Campgrounds In Texas

Earth Day activities planned at Jellystone Parks

Later this month, the Hill Country campground plans to install enough solar panels to heat its 1,000-gallon hot tub.

“We believe these panels will help us reduce our propane consumption by 80 percent and that the investment will pay for itself in less than a year,” said park owner Larry Jones.

Jones has also installed new 640-square foot insulated cabins with 6-inch thick walls, dual pane windows and steel doors and pressed wood siding that requires a fraction of the maintenance as standard wood-sided cabins.

Last year, Jones installed high-velocity hand driers in the park’s bathrooms, and wound up saving a lot more than paper. “It saves in clogs because people aren’t flushing paper towels down the toilet,” he said. “It also reduces our maintenance time because we don’t have to constantly refill paper towel dispensers or go to the store to buy them. Having electric hand driers also saves us on storage, since we no longer have to have storage space dedicated to paper towels.”

Jones, of course, has a lot of company when it comes to green initiatives, since Jellystone Park operators across the country are increasingly looking for ways to reduce their environmental footprint.

Here’s a sampling of green initiatives underway at Jellystone Parks in several cities across the country:

•       Burleson, Texas: This park is switching from plastic to recycled materials for all of its food service items, including coffee cups, plates, napkins and utensils, said park manager Steve Stafford.  www.rusticcreekranch.com

•       Fremont, Indiana: This park has installed solar water heating systems for its pools. It also provides aluminum recycling services.  www.jellystonesbest.com

•       Hagerstown, Maryland: This park has received awards from the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Corporation as well as the National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds for its successful recycling initiatives involving local charity organizations. The park recycles all of its aluminum cans through Star Community, a local non-profit community for people with developmental disabilities. The park also collects plastic and cardboard on behalf of ARC Inc. of Washington County, which works to improve the lives of people of all ages with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Park owners Ron and Vicki Vitkun have also invested in motion activated lights and programmable thermostats and are exploring the merits of solar power for water heating and power generation.  www.jellystonemaryland.

Canyon Lake Jellystone Park™ Campground Team Earns Entrepreneur of ...

Larry and Kim Jones, owners of Jellystone Park™ Campground Hill Country in Canyon Lake, Texas, have been recognized with the Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the Jellystone Park franchise system. The award recognizes Campgrounds that show a strong growth in business over the prior year

Located on 27 acres in the beautiful rolling hills of Texas Hill Country, the campground is just 13 miles from New Braunfels and less than an hour from Austin and Houston. Guests will love the brand-new sparkling pool and kid-friendly splash park that opened for the 2011 camping season, as well as the indoor pool, Jumping Pillow, meeting rooms, Laser Tag, disc golf, Gem Mine, sand volleyball court, half court basketball, horseshoe pits, playground and Jellystone Hall, which is perfect for family reunions or church retreats. The park also allows day visitors to its pool and splash park, and rents its meeting rooms and Jellystone Hall to the public, making it a great day destination for locals.

The Joneses, whose children also work at the campground, were chosen for their commitment to consistent improvement to their growing park. In addition to the new pool, splash park and disc golf, they have recently added a jumping pillow and camping cabins.

“We’ve been very blessed with strong business growth thanks to our wonderful staff and our amazing customers,” said Larry Jones. “Our team, the unique Texas economy and the great regional attractions that surround our park have helped us build a strong repeat customer and referral base.”

Themed weekends provide additional family fun, with a different theme every weekend all summer long. Kids and adults alike will enjoy events like Hero’s Weekend (May 20-22), when all law enforcement, doctors, nurses, EMTs, firefighters and military personnel camp two nights for the price of one; Western Roundup Weekend (June 24-26), when guests can don their cowboy duds ; and Under the Sea Weekend (August 12-14), including sand castles, blowing bubbles, crafts, crab races, and of course, lots of water activities.

The Jellystone Park Campground Hill Country is located at 12915 FM 306 in Canyon Lake and is open year-round.  Find more information and reservations visit jellystonehillcountry.com or call 877.964.3731.

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