The 2019 edition of “Camp-California! The camper’s guide to California” is out

AUBURN, Calif., February 2019 — The 2019 edition of Camp-California! The Camper’s Guide to California and Nevada, is bigger and has more trip planning content than ever before.

While the award-winning guide is best known for its focus on campgrounds, RV parks and resorts with sought after amenities, onsite activities and entertainment, this year’s guide includes feature stories on unique road trip ideas, including caving destinations, “quaint, quirky and downright adorable small towns” as well as eclectic music, food, wine and cultural festivals as well as outdoor recreation events as varied as balloon races, rodeos and guided snowshoe walks.

“This is much more than a campground directory. It’s really a publication that you can sit down with and read while enjoying a glass of wine,” said Dyana Kelley, incoming executive director and CEO of the California Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds, which produces the guide in addition to hosting Camp-California.com , the travel planning website.

“We’re now taking the approach of creating an annual magazine focusing on unique aspects of California like our cave system this year. Other topics in the pipeline include ghost towns, California missions, gold rush history, volcanos and wildlife viewing. The idea is to make the Camp-California guide a collector piece that consumers can use year after year.”

While the 92-page printed campground directory does not provide all of the travel planning content that is available on Camp-California.com, it does provide trip planning articles and information that hasn’t been available before.

For example, the guide includes information on 13 different caving destinations in California and Nevada, including:

Black Chasm Cavern in Volcano: Visitors to this cave in the Sierra Nevada’s Gold Rush County will not only see stalactites and stalagmites, but helictites, which are unique crystal formations that twist and turn and curl in every direction from the cave’s walls.

Lava Beds National Monument: This Northern California monument features over 800 explorable “lava tube” caves. The National Park Service has categorized many of the more popular caves based on the level of difficult to explore them. Visitors to the more challenging caves are encouraged to bring cave maps, compasses, knee pads, gloves and other protective equipment.

Moaning Caverns: This is the largest single cave chamber in California. Adventurous visitors can take a 10-story spiral staircase to the base of the chamber. Exploratory caving tours are available.

Subway Cave at Lassen National Park: This cave features a 1/3-mile-long, self-guided trail. Visitors need to bring flashlights and jackets as the cave is complete dark and a chilly 46 degrees, but no hardhats or crawling are required. 

Lake Shasta Caverns: This is one of the most widely visited and new National Natural Landmarks of all the cave systems. The robust tour of the caverns in all their glory includes a ferry boat ride across beautiful Shasta Lake. 

The guide also includes information on some of California’s “quaint, quirky and downright adorable” small towns, including the charming town of Guerneville, in the Russian River Valley; the historic city of Ferndale, which features some of the most beautiful Victorian-style architecture in the state; the tiny town of Hanford, which was originally a Chinese sheepherders’ camp; and Nevada City, which has some of the finest historic architecture in the Sierra Nevada’s Gold Rush Country.

The guide also contains information on roughly 150 food, wine, cultural and sporting events, including:

The Clovis Rodeo, April 25-28 in Clovis: This annual event includes bull riding and roping competitions as well as a parade and a rodeo dance.

Oktoberfest at Camp Richardson, Oct. 5-6 in South Lake Tahoe: This annual family friendly event includes live music, a bratwurst eating contest, a pumpkin patch, face painting, costume contests and a beer and wine garden. 

The Pahrump Social Pow Wow, Nov. 22-24 in Pahrump, Nevada: This annual three-day event brings together Native American tribes from all over the West, including drummers, dancers, musicians and craftsmen. Native American crafts and food are also available.

Ranger-led snowshoe walks at Lassen National Park on Saturdays and Sundays through March 31: Rangers Information on snowshoeing techniques on these hikes, which range from one to two miles. 

The Great Reno Balloon Race, Sept. 6-8 in Reno, Nevada: This is the largest free hot air balloon event in the world. In addition to race competitions, this event features balloon glow shows and mass ascensions of balloons. 

The guide also has editorial content with additional sightseeing ideas for 12 regions of California, including a special section focusing on Shasta Cascade Trinity Region of Northern California, which features some of the best kayaking and rafting areas in the state, not to mention some of the best areas for trout and steelhead salmon fishing.

A new destination this year features RV parks, camping options and sightseeing activities in Nevada. “So many campers include Nevada in their California camping adventures, it just makes sense to bring back those additional camping options to make travel planning easier for our readers,” Kelley said.

Camp-California.com has produced 225,000 printed copies of the 2019 edition of its award-winning directory, Camp-California! The Camper’s Guide to California, which are available free of charge at member campgrounds, California Welcome Centers and Camping World locations. A copy can be ordered for $5 to cover the postage through Camp-California.com.

A digital version of the directory is available on Camp-California.com and includes links to more extensive campground and special event listing information as well as advertiser websites. Camp-California.com and the digital version of the printed campground directory have also been redesigned to be compatible with mobile-, tablet- and desktop friendly formats.

Though digital downloads of the directory increase each year, the association continues to find strong demand for a printed directory.

“We find that consumers like to have a printed directory to take with them when they travel because it’s faster and easier to use than a smart phone, and it doesn’t burn up any precious Internet data!” Sipe said. “It’s also more reliable in outlying rural areas where cellphone service is still spotty.”

The Camp-California! guide includes amenity grids for campgrounds in each region of the state that highlight 17 different types of amenities, such as swimming pools, laundry facilities, rental accommodations and WiFi service. Brief descriptive write-ups, locator maps, websites, telephone and contact information are also provided for each park.

The guides are being distributed at all California Camping World locations, Bass Pro Super Stores, all 14 California Welcome Centers, the California RV Show, as well as through affiliated member campgrounds, El Monte RV Rental and Sky River RV locations. The camper’s guide is provided to consumers free of charge by members of the California Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds, many of which are family owned and operated. The directory is also supported by a growing base of advertisers, including campgrounds and RV aftermarket suppliers.

“Our advertiser base is growing more and more,” Kelley said, adding, “Businesses that market to RVers are finding Camp-California! to be a successful medium.”

Camp-California! The Camper’s Guide to California has received the State Directory of the Year Award from the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds in eight competitions involving state campground associations across the country. For more information, visit Camp-California.com.