Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in Austin, Minn., is taking shape, as owners Tammy and Ken Westrich work to rebuild the main lodge that was destroyed in a fire in October.
“It’s coming alive now,” Tammy Westrich told the Austin Daily Herald. “We’re looking forward to the opening of the new features. Everything will be new and refreshed and exciting.”
The campground’s main lodge, known as the “Ranger Station,” was a total loss after a fire tore through it in October. Westrich said they plan to have everything rebuilt and open by April 15, when the campground opens for the 2012 season.
Not only will Jellystone be getting a new and improved lodge, but the owners are adding a pavilion and a separate building for showers and bathrooms. The pavilion will have roll-up doors, so campers can use it rain or shine, and the new bathroom and shower building will be heated and air conditioned.
Westrich said the lodge style will be rustic, yet modern, and will be much more open and spacious than the previous lodge. The new building will include a room for adults with sofa lounges and a big screen TV. It will also house the same things the previous lodge housed — a teen room, game room, restaurant, gift shop, offices, multi-purpose room and Yogi Bear’s private hideaway.
“The minute you walk in the building it will be at home, country, Yogi-rific, yet modern,” Westrich said.
The Austin Daily Herald reported that the campground is undergoing another upgrade along with the post-fire construction. Westrich said they are adding three to five new cabins, and are installing sewer systems to 50-70 existing sites.
