Jellystone Park – Natural Bridge

We stayed at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in Natural Bridge, VA recently. It was everything that we could hope for, and we didn’t lose our picnic basket!

This post was in partnership with GoRVing, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Jellystone Natural Bridge

Rumor has it that I have been to Jellystone before, not Natural Bridge, but a Jellystone somewhere. Sometime in the early 80s I had my picture taken with Yogi Bear and spent a few days there in my parent’s pop-up camper, towed by a Saab sedan. While this was not an attempt to recreate that trip in any way, I was pretty excited for my kids to get to meet Yogi and Boo Boo in the magical world of Jellystone.

Why stay at Jellystone?

Jellystone Park – Natural Bridge is a “camp resort.” What does this mean exactly? There is a campsite for every level traveler at Jellystone. You can rent a cabin, park an RV in a full-service site, rent a basic camper site, or even a traditional tent site. They all have different levels of convenience. And the staff there is top-notch. The park manager was always available to answer questions, and always looking for a way to make everyone’s stay better.

Cabin Camping

Jellystone offers several options for cabins, some sleeping up to 8 people, all with Air Conditioning and private bathrooms. Several have a separate master bedroom, and the Boo Boo Bear Cozy Cabin is even pet friendly.

RV Camping

This is where we stayed. All of the RV sites at Jellystone Natural Bridge include water/electric & sewer hookups, with the premium sites including a concrete patio, fire pit, grill, and cable TV. This was really no stress camping. For our first time in an RV, we were a little hesitant about over-stretching our water and sewage capacities, but here, we didn’t even need to consider it. And with no need to turn on the generator to charge the batteries, it was peaceful and quiet. Also a great feature, Jellystone Natural Bridge has a propane filling station right next to the check in/out station, so you can top off your tank coming or going without having to make an extra stop anywhere.

Tent Camping

All of the tent and pop-up camper sites at Jellystone Natural Bridge include water and electric. This is great for keeping things charged up, and not needing to lug bottles and bottles of water from fill stations.

What other amenities are offered at Jellystone?

Once you have booked your site, you may consider that the extent of your interaction with a campground. In many places that I have stayed over the years, the camping parks are really just a place to park your RV so that you can go off and enjoy area scenery and activities. There are tons of things to do near Jellystone, but don’t overlook the park itself when planning your trip.

Swim and Splash at Jellystone Natural Bridge

The Pool and Swimming Hole

One of the first things that you notice by check in is a swimming pool, and you’re probably expecting there to be a pool of some sort. It’s not terribly big, and you might stop looking there. Big mistake. There were some smaller children playing in the pool, but mostly those that needed help swimming, or whose parents wanted to relax in the pool side chairs. The real action was at the swimming hole.

I know what you’re thinking, “A swimming hole? I’m not sure about that.” This swimming hole is more of a small lake. There is a roped off shallow area for non-swimmers to play in, with plenty of room for beach chairs and picnic setups. Out past the rope, there is an inflatable raft. It’s big. No, not big like that. Bigger. Multi level. With a staircase to access the top. From there you could jump from about 10′ above the water. In the middle of it was a large opening to swim and jump into. And on one side was a rectangular slot with a swinging bar suspended above it like a rope swing. It was like a setup from American Gladiators, only for kids to play on. I am pretty sure that my son was ready to cancel the rest of the trip and spend the whole week playing in the water here.

So, you can walk down to the swimming hole from the pool. Or, you can take the water-slide. Yes, you read that right. From up by the parking lot, there is a water-slide that shoots you down into the lake, at quite a fair clip. It does go out into fairly deep water (over 4′), so this slide might not be for small children or non-swimmers.

Waterslides

But there are more water-slides. Starting up by the pool, there are two more water-slides. These are Water-Park style slides with separate landing pools. The water-slides were also great because they were supervised, so the perfect place for the kids to kill some time while getting dinner ready or when you have an awkward hour or so that you don’t know what to do with.

River Tubing at Jellystone Natural Bridge

We took a lazy trip down the James River while at Jellystone. The river trips take roughly 4 hours, and can be done by tube, canoe or kayak. Tube trips cover about 4 miles of the James River, mostly calm water, with some very low level rapids. It made for a magical morning, floating along. The water for most of the trip was less than 5′ deep, and the kids jumped out of the tubes to swim several times. We had all of the tubes tied together, and even had a separate rectangular tube for our cooler. We ate our lunch while floating, but saw other groups stop along the riverside to picnic on sand spits.

The trip is unguided and at your own pace. Jellystone staff will drop you off at the start point with your tubes, and you finish by wading ashore right at the campground. So you can take as long as you like, and spend the day relaxing on the water. The canoe and kayak trips are 8 miles long, with the same setup.

Activities Near Jellystone Natural Bridge

Natural Bridge State Park

The Natural Bridge in Virginia that the town is named after is one of the most incredible rock formations in the United States. On land that was once owned by Thomas Jefferson, the 215-foot tall Natural Bridge is a limestone gorge slowly carved out by Cedar Creek. Not only is it a beautiful construct of nature, but also a functioning bridge. The upper stone section is over 40 feet thick, and the busy Lee Highway runs over the top to this day.

Natural Bridge State Park includes more than just the bridge though. This 1500 acre section of the James River Valley can be accessed via 6 miles of hiking trails. This includes the accessible Cedar Creek Trail that leads from the bridge to the Monacan Indian Village. There are “living history” programs to connect you to the past and cover how people once utilized the area’s resources. There is a small fee to visit the park and bridge, but well worth it, even to just walk down and stand under the arch.

George Washington and Jefferson National Forest

It is only a short drive to trails in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest from Jellystone. We spent the day hiking from the Sunset Fields Overlook to Apple Orchard Falls. This trail is accessible from the Blue Ridge Parkway, and well marked and easy to follow. It is a 3 mile loop, and did not provide any difficulties for the kids.

Lexington, VA

The city of Lexington, VA is only about 15 minutes away from Jellystone Natural Bridge. The home of VMI and Washington and Lee University, it is a small but bustling center for anything that you could need. We saw one of the most impressive July 4th firework displays that I’ve gone to here. There are plenty of restaurants and activities exploring american history, particularly the Civil War, here.

Ready to plan an RV adventure? Learn more about our RV trip in a Minnie Winnie, and visit GoRVing to learn about RVs, campgrounds and get yourself ready for the road!

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