> SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE! 

CalARVC promotes on its website RV parks and campgrounds located near California’s 21 Spanish missions.

Summer is upon us, and it won’t be long before parents of fourth-grade students will soon be faced with one of the biggest art and research projects in California’s elementary school curriculum: The 4th Grade Mission Project.

“Nothing captures California early Spanish heritage better than our historic missions,” said Debbie Sipe, executive director of the California Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (CalARVC, which hosts Camp-California.com, a statewide travel planning website.

The 21 missions of California were Spanish settlements initiated by Spanish King Charles III and built between between 1769 and 1823. The Spanish had already claimed this land over 200 years earlier, but didn’t start settling it until they heard of plans by other powers to settle the area. The missions were a way of laying claim to the area.

“Our missions provide beautiful examples of Spanish architecture and most of them have tours that are suitable for families with fourth grade students,” she said in a news release

Sipe added that mission trips can be combined with tours of other scenic attractions, including beaches to art museums, wineries and even state or national parks.

Camp-California.com recently added a section that highlights the locations of California’s missions as well as nearby campgrounds, RV parks and resorts that could serve as base camps for families as they build their own mission tours.

For more information on visiting California’s Missions visit www.Camp-California.com/Places-To-Go/Missions/. For ideas on other exciting and unusual road trips in California or for commentary, statistics and sources on the latest camping trends in campgrounds and RV resorts or for leads on parks in your news coverage area, please contact Debbie Sipe at the Auburn-based California Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds at (530) 885-1624 and visit www.Camp-California.com.