TACO Issues Its 2018 Texas’ Camping, Travel Guide

The 2018 RV Travel & Camping Guide to Texas is now being provided to consumers at RV shows, visitors’ bureaus and campgrounds in Texas and across the country.

“Our theme this year is festivals, the most interesting of which we highlight in each region of Texas,” said Brian Schaeffer, executive director and CEO of the Texas Association of Campground Owners (TACO), which publishes the travel and camping directory.

Although the camping directory is available in a mobile friendly format at www.TexasCampgrounds.com, Schaeffer said printed directories remain in high demand, largely because they can be faster and easier to use than online directories and don’t require precious cellphone data.

TACO’s printing covers 265,000 users of the 2018 RV Travel & Camping Guide to Texas, the first of which were distributed last weekend at the South Texas RV Super Sale in San Antonio and the Tarrant County RV Show in Fort Worth.

The guide will also be distributed at the All Valley RV and Outdoor Show, Jan. 11 – 13 in Mercedes, the Houston RV Show, Feb. 7 – 11, and the Austin RV Expo, Feb. 15 – 18. Anderson’s Brochure Distribution Service will also distribute the guide at 25 other RV shows across the country.

“Our biggest sources of distribution are the Texas Information Centers, the points of entry into Texas,” Schaeffer said.

The 2018 RV Travel & Camping Guide to Texas not only includes detailed information on campgrounds, but lots of information about places to visit and things to do in Texas. The guide also includes a two-page section with information on parks and attractions in Oklahoma. The big focus this year; however, is regional festivals, which attract Texans, as well as out of state visitors. Here’s a sampling of some of the festivals highlighted in the guide:

— Cajun Catfish Festival in Conroe: This annual event, scheduled for Oct. 12 – 14 includes Cajun and Texas music on three stages all weekend, plus a unique variety of food including catfish, boudain, gator, etouffe, jambalaya and crawfish pie. The event also includes arts and crafts vendors and a kid-zone area with activities for children and a special performance stage for local dance teams. www.conroecajuncatfishfestival.com

— Dickens on the Strand in Galveston: This annual holiday street festival takes place during the first weekend of December. Based on 19th century Victorian London, the festival features parades, non-stop entertainment on six stages, strolling carolers, roving musicians, bagpipers, jugglers and other entertainers, as well as Victorian style crafts, holiday decorations and gift items. www.galveston.com

— Grape Fest in Grapevine: This annual event, slated for Sept. 13 – 16, includes grape stomp competitions as well as the “People’s Choice Wine Tasting Classic,” the largest consumer-judged wine competition in the nation. www.GrapeFest.com

— Kerrville Festival of the Arts: This annual art festival, one of the largest in Texas, is scheduled for Memorial Day weekend, May 26 – 27. www.kvartfest.com

— Lamesa’s Original Chicken Fried Steak Festival & Balloon Rally: This event, scheduled for April 27 – 28 at Forrest Park in Lamesa, features a chicken fried steak cooking competition, food booths and decorative hot air balloons that take off each morning at sunrise. www.ci.lamesa.tx.us

— National Cowboy Symposium & Celebration in Lubbock: This annual event, slated for Sept. 7 – 9, features western entertainers, storytelling, poetry as well as film and movie seminars, horse handling demonstrations, a horse themed parade, a youth Wild West Day and a national championship chuck wagon cook-off. The event also includes Native American presentations and exhibits of Western artwork and merchandise. www.cowboy.org

— Sand Castle Days in South Padre Island: This annual event in early October includes sand castle sculpture competitions, live music and a variety of entertainment for children, including children’s water slides, bouncers and mechanical bull rides. www.sandcastledays.com

— Shrimporee in Aransas Pass: This annual event, scheduled for June 8 – 10 at Johnson Community Park, includes live entertainment, dancing and plenty of shrimp as well as a parade, an outhouse race, carnival games, arts and crafts and a Miss Shrimporee Pageant. www.aransaspass.org/shrimporee

— Texas Onion Fest in Weslaco: This March 24 event celebrates the development of the Texas 1015 Onion in Weslaco. Activities include an onion eating contest, arts and crafts, food vendors, cooking demonstrations, live entertainment and a Miss Texas Onion Fest Pageant. www.weslaco.com

— Texas Rose Festival in Tyler: Activities included with this festival include the annual Rose Show, a display of more than 7,000 rose blooms, The Rose Parade, the Queen’s Coronation and The Queen’s Tea. www.texasrosefestival.com

— Terlingua Chili Cookoff in Terlingua: The town of Terlingua is the site of two major chili cookoffs, including the CASI Terlingua International Chili Championship, which takes place Nov. 3. For more information, visit www.visitbigbend.com and https:www.casichili.net/terlingua-273604.html

— Winter Texan Expo & Health Fair in McAllen: This free event, slated for Jan. 16 – 17 at the McAllen Community Center, includes free health screenings, vendors, giveaways and entertainment. www.wintertexanexpo.com

Locator maps are provided at the beginning of each regional section of the guide, with numbered listings of the campgrounds for each region. Campgrounds are also alpha-indexed by city and park name.

Each campground listing includes a grid that lists the park’s facilities, services and amenities, as well as driving directions, a miniature locator map and many parks have panoramic photos showing off what campers can experience. The directory also features a Texas Saver Card, which provides 10% discounts at participating parks and an entire page is used to highlight the winners of TACO’s park awards competition.

The guide, which was designed by Texas Advertising, also features display ads from every major campground chain, including Equity LifeStyle Properties; Jellystone Parks; Kampgrounds of America (KOA); Northgate Resorts; Quality Resorts and Sun Communities to name a few.

The guide also has a unique four-page rollout ad at the beginning of the book from the largest RV consignment dealer in the country PPL Motorhomes, which showcases its dealerships in Houston, Cleburne and New Braunfels.

The guide also has a section devoted to parks with rental cabins and cottages, and features ads from several park model RV manufacturers in Texas, including Athens/Champion Homes, Diamond Park Homes and Platinum Cottages. Camp with the conveniences of home!

RV and camping enthusiasts can order the directory online by visiting www.texascampgrounds.com. The 2018 RV Travel & Camping Guide to Texas is also posted on the website in digital page-turning format.