Ohiopyle, Pa

Well we just got back from our weekend excursion.....a trip to Ohiopyle Pennsylvania.  It was not our usual camping experience as we went with new friends and we stayed at Yogi Bear Jellystone Resort Campground.  My parents always told me to say something nice before the negative comments start flying so here goes: 

We had a great time with our new friends.  We spent some time doing some of the activities that the campground had to offer, we checked out the store, went swimming and went on a hayride.  We also spent some time on Saturday afternoon seeing just a few sites that the area had to offer.  Ohiopyle is a very scenic area that I would recommend to anyone.  We have been there a time or two before but the beauty of the area never leaves us wanting.  In the past we have done the river rapids, always alot of fun.  You can have guided or unguided tours down the river and different areas of the river are for different levels of rafters.  When we took our family my daughter was probably around 10 so we took what I would call the bunny slope, but we had a great adventure on the river together.  Some other things the area has to offer is natural water slides where the river has carved out a trail and there is enough current to carry you down to a natural pool.  The water is very clear and the rock formations are beautiful.  Much of the area is covered with Mountain Laurel and I'm sure it would be extra beautiful when it is in bloom.  This time I was only able to find one spot where it was blooming so I'm not sure if it is just starting or ending.  These are right on Rt 381.  There are hiking trails, a battlefield, alot of places where you rent bicycles, or rafts.

Now about Yogi Bear.....it is probably your typical "privately" owned campgrounds.  You know the kind that pack as many campers into an area as possible.  The sites were very small and really close together.  On the website it said that our site had a creek running behind it, it was a drainage ditch.  The quite hours which is what I like about camping were from 11pm to 7am and let me tell you the campers were loud and living it up until the very last minute and right back at it again come 7am.  As far as campgrounds go this one was a bit expensive I thought but we did have water, sewer and electric at our site, a nice convenience that we aren't used to.  But the showers were another story.  They were luke warm at best. 

So if you are looking for a loud, very active camping trip with tons of activities this is the place.  If you want a peaceful, restful camping experience this is NOT the place for you.  Right down the road there is Ohiopyle State Park and they offer camping....I will be there next time.