Bear Cove Village is joining the Jellystone network.
Yogi Bear and Dollywood are about to become neighbors.
Bear Cove Village in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., the closest campground to Dollywood, is joining the Yogi Bear Jellystone Park Camp-Resort network with a grand opening celebration planned for park guests from noon to 2 p.m., Saturday, March 10, according to a press release.
“We’re going to celebrate by having a ‘Yogi Bear and Friends Birthday Bash’ with Yogi Bear, Boo Boo, Cindy Bear and Ranger Smith,” said park owner Heather Blankenship. “We will play birthday party games and serve free hot dogs, pizza and cake for all of our guests.”
Bear Cove Village will join the more than 80 Jellystone Parks in North America that are franchised by Leisure Systems Inc., which is based in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Blankenship is offering 50% off all RV sites and rental accommodations on the weekend of March 9 to celebrate her campground joining the Jellystone Park network.
Themed weekend activities at the Pigeon Forge Jellystone Park will commence the weekend of March 9 and run through October. Activities will include Easter egg hunts with Yogi Bear; special activities for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day; Mardi Gras themed weekends with parades, cookouts and dances; pirate themed weekends; Christmas in July themed weekends with campsite decorating and holiday themed crafts; as well as Halloween-themed weekends on the weekends leading up to Halloween.
In addition to tent and RV sites, the Pigeon Forge Jellystone Park offers 20 fully-furnished rental cabins and plans to add furnished glamping tents this summer. The campground also has a store and a fishing pond.
Blankenship said she plans to hire four additional employees, boosting her staff to 14, to help with Jellystone Park activities and themed weekends.
“My family campers are super excited,” she said.
Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg joins Jellystone Parks in the Nashville and Memphis markets to represent the franchise in Tennessee. For more information, please visit www.bearcovevillage.com.
