How teamwork drove upgrades at Kozy Rest camping resort in northern Butler County
Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park at Kozy Rest — a 34-acre campground with dozens of cabins and at least 200 RV sites where children can camp in a Yogi Bear-themed world — didn’t spring up overnight.
The extravagant tourist attraction situated along a country road in northern Butler County wouldn’t have popped up without the collaboration of many in supporting its infrastructure needs.
“It was an enormous undertaking. It was a multiyear project,” said Jason McBride, Marion Township supervisor who governs one of the municipalities that was involved in the project. “It cost a lot of money. It included the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection). It included engineers.”
The Quigley family, the original owners of the Marion Township campground, partnered with Northgate Resorts, a Michigan-based real estate company, to make the themed campground a reality.
Renovations to Kozy Rest campground began in 2023, with the park’s grand reopening held over Memorial Day weekend 2024. Along with new cabins and RV sites, it now includes a pool and splash zone with water slides and interactive water features. The park’s new additions included a playground, mini golf course, basketball and pickleball courts, as well as an upgraded jumping pillow, which is an inflatable, grounded trampoline.
But other elements that aren’t quite as shiny included costly infrastructure upgrades to support the campground, like the sewage system, which was expanded for $4.2 million.
“We were not hesitant about it, the board was fully on board with it, but it was quite a cost, and we said we could not take on any of these costs,” said John Bennett, Mercer Township supervisor.
The project’s overall costs, including supportive infrastructure, significantly outweighs Mercer Township’s budget, which sits at $690,822.
A multi-governmental agreement allowed Kozy Rest to tap into a newly expanded sewage system, which services into Mercer County.
“They came to us and asked to hook into the Mercer Township sewage system. That took a long process of getting the municipality in line and approved by DEP and so forth,” Bennett said. “While Kozy Rest kept pursuing that, our solicitor, Sean Gallagher, looked out for the best interest of Mercer Township. They got hooked into the system after it was approved this summer.
“It had no financial impact on the township whatsoever, it was negotiated right up front and Kozy Rest paid for everything,” Bennett said.
Located near Interstates 80 and 79, two major highways, the campground is positioned to attract travelers, and municipalities in that area see the campground bringing in business to other area restaurants, too.
Northgate Resorts, which operates 39 resorts nationwide, bought the campground in November 2022.
The campground did not respond to a request for comment.
The campground is part of a trend of new projects in a growing Butler County with a population just under 200,000, according to most recent U.S. Census data. However, much of the growth is concentrated in the opposite end of the county, near Cranberry, Adams, Forward and Jackson townships.
Such development in places like Mercer and Marion townships isn’t nearly as common. Mercer and Marion township’s populations have remained relatively stable in recent years, with each staying at around 1,000 to 1,100 residents over the past five years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
McBride said in his time as a supervisor, he has not faced any other project of this size that increased traffic and people.
“It brings money into the borough, it brings money to restaurants, gas stations, it is good for business,” McBride said.
