Return to Jellystone Golden Valley

We first visited Jellystone Golden Valley Resort in the summer of 2020. It was such a fun experience we had to try it again. We even went during one of the busiest weekends of the year, July 4th!

Accomodations

We stayed in one of the Hickory Forest Cabins this time. It had a bathroom, bunk beds, and a queen bed. The common area had a sofa, small kitchen, and table. Then we had a good size deck with outdoor chairs. We loved it. We were also coming off a weekend where we slept in a tent and used nature’s bathroom as my son put it. Sooooo just about anything with a bed would have been like a Ritz! Although sharing a bathroom with my boys is still gross.

You do have to rent the linens at an additional cost. One twin set was $20 for the weekend. That includes the fitted and flat sheet, pillow, wash cloth, hand towel, and body towel. I probably could have just brought the boys’ sleeping bags instead of making the bunk beds, which I hate!

Dining

We brought most of our own food. However, we did go to breakfast at Scout’s Table. I really enjoyed the atmosphere. They serve brunch from 9am-3pm. It was a sit down style place. I will warn you that service can be slow but that didn’t bother us. The food was reasonably priced and the staff was very friendly.

We even went back the next morning to the coffee bar inside the same place. They offer a variety of caffeinated drinks along with some pastries. We tried the coffee cake muffins and cinnamon mini donuts. All were delicious!

There is a place by the pool where you can get food. I believe it was more of the fast food variety. It was always busy and they had a lot of kid-friendly options such as chicken tenders and waffle fries.

Pool

My kids love the pool area. They have a nice size pool that was about 3 feet deep. Then they have 2 large hot tubs. Last but not least is the kid zone. They have the obligatory bucket dump and slides! It was the first time in years we were able to sit down and read a little while the kids played.

I almost forgot….they even have Cabanas! I wish I would have thought to rent one. They looked fabulous with sofas, TVs, chairs, and refrigerators!

They do close the pool down twice a day for cleaning at 1pm and 4pm for 30 minutes. In the meantime you can always take a dip in the lake.

Activities

Oh so many activites! There is a detailed itinerary everyday of activities around the resort. They will have where the Bears will make appearances, tie dying, painting, dance parties, etc. There are so many things to do here that the kids never get bored.

Mini Golf
Fishing
Hiking
Gem Mining-extra fee
Water Zip Line (must be 70 lbs)- extra fee
Volleyball
Basketball
Tennis
Playground
Jumping Pillow
Lazer Tag-extra fee
Kayaks, paddle boards, pedal boats-extra fee
Arts & Crafts

Miscellaneous

They do offer a Tram you can take to get around the resort, however renting a golf cart is much more fun!

They do have a little laundry mat that even has a dog washing station. Did I forget to mention it is a dog-friendly place! They also have a Bark Park with obstacles.

The Ranger Station is the General Store onsite. You can get bundles of firewood here along with just about anything else. They have some food items as well as tolietries. Watch out, they have a few toys and candy as well 😉

Conclusion

It was another great trip to Jellystone. The kids already want to plan a future trip again. Even Mom and Dad enjoyed themselves. It is great watching my boys be kids. They do have WiFi but it is so weak it barely works (blessing in disguise). We spent most of the days swimming and fishing. We ended each evening with dinner at the cabin and we made S’mores for dessert.

I will warn you that you should go into it knowing you will be paying extra for some things here and there. While that does add up, there is plenty to do that does not cost extra. If you are looking for a fun-family weekend then Jellystone Golden Valley is the place. We can’t wait to go back!