A Texas Tour of Adventure Vacations

Where else but Texas can you picnic on the beach, explore caverns and canyons, climb mountainous trails and trek the desert with camels all in one state? Yes, this big wonderland is just brimming with scenic views and daring adventure and RVing around the countryside is an exciting way to experience this versatile territory.

South Padre Surfing

Located at the tip of Texas on the beautiful Gulf Coast, Padre Island is a favorite vacation destination. Winter Texans love the sun kissed beaches, tropical breezes and warm sea air. South Padre leaves nothing out when it comes to pampering visitors. A KOA campground caters to campers and RV guests. Beach services offer rentals of umbrellas, chairs, jet skis, surf boards and lessons, banana boat rides, sailboat rides, bicycles, and even sandcastle lessons. Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark is a popular place where guests splash through tube chutes or ride uphill water coasters. And according to South Padre Surf Company, South Padre, with its sandy bottom and great breakers, offers the best surfing on the entire Gulf Coast.

Hill Country Caverns

In the beautiful Central Texas Hill Country, an enchanting wonderland of Natural Bridge Caverns awaits underground. Magnificent cavities stand like silent cathedrals filled with breathtaking works of nature, centuries in the making. Visitors fascinated with the spectacular formations of icicle like stalactites, sparkling stalagmites, and colorful ribbons of rock can choose a variety of tours for beginners to the adventurous spelunker. They even have the opportunity to visit the mining company and pan for gold and fossils.

Just a few minutes away in New Braunfels, the Hill Country RV Resort Park offers full hookups and all the comforts and amenities of home for campers and RVers. Another Schlitterbahn Water Park and German restaurants and bakeries offering delicious foods are other attractions in the Natural Bridge Caverns area.

Mountain Trails and Canyons

Texas is not well known for its mountains but in the far western portion, spectacular Guadalupe Mountain National Park offers lower remnants of the Rocky Mountain range. Guadalupe Peak, at 8,749 feet, is the state's highest elevation. More than eighty miles of hiking trails, some rocky and steep, lead the adventurous to the pinnacle and into McKittrick Canyon.

Plan to rough it in this wild country as two campgrounds in the area accommodate tents and RVs with water and rest rooms but no showers or hook ups.

Camel Treks

Not widely known, Texas history includes camels. As animals that could carry heavier loads and travel further between water stops than horses and mules, it made sense that the armed forces establish the US Camel Corps. In 1856, Jefferson Davis had 30 camels shipped from the Middle East to Camp Verde Texas. However five years later, the Southern states seceded and Davis became president of the Confederacy. The Camel Corps was abolished and the camels were auctioned off.

In 1995, Doug Baum started the Texas Camel Corp, educating the public on the role camels played in the history of the American West. He also makes his camels available for movies, Christmas events, children's educational programs, and vacation package camel treks. Vacationers can choose multi day treks in the rugged Big Bend area where the original US Camel Corp traveled or over the sand dunes, at Monahans Sandhills State Park, resembling an Arabian desert. Guests hike from 3 to 10 miles a day, sleep under the stars, and learn to load, unload, and handle their camel.