Jellystone Park, Kerrville Texas
Posted 10-16-2019 at 08:30 AM by MEWright
Trip to Jellystone Park in Kerrville Texas for a 4-day weekend.
The kids had a 4-day weekend, so we ran about 2 hours south to Kerrville Texas to stay at Jellystone Park on the Guadalupe River. We have stayed at this park before, but they have added a lot of stuff, increased the size, water slides, more cabins more park.
My daughter invited her friend to come with us and this was the first trip with a friend to join. My wife and I, 2 kids, 2 dogs meant a full bus. The trip was pleasantly not crowded, and we can easily accommodate a guest or 2.
From our house in Spicewood TX we travel right through Fredericksburg TX to get to Kerrville. If you are going through Fredericksburg TX in a Bus or pulling a trailer, there is a great Mexican food place Campo Azul on HWY 16. Its easy to find and you can pull around the block behind the restaurant and park on the street, behind or beside the restaurant. Super wide streets, no low limbs easy in and out. We have done this several times in the bus though we have had to circle a few times to find space long enough. We have always found a safe, suitable parking area within 100 yards of the restaurant.
We arrived at Jellystone Park on Friday just after lunch and was quickly checked in and escorted to our spot. I made reservations about 2 months prior and picked a head in spot the faces the river. On the power post it was numbers 230-4 the one next to use was 231-5.
Being a head in spot we could leave the front blind up and watch the pecan orchard squirrels taunt our dogs and we had a nice view of the river. The bathhouse, pizzeria, bar and club house were very close. We could hear the band each night until about 930p. Obligatory Wally World is 1 mile down the road for all the things you forget. You can rent a golf carts if you want one. If you have kids and no bikes you may consider this option, it’s a big park. We take bikes.
Fishing in the river is pretty good for the kids and great for fly fishing. Wide and easy to get into the middle. I caught my first Guadalupe Bass there this trip. Big score for me. Also caught a ton of perch, bluegill and sun fish. Great day on a light rod with 2lb test…
2 large jump pads bigger than 3 buses, 3 water slides, 4 pools, game room, putt-putt golf, activities galore all day long, hayrides, laser tag, frisbee golf course, hiking paths, playscapes. This place is a kid’s paradise. Since we were there before Halloween it was spooky hayrides and at night the laser tag arena was turned into a haunted maze. It was way too much for little kids but the pre, tween and teens loved it- it was scary. We saw plenty of folks leaving in tears. We had trick or treaters for about 2 hours so take a lot more candy than you think you will need and set up your ride with spooky decorations.
I am reviewing both spots since they are next to each other,
Our head in spot was super wide, super deep, 230-4 had an all concrete pad with a 10x10 concrete pad for fire pit and 10x10 concrete pad for picnic table. A 2x2x2 square fire pit was provided and a plastic nice picnic table was also on site.
The water supply line was UNDER the bus. Seriously, a blue steel trap door that the escort had no idea was our water so I parked tires on it, got out, looked moved the bus, opened the trap door, carefully pulled back in straddling the shut off and crawled under the bus to hook up. With that mentioned it was not that bad being on concrete. There as no grass between us and 231-5 only sharp gravel rocks full of stickers, lots and lots of stickers. Wish I would have had a pear burner, I could have fixed that but alas, no, so we dealt with stickers all weekend. Stickers in the dog’s feet, our shoes, our feet, in our outside rugs, stickers everywhere.
Another semi – CON was that both sites are between 2 rental cabins. This made it very quiet and secluded since both cabins were vacant, but we also felt “away” from the park. I think this is a new section and is a new addition to the park and they are still sorting out the spots. These spots are a long way from the action so if you have small kids that don’t ride bikes and you don’t rent a golf cart you will be walking ALOT, pick a different site.
Site 231-5 was 100% gravel, no concrete anything. It was not very good, and I would not recommend this site at all. It had stickers bad.
Overall the park is amazing, huge, easy driveways, no overhanging trees but there are a lot of trees. Everyone was super friendly and helpful.
I recommend taking your own firewood. They sell it there but its not cheap. We took about 12 pieces of oak and ended up buying more there. There was no one close selling firewood, I drove around and checked.
Now for the new stuff for the bus;
I have just purchased this Redhead Grill flat top combo unit at Cabela’s. https://www.cabelas.com/product/REDH...B&gclsrc=aw.ds
I searched for a unit that would collapse and fit under the bus. This one fits that bill. It was not “recommended” for this application, but it worked awesome. It has wheels, the cross braces easily remove allowing for the main legs to fold under, so it sits flat. It is rather heavy (due to size more than actual weight) so my wife must help me load and unload but with the handles on the ends its super easy. Slide it out of the bay, installed the cross support in a bout 2 minutes and it was ready. That evening we did burgers on the grill, the next morning I cooked kolaches in the pizza oven (see below) the second morning I cooked an entire package of bacon and a whole package of sausage at the same time, then scrambled eggs on one side and a few for me over easy.
