Oklahoma Flooding Forces Mannford's Jellystone To Shutdown Early

Flood waters are still impacting some Green Country businesses causing some to close.

Jellystone Camping Grounds and Swim Park is closing two months early because of high water levels at Keystone lake. 

The park manager said this has been a hard decision to make. It’s more than a job for them, it is a family business and passion but lake levels are too high. They said their plan is to regroup and come back in the spring. 

If you’re looking for a way to cool off on a hot summer day in Oklahoma you might just find yourself here in Mannford at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park at Keystone Lake. They have a water park, camping grounds, access to Keystone and usually inflatables but this year things are different. 

“The pools are great. People are enjoying them,” said Park Manager Ben Ryan. “Without the camping to back us up and all of our amenities in place, people are finding other things to do.” 

Ryan said the water at Keystone Lake has been way too high for them to feel comfortable putting inflatables in the water or encouraging people to bring their boats out. 

“We would like to stay open for the people to come and swim but it is just not feasable right now,” said Ryan. 

Ryan said Jellystone Park is down about $175,000 from where they were this time last year. They've decided to close on July 7th.

“It was a hard decision to make but the lake going down, normally in a weeks time you can see a big difference but here the water has not moved much at all,” Ryan said. "Not being able to offer that is tough but it will change. You know, the lake levels will go down and things will go back to normal.” 

The park manager said they have big plans for the property. They are hoping to use this extra down time to double the inflatables and add more camping sites, pools, and slides.

The park will reopen in Spring.