Winners include:
El Campo Lost Lagoon in El Campo, Large Park of the Year Award, Al’s Hideaway in Pipe Creek, Accommodations of the Year Award, Quilly’s Big Fish RV Park in Rockport, Small Park of the Year Award
El Campo Lost Lagoon in El Campo, Large Park of the Year Award
The 255-site RV resort has one of the largest swimming pools in Texas, if not country
El Campo Lost Lagoon RV Resort in El Campo, Texas has won the Park of the Year Award from the Texas Association of Campground Owners (TACO) in the large park category.
The five-year-old 255-site RV resort has one of the largest, if not the largest, swimming pools in the country. The resort also has a separate sports park with a floating climbing structure, called a Wibit, which is popular with children.
“We are thrilled to receive this recognition,” park owners Kenna and Stephen Lucas said of their park, which is located in the tiny rural community of El Campo, about 70 miles southwest of Houston.
The annual award, presented to a campground with more than 125 sites, is based on consumer reviews, levels of employee training, accreditations and certifications, as well as involvement in the community and with TACO.
The Lucases acquired the two-acre, 650,000-gallon, beach entry swimming pool in 2017 and built a 255-site RV resort around it, which they opened in 2019.
While the main pool area has many amenities, including a rope swing, rockslides and a 500-foot lazy river, the Lucases have continued to make improvements over the years. They added extra decking and palapa-style cabanas as well as a kiddie lagoon, a multilevel water play structure, and a large, serene swimming pool, which they call the Oasis Cove Pool. The pool houses the world’s 1st ever Flow Rider Island, that just opened last weekend, and 2 large water slides.
El Campo Lost Lagoon has a loyal following of adults in addition to being a favorite destination for families with children. Onsite amenities include, a remote-control car track, a mining sluice, a gaga ball pit, an arcade, an exercise room, a playground and volleyball and basketball courts as well as a restaurant and rental accommodations for guests who do not have an RV.
The park also offers live entertainment most weekends as well as periodic fishing competitions a catch-and-release fishing pond with 30-inch catfish and barbecue cookoffs. More information is available at https://eclostlagoon.com/.
Al’s Hideaway in Pipe Creek has won the Accommodations of the Year Award from the Texas Association of Campground Owners (TACO).
The park, developed by Jennifer Green and Gordon Cook, is named after Jennifer’s grandfather, Albert Banis, who was a POW during World War II. The glamping facility features furnished cabins built by Ulrich Barn Builders in Cleburne, which captured the judges’ attention for TACO’s Accommodations of the Year Award this year. Aside from checking all the standard bullets on the judging criteria, Al’s Hideaway has a unique charm of its own in the “Glamping World” that appeals to campers across a broad spectrum. The family operations played into the mix.
Gordon and Jennifer, for their part, are continuing to improve their park, which they opened in 2017 with six cabins and 10 RV sites. They have since added another six cabins and two tipis.
Both Gordon and Jennifer previously worked in construction, with Jennifer working for the Texas Department of Transportation and Gordon working in the oil and gas industry, which frequently led him to work remotely from his RV as he traveled to different job sites. They now work full time at Al’s Hideaway.
“It’s a family business,” said Gordon, who helps with park maintenance, while Jennifer runs the park office and store. Her mother, Me Maw, oversees the cabins and helps with grounds maintenance, while their oldest daughter, Samantha Jean, answers the phone, takes reservations, and helps with miscellaneous tasks.
Park amenities include a 60-by-40-foot pavilion that has an outdoor kitchen, a big screen TV, surround sound speakers, and a swimming pool. Outdoor games, including cornhole, disc golf, volleyball, horseshoes, and checkers, are located throughout the park. The camp store provides food, drinks, ice and souvenirs and other supplies.
More information about the park is available at https://www.alshideaway.com/.
Learn more about Camping in Texas
Quilly’s Big Fish RV Park, which recently won a Park of the Year Award from the Texas Association of Campground Owners, is doubling in size from 50 to 100 sites
Katie McLeod spent eight years quite literally traveling the world, studying in Scotland and teaching English in China and Brazil before coming back to the U.S. in 2021.
Then her dad made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. “‘You should buy campgrounds,’” he said. “‘We can go into business together.’”
Her father’s advice made a lot of sense to her. “I’ve always liked people,” she said, “and I’ve camped my whole life, doing both tent camping and RVing with my parents.”
McLeod purchased Quilly’s Big Fish RV Park in Rockport in December 2021 and has done so well owning, operating and improving the park that she recently won a Park of the Year Award from the Texas Association of Campground Owners (TACO) in the small/medium-size park category.
The annual award, presented to a campground with 125 sites or less, is based on consumer reviews, levels of employee training, accreditations and certifications, as well as involvement in the community and with TACO.
Quilly’s Big Fish RV Park was already 15 years old when McLeod bought it. But it wasn’t a fixer upper. “The previous owners had done a really good job of making it beautiful,” McLeod said, noting that they had created several large retention ponds for bass, catfish, and perch fishing.
However, McLeod and her Brazilian husband, Leo Venancio, who she met in China and who later studied architecture there, have been busy making improvements, including building a clubhouse, pool, and a bathhouse with private family style bathrooms.
“When you are traveling with kids, it’s hard to keep track of which kid goes into which bathroom. This will make it easier for parents,” McLeod said, adding that her husband has designed all of their new buildings at their park.
McLeod and her husband are currently working to complete their 50-site expansion by August, which will double the size of their park. She said they are trying to complete the expansion while preserving as many trees as possible. Last year, she also hired an activities director to help develop and manage onsite activities for people who like to be entertained when they camp. Activities include fishing competitions as well as outdoor games and pool parties.
Meanwhile, McLeod has been learning as much as she can about campground operations. Last February, she received a scholarship to attend The George O’Leary National School of Outdoor Hospitality.
“Going to that campground school was one of the most magical experiences of my life,” she said. “They tell you the basics, even how to do your accounting on QuickBooks, and how to design activities for your park. You also get to hear other people’s experiences on how they do things.”
The O’Leary school inspired McLeod to launch several green initiatives at her park, including a recycling partnership with the Girl Scouts. Since there are no recycling pickup services where Quilly’s is located in Rockport, McLeod purchased containers and launched her own recycling program. She donates the recycled bottles and cans she collects from her guests to Girl Scouts so that they can get the money to support their youth service programs.
Her activities director also organized a poker run for people in the park. “Whoever wins gets a prize,” she said, adding that they donated proceeds from the event to the Humane Society of Rockport-Fulton.
McLeod said she is very active with TACO and with the Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce, which have helped her to spread awareness about her park within the campground industry in Texas as well as within the business community in Rockport.
All of these efforts are paying off, McLeod said, noting that the park is full and guests are having a great time. “We have many rebookings and people are staying longer,” McLeod said, adding that the park caters to Winter Texans in winter and families in summer.
“This community is amazing and we love being here,” McLeod said. “I feel like we’re living the dream. My managers tell me they’re never leaving and I’m happy to have them.
More information about Quilly’s is available at https://www.quillysrvparks.com/rockport-tx.
About TACO
Based in Crowley, the Texas Association of Campground Owners (TACO) is a 52-year-old trade association that represents over 430 campgrounds, RV parks and resorts across the Lone Star State. For more membership information go to www.tacomembers.com, or to book your next trip, please visit https://texascampgrounds.com and https://texasglampingresorts.com/.
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