Before you ask, the grill and flat top have a grease run off to a grease trap under the unit. I covered the lower pan and the grease catch box in foil for ease clean up and so I don’t have to worry about a greasy mess when I put it back in the bus compartment. This worked perfectly. Took the foil out and threw it away the day we packed up and it was clean.
The next new item was a pizza oven by Camp Chef; This was a gift from my wife for my birthday.
https://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Art...72892574&psc=1
This unit sits on top of a gas grill, has a pizza stone inside, dome top, easy access and comes with the necessary tools to load and remove the pizzas and a temp gauge on the top. It held between 425 and 450 pretty easy with some adjusting of the heat. I will need to use it allot more to dial this in correctly, but I am up for it. Breakfast the first morning we had kolaches cooked in it. Simple kolaches, large crescent rolls with ham and cheese rolled up inside. Baked for 12 min at 425. Girls loved them.
That night I had a 1$ pizza crust mix in a bag that made a crust about 12”x 20”, half cheese for the girls’ and half loaded for my wife. Again about 14 minutes at 450 and it was perfect. I don’t eat bread, so I had a cauliflower crust (very similar to cardboard with less flavor but it gets the gooey good stuff into your mouth).
I highly recommend that everyone with kids gets one of these pizza ovens. Make sure it fits on your grill. This is the reason I got the new grill. The pizza oven did not fit on my first camp grill. The grill was too small. We will use the pizza over for lots of stuff other than pizza for different camp food and different experiences.
The last new item we took was a dog containment system. We got tired of using cable runs and wanted a portable fence system that was easy to store, easy to set up, easy to use but sturdy enough the dogs would not knock it over. We have a 12 yr old Aussie and a 1.5 yr old Brittany. We decide to use this one, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I chose the 40” tall fence, my wife suggested a shorter system 32”. We will be returning this one and getting the shorter fence (go figure, I should have just listened). The 40” does not fit in the storage compartments easily enough. Other than that, this system was exactly what we were looking for. Easy to set up and stabile enough the dogs don’t knock it over even when the little one puts her paws on the top. The gates are a little janky but they work well enough. We purchased the 16-panel system so we have enough to make a very large circle but I will possibly be adding 8 more later. Another great buy to keep the dogs off a run and contained outside while we are hanging out or in the morning so they can potty without being walked immediately.
We have 2 more trips planed this year before winter. Hopefully we can squeeze in a few weekenders in there as well.
Happy travels.
The kids had a 4-day weekend, so we ran about 2 hours south to Kerrville Texas to stay at Jellystone Park on the Guadalupe River. We have stayed at this park before, but they have added a lot of stuff, increased the size, water slides, more cabins more park.
My daughter invited her friend to come with us and this was the first trip with a friend to join. My wife and I, 2 kids, 2 dogs meant a full bus. The trip was pleasantly not crowded, and we can easily accommodate a guest or 2.
From our house in Spicewood TX we travel right through Fredericksburg TX to get to Kerrville. If you are going through Fredericksburg TX in a Bus or pulling a trailer, there is a great Mexican food place Campo Azul on HWY 16. Its easy to find and you can pull around the block behind the restaurant and park on the street, behind or beside the restaurant. Super wide streets, no low limbs easy in and out. We have done this several times in the bus though we have had to circle a few times to find space long enough. We have always found a safe, suitable parking area within 100 yards of the restaurant.
We arrived at Jellystone Park on Friday just after lunch and was quickly checked in and escorted to our spot. I made reservations about 2 months prior and picked a head in spot the faces the river. On the power post it was numbers 230-4 the one next to use was 231-5.
Being a head in spot we could leave the front blind up and watch the pecan orchard squirrels taunt our dogs and we had a nice view of the river. The bathhouse, pizzeria, bar and club house were very close. We could hear the band each night until about 930p. Obligatory Wally World is 1 mile down the road for all the things you forget. You can rent a golf carts if you want one. If you have kids and no bikes you may consider this option, it’s a big park. We take bikes.
Fishing in the river is pretty good for the kids and great for fly fishing. Wide and easy to get into the middle. I caught my first Guadalupe Bass there this trip. Big score for me. Also caught a ton of perch, bluegill and sun fish. Great day on a light rod with 2lb test…
2 large jump pads bigger than 3 buses, 3 water slides, 4 pools, game room, putt-putt golf, activities galore all day long, hayrides, laser tag, frisbee golf course, hiking paths, playscapes. This place is a kid’s paradise. Since we were there before Halloween it was spooky hayrides and at night the laser tag arena was turned into a haunted maze. It was way too much for little kids but the pre, tween and teens loved it- it was scary. We saw plenty of folks leaving in tears. We had trick or treaters for about 2 hours so take a lot more candy than you think you will need and set up your ride with spooky decorations.
