Summer Fun: Jellystone Park Akron-Canton: Ultimate Family Camping & Pool Guide

Spending her childhood summers at Clearwater Park pool in Uniontown — now a part of Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort Akron-Canton — bestowed Jen Prosser with rich memories.

“Driving by made me so happy,” she says. “I would just stare at it like, Oh, I love it there.” Open since 1947 as a pool and a mini golf course, Clearwater Park eventually evolved.

“People loved coming here so much that they started pitching tents,” says general manager Nick Cofrancesco.

Around the ‘50s, Clearwater Park became an official campground, and around 2012, it became Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort Akron-Canton, an independently owned franchise location of the national chain. Now about 50 acres, it welcomes campers in tents, RVs and cabins for stays that include mini golf, the Family Fun Zone and the Clearwater Park pool. Members of the public can get mini golf and pool day or season passes. Those in RVs can purchase camping for the entire season, as Jen does with her family — including her husband, Ryan, their daughter, Penny, and their miniature poodle, Frankie. The family currently lives on the campground that’s open from May 1 to Oct. 25.

Choose from a lodge, 14 cabins, 175 RV sites and six tent sites. The 12-person lodge is the most spacious, with three queen bedrooms, a four-person bunk room, a pullout couch, two bathrooms, a stocked kitchen, linens and a lounge. The cabins vary, but most sleep six people and have a picnic table, fire ring and charcoal grill. Two glamping tents sleep five campers each. All RV sites are full-hookup, and there are two presidential RV sites with a washer, dryer, covered pavilion, flat-screen TV, gas grill and more.

Open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, the pool features a zero-depth kids’ area with an umbrella waterfall and turtle slide, a 144-foot-long water slide, a smaller slide, dumping buckets and a diving platform. Plus, there’s an inflatable obstacle course with a slide. The pool deck is complete with lounge chairs and cabanas, and there’s a grassy spot by the Tuscarawas River for swimming towels and a rentable picnic area.

Grab a bite to eat at the neighboring Pic-A-Nic Basket, which sells items like slushies, ice cream, dirty sodas and more. Campers can get a custom, made-to-order pizza delivered to their site.

Nearby is the 18-hole mini golf course, featuring a waterfall, a creek, water fountains and a cave. Stop by the paid gemstone mining area and pan for shells, shark teeth and gems such as amethyst. New this year, break a geode open by placing it in a device.

“We have certified hollow geodes from across the world,” says Cofrancesco. “Turn the ship wheel and it cracks the geode, and you can see what’s inside.”

Also new this year is a shooting gallery with Gellyballs, where you can aim for picnic basket and food-themed targets.

Ideal for kids ages 5 to 12, the Family Fun Zone features what Jellystone calls the world’s largest sandbox with 52 tons of sand, a fire truck slide and construction toys. Plus, there’s a jump pad, playground, Gaga ball pit, RC track —where you can race your own remote-controlled car — and more. Take pooches to a grassy dog park or Bark Park dog water park.

Enjoy tie-dying, woodburning, fire truck rides and visits from Yogi Bear, Cindy Bear and Boo-Boo Bear, who have an on-site Bear Den. Come for theme weekends, such as Sharktacular Fun Aug. 21 to 23 and a July 4th Celebration July 3 to 6, which double as Wet and Wild weekends with Slip ‘N Slides, foam parties and hay rides with water guns. Those wanting to go into the city can visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame or the nearby Hartville MarketPlace & Flea Market.

The Prossers are enjoying their first stay at Jellystone. “We came here and love it already,” Jen says. “Everyone knows each other.”

“We have generations of families coming here, grandparents, parents, kids, so we really lean into that nostalgic feel — that classic camping experience for families,” Cofrancesco adds. “This is a place that people can get away from screens, unwind, spend time together and connect.”

12712 Hoover Ave. NW, Uniontown, 330-877-9800, akroncantonjellystone.com