with all the food prep from home knowing there were good dinner prices at the cafe. It would have been fun to grill though. I also wish I had brought some bacon to make in the microwave as the whole campground smelled of bacon and eggs with all the people cooking in their RVs. Finally, I would have brought butter for the raisin bran muffins, and salt and pepper for the eggs.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that we will be going back to Jellystone Park next summer because we loved it. We will also look forward to visiting Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park near Estes, and would love to visit other similar parks around the country. There are lots! To book your own stay or find out more about a Jellystone Park near you, you can visit the Jellystone Park website here.

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Christa Jimenez

Welcome! I’m Christa, a Spanish teacher married to a handsome Costa Rican and mother of two bilingual daughters. We’ve spent over 25 years living in and traveling to Costa Rica with our daughters, and this website is my love letter to all things Costa Rica- and to bilingual parenting too. You can read my full story here. Thanks for stopping by!

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