I am reviewing both spots since they are next to each other,
Our head in spot was super wide, super deep, 230-4 had an all concrete pad with a 10x10 concrete pad for fire pit and 10x10 concrete pad for picnic table. A 2x2x2 square fire pit was provided and a plastic nice picnic table was also on site.
The water supply line was UNDER the bus. Seriously, a blue steel trap door that the escort had no idea was our water so I parked tires on it, got out, looked moved the bus, opened the trap door, carefully pulled back in straddling the shut off and crawled under the bus to hook up. With that mentioned it was not that bad being on concrete. There as no grass between us and 231-5 only sharp gravel rocks full of stickers, lots and lots of stickers. Wish I would have had a pear burner, I could have fixed that but alas, no, so we dealt with stickers all weekend. Stickers in the dog’s feet, our shoes, our feet, in our outside rugs, stickers everywhere.
Another semi – CON was that both sites are between 2 rental cabins. This made it very quiet and secluded since both cabins were vacant, but we also felt “away” from the park. I think this is a new section and is a new addition to the park and they are still sorting out the spots. These spots are a long way from the action so if you have small kids that don’t ride bikes and you don’t rent a golf cart you will be walking ALOT, pick a different site.
Site 231-5 was 100% gravel, no concrete anything. It was not very good, and I would not recommend this site at all. It had stickers bad.
Overall the park is amazing, huge, easy driveways, no overhanging trees but there are a lot of trees. Everyone was super friendly and helpful.
I recommend taking your own firewood. They sell it there but its not cheap. We took about 12 pieces of oak and ended up buying more there. There was no one close selling firewood, I drove around and checked.
Now for the new stuff for the bus;
I have just purchased this Redhead Grill flat top combo unit at Cabela’s. https://www.cabelas.com/product/REDH...B&gclsrc=aw.ds
I searched for a unit that would collapse and fit under the bus. This one fits that bill. It was not “recommended” for this application, but it worked awesome. It has wheels, the cross braces easily remove allowing for the main legs to fold under, so it sits flat. It is rather heavy (due to size more than actual weight) so my wife must help me load and unload but with the handles on the ends its super easy. Slide it out of the bay, installed the cross support in a bout 2 minutes and it was ready. That evening we did burgers on the grill, the next morning I cooked kolaches in the pizza oven (see below) the second morning I cooked an entire package of bacon and a whole package of sausage at the same time, then scrambled eggs on one side and a few for me over easy.
Before you ask, the grill and flat top have a grease run off to a grease trap under the unit. I covered the lower pan and the grease catch box in foil for ease clean up and so I don’t have to worry about a greasy mess when I put it back in the bus compartment. This worked perfectly. Took the foil out and threw it away the day we packed up and it was clean.
The next new item was a pizza oven by Camp Chef; This was a gift from my wife for my birthday.
https://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Art...72892574&psc=1
This unit sits on top of a gas grill, has a pizza stone inside, dome top, easy access and comes with the necessary tools to load and remove the pizzas and a temp gauge on the top. It held between 425 and 450 pretty easy with some adjusting of the heat. I will need to use it allot more to dial this in correctly, but I am up for it. Breakfast the first morning we had kolaches cooked in it. Simple kolaches, large crescent rolls with ham and cheese rolled up inside. Baked for 12 min at 425. Girls loved them.
That night I had a 1$ pizza crust mix in a bag that made a crust about 12”x 20”, half cheese for the girls’ and half loaded for my wife. Again about 14 minutes at 450 and it was perfect. I don’t eat bread, so I had a cauliflower crust (very similar to cardboard with less flavor but it gets the gooey good stuff into your mouth).
I highly recommend that everyone with kids gets one of these pizza ovens. Make sure it fits on your grill. This is the reason I got the new grill. The pizza oven did not fit on my first camp grill. The grill was too small. We will use the pizza over for lots of stuff other than pizza for different camp food and different experiences.
The last new item we took was a dog containment system. We got tired of using cable runs and wanted a portable fence system that was easy to store, easy to set up, easy to use but sturdy enough the dogs would not knock it over. We have a 12 yr old Aussie and a 1.5 yr old Brittany. We decide to use this one, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I chose the 40” tall fence, my wife suggested a shorter system 32”. We will be returning this one and getting the shorter fence (go figure, I should have just listened). The 40” does not fit in the storage compartments easily enough. Other than that, this system was exactly what we were looking for. Easy to set up and stabile enough the dogs don’t knock it over even when the little one puts her paws on the top. The gates are a little janky but they work well enough. We purchased the 16-panel system so we have enough to make a very large circle but I will possibly be adding 8 more later. Another great buy to keep the dogs off a run and contained outside while we are hanging out or in the morning so they can potty without being walked immediately.
We have 2 more trips planed this year before winter. Hopefully we can squeeze in a few weekenders in there as well.
Happy travels.
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