Jellystone Resort Barton Lake, Indiana

Your family will love this RV park located in Fremont, Indiana!

We’ve stayed here 3 times now, and we’ve enjoyed it every time. We love it because there’s so much to do! Every day there’s a posted schedule of activities. Some have an extra fee and can add up and get expensive, but many are FREE! The activities with the dollar sign are the ones that cost extra. Here are some examples from the app.

Our favorite is the water zone. They have a splash pad for small children, a regular water zone (brand new this year!), 2 outdoor pools, a giant tube slide, a speed slide, and an indoor pool. The water zone is open 10 am to 9 pm every day during peak season (5/15-8/15). The giant tube slide and speed slide are only open 11-5.

2. Candy Bar Bingo. It costs $2 per Bingo card, and there are concessions for purchase. They play 5 games total. The first 3 games payout 10 candy bars each. There is a “rotten game” and a special jackpot for the last 2 games. The jackpots can get up to 100 candy bars!

3. Playgrounds– there are several around the park, and they’re very nice.

4. The bounce pad– there’s 2 of them! They’re open 8 am to 9 pm. Be sure to wear socks. You have to remove your shoes, and these pads get HOT!

5. Family Dance parties!- check the schedule for these fun events!– We brought the glow sticks ourselves. You can buy a huge lot of them on Amazon for very inexpensive. We bought a 100 pack for $8.99, and they really add to the fun.

6. Wagon and train rides– they happen quite frequently- just check the schedule.

7. FREE Mini-golf!! This is a super fun course, and free is always more fun!😆 It’s open 8 am to 10 pm.

8. The Arcade- this can get expensive. We bought a $40 play card, and it was plenty to play for about an hour. If you’re traveling on a budget, avoid the arcade! There’s also an ice cream shop attached to it too. You have to order outside of the arcade though. It’s open 9 am to 11 pm.

9. The Bears! Cindy, Yogi, and Boo Boo make appearances throughout the camp. There are also MANY statues of them for great pictures. You can also pay for personal visits to your campsite ($55 for a 10-15 minute visit). For free, they will deliver a personal letter to kids from the bears. You just need to fill out a Google form before 7 pm to have the letter delivered to your campsite the next morning. The letter is delivered by a camp staff member (not the bears) between 9 and 10 am. They also do a special “wake up the bears” where you bring pots and pans and noisemakers and wake up the bears. It’s super fun for the kids.

10. The Camp Ranger Station- it’s a store and a fast food restaurant, Boo Boo Cafe, with pizza, slushies, and other snacks. Prices are reasonable for a resort. I’ve posted the menu below. The restaurant has beautiful views of the lake and plenty of seating. The store is open 8-9 on weekdays and 8-10 on weekends. Boo Boo Cafe is open 11-8 on weekdays and 11-9 on weekends.

11. The Craft Shed– they have free crafts and crafts for a fee. They vary and can be activities like tie dye, coloring pages, themed crafts, glitter tattoos, ceramics, and more. They even have their own Build a Bear that they call “Stuff a Plush”. Bear prices vary and are around $20-$25.

12. The lake- you can rent kayaks, pedal boats and more from the ranger station to enjoy the lake. There’s also a small beach to play on and build sand castles.

13. Renting golf carts– they are fun to drive around, but they are pricey. $100 a night for the 4-seater, and you have to get it for your entire stay. The 6-seater is $120 a night. If you get one, don’t forget to plug them in to charge overnight.

14. Coupons and specials! Check their website for all kinds of deals. We stayed in April with their special of Buy one Night, get one free. They offer savings on golf carts with 4 or more nights and many other specials. Just use the drop down menu on the top left of their website and select “Special Offers”.

15. Yogi Rewards– be sure to sign up for their free rewards program. Take a picture of your membership number, and be sure to add it when you check in. Also give the cashier your campsite wherever you spend money in the park to earn points. You can use points for free night stays or merchandise. The free nights start with 8,000 points. You earn 5 points for every dollar you spend. To earn a free premium RV night, it’s 16,000 points.

16. The App– Just download the Jellystone App, select Barton Lake, and everything you need is there! It even has a flashlight and a weather report available right on the Home Screen.

17. MORE!! Our favorites are above, but they have MUCH MORE: a sand volleyball court, basketball courts, pedal bikes to rent, scavenger hunts, laser tag, a giant lite bright, themed weekends, pancake breakfasts, and gem mining. I’m sure that I forgot something…🤪. This is all in addition to the pure fun of camping at your own site too- like cooking out, campfires, board games, and S’mores.

The theme when we were there was “Christmas in July”🤶

Accommodations

Best campsites– my favorites are 500-508. They are right next to the water zone. We stayed at 507 for our last stay in the RV. You have to pay $45 if you want to be able to lock your site. They guarantee the type of site, but not the actual site unless you pay this fee. Site 507 was a premium site, but it was so close to everything that we didn’t need a golf cart. It was much cheaper to upgrade the site than to rent a golf cart. The premium sites vary by week, but are around $150 a night. Don’t forget to check the specials when planning your trip!

There are many different types of sites for RVs, many different types of cabins, and also tent sites.

We stayed in cabins in April. We had 2 cabins facing each other for us and our son and our grandkids. It was great because we had the area between the 2 cabins for everyone to hang out. We used the buy-one, get-one April special to pull this off. Otherwise, the cabins can be very pricey. The 2 accessible cabins we rented, in addition to facing each other, also don’t have lofts in them like the others do. This seemed much safer for the young grandkids so no one was falling off ladders or jumping from lofts. The cabins have a full kitchen, air conditioning, (we used the heat in April!😆), a bathroom with a shower, and they were very nice. They have one bedroom with a queen bed. In the main living space, there is a pull-out sofa and 2 bunk beds. You do have to bring your own linens.