The Slide Hill - From One Small Purchase to Randy’s BIG Idea
Owners - Rachel Heinson, Bridget Bender, Theresa Isaacson
Every year, our family and several team members attend Jellystone’s annual franchise meeting. Part of the meeting includes a trade show where vendors and suppliers showcase their products to the parks.
In 2021, while walking through the trade show with my dad, Randy, we stopped at one of the booths. He turned to me and said, “I already bought this; you just need to choose the color.” I hadn’t even looked at what the booth was selling yet.
It turned out he had just purchased a snowless tubing slide. (That was my dad—always keeping life exciting.) What a great idea! However, there was one small problem: we didn’t have a hill on our campground. (Even more exciting!)
Perhaps he had an ulterior motive. My dad saw this as the perfect excuse to hop into a big machine and push some dirt around—a skill he was pretty good at. However, we quickly realized that building the hill would require more than just my dad.
Planning for the hill design began in the summer of 2022, and we broke ground in the summer of 2023. We trucked in load after load of dirt to create a hill. A crew carefully compacted the hill inch by inch, and after six months of settling, the 30-foot mound had only shifted half an inch. Slowly but surely, we got there.
Construction on the 15-foot platform at the top of the hill began in 2024. When completed in the spring of 2025 (before our season starts on April 25th), the slide will offer riders a thrilling 50-foot drop over a 250-foot distance. In winter, it will double as a sledding hill overlooking our Christmas light show.
Randy Isaacson - Our Beloved Owner
Think. Plan. Do.
My dad passed away unexpectedly in February of 2024, making this slide and hill project deeply meaningful to all of us. It stands as one of his last big, unfinished ventures and embodies so much of what made him extraordinary. He never did anything halfway—everything he touched was bigger, better, and beyond what the rest of us could envision.
With his playful, kid-at-heart spirit, he’d likely have been the first one to race down the hill. But what brought him the most joy was seeing others enjoy the things he helped bring to life. We’re thrilled to share this special addition to Bear Paw Adventure Park with our guests in 2025.
