Camping Like A Winter Texan
With A Prime, Central Location In Texas, Yogi Bear's Jellystone Hill Country Is Offering Full-Time RVers A Haven To Settle During Winter
"It's really central - you are basically in the middle of the state and can get anywhere - Austin, San Antonio, the Coast, Dallas - anywhere," says Kristie Franklin, General Manager of Yogi Bear's Jellystone Hill Country in Texas. The park is located between San Marcos and New Braunfels in Canyon Lake, a town named after an Army Corps of Engineers water reservoir, on the edge of Hill Country. In Texas, parks like Jellystone have two main visitors - the weekend/ short-term camping vacationers in the summertime and the monthly/seasonal visitors in the wintertime. Dubbed "winter Texans," this group of older citizens has been coming down to Texas for years. There are approximately 100,000 people that visit annually, mainly going to the Rio Grande Valley, and contribute a staggering 750 million dollars annually to the economy.
Though Hill Country is still a few hours north of the valley, winter Texans visit Jellystone, also. "Our group has been coming to this park well before it was Jellystone for the past 30 years," Franklin says. "One of the guys is 91 and he says that this is going to be his last year." She says that the group meets for coffee every morning, goes on trips together, and gathers for potluck every Thursday. "Every group of winter Texans kind of have their own vibe," Franklin says. At Hill Country, they are pretty independent and want to be left alone for the most part, except for the few planned trips.
With the current group transitioning out and baby boomers starting to follow a snowbird lifestyle, Franklin says they are doing a few things to attract new groups. "Many older folks don't typically think of a place like Jellystone as a place to winter because we are so family-oriented," she says. "We still have Yogi Bear come out every Saturday and do family activities throughout the year, but the feel of the park is a lot different in the winter." She explains that it has a much more of a campground feel than in the summertime. "It is a great place to come in the winter, especially if there is family living nearby," Franklin explains.
She also is interested in the full-time family RVers who come to rent for a month or so down in Texas. "We are a great place to stay for a while with San Antonio and Austin so close," she explains. A way to attract these types of RVers is keeping family activities happening, as well as keeping a heated indoor pool throughout the year. "One of my best memories here is last year when it is a bit cold out and the moms had coats and hats on as the kids were jumping in the pool and having a blast in nothing but their bathing suits," she laughs.
From the position of general manager, she’s able to have some insight into these full-time families. “I find one of the coolest things about RVing is the way these transient people bond and become friends,” she says, “And then they visit each other all around the United States and become lifelong groups.”
And why would millennial-aged family RVers want to spend a lot of time in the area? First, there is Austin. The city, one in a constant boom, has plenty for fun to offer the whole family - parks, a laidback lifestyle, bodies of water, bats, awesome food, and so much more. It is an easy hour drive from the campground. There are many free things to do, such as walking the river paths on either side of Lady Bird Lake, catching views of the city in the process.
Additionally, there is San Antonio. San Antonio is an old city - 300 years old - and has somehow retained its cultural heritage through all of it. The central point of the Texas city is the Alamo, of course, where Texans fought for independence in 1835, ultimately dying in the process. This is dear to the heart of many Texans, as it shows how to stand up to adversity no matter the cost, and now features a museum and tours. Beyond that there is the lovely riverwalk, shopping, and an atmosphere unlike any other American city.
The major cities offer many amenities, as well as the landscape itself. “Canyon Lake is a great lake to walk around,” Franklin says, “the full-timers do it every morning.” Hill country is a beautiful part of Texas and the Jellystone is right in the midst of it.
When many people think of places to winter, they think Florida or Arizona. Increasingly, Texas has been on both older folks’ radar, as well as young families looking for a lot of amenities and a friendly, warm environment to get some old-fashioned Texas camping in.
Andrew Malo
A graduate of Northeastern Illinois University in Education, Andrew has taught for the past decade in Chicago, New Mexico, and Japan. He enjoys tinkering with trucks and motorcycles, woodworking, reading and computer programming.
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Yogi Bear's Jellystone Hill Country, which is located in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park™ Camp-Resort Hill Country is the perfect place for families to have the vacation of a lifetime and enjoy real Texas camping.