The 2017 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, according to an announcement from the Texas Association of Campground Owners (TACO).
The 2017 RV Travel & Camping Guide to Texas is being distributed to TACO’s 350-plus member parks as well as Texas points of entry, travel information centers and consumer RV shows.
Houston-based PPL Motorhomes, the nation’s largest consignment dealer, is also sending out the guides to everyone who requests a copy of PPL’s latest parts catalogue.
“We still have a huge demographic that very much prefers a printed guide,” said Brian Schaeffer, executive director and CEO of TACO, which publishes the travel and camping directory.
Schaeffer added that TACO had to increase the number of printed guides from 250,000 to 265,000 because of rising demand for the printed directory, which lists 350 public and privately owned campgrounds across the Lone Star State.
With 160 pages, this year’s guide is also the largest in TACO’s history, and includes more information about places to visit and things to do in Texas as well as a two-page section with information on parks and attractions in Oklahoma.
“This year, we went beyond the attractions that everyone thinks about, like Schlitterbahn Waterpark and the San Antonio River Walk, and also highlighted interesting and unusual attractions most people have never heard of,” Schaeffer said.
These include:
- The Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville: Exhibits include “Old Sparky,” Texas’ infamous electric chair, which was used in 361 executions between 1924 and 1964.
- Gruene Hall in New Braunfels: Built in 1878, Gruene Hall is the oldest continually operating dance hall in Texas. It’s also a popular venue for country music greats. Willie Nelson, Leann Rimes, Lyle Lovett and EmmyLou Harris are among the singers who have performed there in recent years.
- The Bullock Museum in Austin: This museum features exhibits and exhibitions that tell the story of Texas.
- The Texas State Railroad in Rusk: Visitors can ride beautifully preserved century-old steam engines on scenic excursions and see other historic trains in the railroad’s collection.
- The Cathedral of Junk in Austin: This unique, multilevel attraction was built with more than 60 tons of junk, including lawnmower wheels, kitchen utensils, car bumpers, circuit boards and bicycle parts.
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 also has a four-page rollout ad at the beginning of the book from PPL Motorhomes, which showcases its dealerships in Houston, Cleburne and New Braunfels. The center of the guide features three pages of advertorial content on The Vineyards Campground and Cabins in Grapevine, an award-winning campground that recently reopened after experiencing a major flood last year.
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 Champion/Athens Park Homes, Diamond Park Homes and Platinum Cottages.
RV and camping enthusiasts can order the The 2017 RV Travel & Camping Guide to Texas online by visiting www.texascampgrounds.com. The 2017 RV Travel & Camping Guide to Texas is also posted on the website in digital page-turning format.