Texas travel

2 Texas Hill Country parks book places on new list of America’s best campgrounds

Two destinations in the Texas Hill Country have earned top spots in a new ranking of the country’s best campgrounds.

Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort: Guadalupe River in Kerrville grabs three honors in Campspot’s first-ever awards program, and Camp Fimfo Hill Country near New Braunfels scores two honors. Panelists from the outdoors industry picked the winners. Campspot is a booking platform for campgrounds.

Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort: Guadalupe River earned three awards:

Ninth-best campground.
Second-best campground for families.
Third-best camping sites (Riverfront Red Carpet RV Sites).

Campspot describes the Kerrville campground as “the perfect place for families to have the vacation of a lifetime. Whether you’re looking to kick back and relax or spend the day busy with fun activities, this [campground] is an ideal location.”

Amenities at the campground include Yogi Bear’s Water Zone and an 18-hole mini-golf course.

Highlights of the Riverfront Red Carpet RV Sites include electric, water, and sewer hookups at each concrete pad, as well as a cable TV connection, picnic table, fire ring, and charcoal grill.

The other regional winner is Camp Fimfo Texas Hill Country, which is east of Canyon Lake and north of New Braunfels. It ranks third among the top campgrounds for families and second for campground design. Features at Camp Fimfo include a swim-up bar, water slides, and outdoor movies.

“Step outside of the ordinary and … outside in general with a glamping or camping experience at Camp Fimfo,” Campspot says.

Camp Fimfo offers three types of RV sites and three types of cabins. At an average of $275 a night, the three-bedroom cabin is the priciest option. It sleeps 12, and comes with a full kitchen and private bathroom.

Jellystone features a variety of water adventures, from pools and hot tubs to waterslides and the giant Yogi Bear's Water Zone for kids.

Jellystone Guadalupe River/Instagram

Jellystone features a variety of water adventures, from pools and hot tubs to waterslides and the giant Yogi Bear's Water Zone for kids.

nature vacation rankings families

Holiday News

American Airlines expects record-setting travel on Thanksgiving 2024

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

American Airlines ready for takeoff.

The holidays are looming and American Airlines is ramping up. Over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, the Fort Worth-based airline expects to process nearly 8.3 million customers across more than 77,000 flights.

According to a statement from American's COO David Seymour, the airline is having a good fall season and canceled fewer flights than its peers during October.

“Thanks to the hard work of our 130,000 team members, we canceled fewer flights than any of our major competitors this October and beat our own records for on-time departures and arrivals,” Seymour says.

That's surely good news. One hates to rain on their parade, but in June 2024, the only flight I booked this year, my flight was canceled less than 24 hours before take-off. I had made hotel reservations, scheduled a pet sitter, planned events, and arranged for a friend to pick me up at the destination airport. One employee speculated that it may have been "insufficient crew." Their only solution offered was: Feel free to reschedule your flight.

Thanksgiving facts and figures
The travel window runs from November 21 to December 3, and the airline expects to carry more than 500,000 more customers than it did last year.

The most-traveled day will be Sunday, December 1. The second most-traveled day will be Monday, December 2.

The peak of peak: 1,035 mainline and regional aircraft will be enroute at 10:45 am on Sunday, December 1 — the highest number of flights handled at any given time during American’s travel period.

The airline expects to serve more than 6.8 million Biscoff cookies on board from November 21 to December 3.

Travel tips
Download the American Airlines app and check in for your flight, noting added any bags to your trip. This will save you time at the airport.

If traveling internationally, download the Mobile Passport Control app, which can speed up your entry into the U.S. Global Entry members can download the Global Entry app, which allows you to submit your entry and go straight to the officer.

Upon arrival at the airport lobby, scan your mobile boarding pass to print bag tags quickly at a kiosk. If you’re not checking bags, go straight to TSA security with your mobile boarding pass.

holidays