Glamping Guide to Big 2026 Events

Don’t be left out of some of the biggest celebrations and events set for 2026. Make your plans ahead of time to make sure you’ve got the best glamping spot location nearby: 

The Daytona 500 is scheduled for February 16, 2026. This 500-mile race officially opens the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series calendar and promises plenty of high-speed excitement. (Reserve a glamping cottage at Encore Sunshine Holiday Daytona.) 

The Innings Music Festival can be considered the opening pitch for Major League Baseball’s Cactus League Spring Training which begins in late-February. This year’s festival, which runs February 20-22 and February 27-28, includes headliners such as Mumford and Sons and Dierks Bentley. (Reserve the glamping cottage at ViewPoint RV & Golf Resort.) 

Glamping cottage at ViewPoint RV & Golf Resort
Glamping cottage at ViewPoint RV & Golf Resort

Speaking of spring training, catch some of your favorite teams as they train and prepare for the 2026 regular season with Cactus League inter-league games that include some of 2025’s best including the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and the World Series winning LA Dodgers. Check out mlb.com/spring-training/cactus-league for schedules. (ViewPoint RV & Golf Resort, Monte Vista RV Resort, or Encore Mesa Spirit can be glamping options.) 

South by Southwest, the fabulous festival for the meeting of the minds for all things film, music and television is set for March 12-18, 2026. See what’s new and hot this year and mark this great event off your bucket list! (Reserve a glamping cabin at Thousand Trails Colorado River.) 

Vacation Cottage at Thousand Trails Palm Springs

Everyone who is anyone flocks to California, or more specifically, Indio, California for these two great music festivals annually in April. We’re talking about Coachella – set for April 10-12 and April 17-19 and Stagecoach set for April 24-26. (Reserve a colorful glamping cottage at Thousand Trails Palm Springs.) 

The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will be held at Saratoga Race Course in New York, June 3-7, 2006. Opened in 1863, Saratoga is considered to be the oldest sporting venue of any kind in the US and will be the setting for the last horse race in the iconic 2026 Triple Crown. (Reserve a glamping cabin at Lake George Escape Campground.) 

Cabin at Spring Gulch Camping Resort
Cabin at Spring Gulch Camping Resort

Soccer fans, get ready—the 2026 FIFA World Cup is coming to North America, and Houston is set to host several thrilling matches throughout June and July. As some of the world’s best teams take the field, the city will be buzzing with fan festivals, viewing parties, and international excitement. Don’t miss your chance to be part of this global celebration—secure your spot early and enjoy a relaxing glamping retreat just outside the city. (Reserve a glamping cabin at Thousand Trails Lake Conroe for easy access to all the Houston action.)

Major League Baseball’s annual All-Star game is scheduled for July 1, 2026 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Come see your favorite players face off against some of the rest of the best in the MLB. (Reserve a glamping rental at Spring Gulch Campground.) 

EPCOT’s International Food and Wine Festival begins August 27 and runs through November 21 so a trip to Florida is in order if you want to catch this culinary adventure featuring foods from several countries. (Reserve a colorful cottage at Encore Tropical Palms.) 

Kick off your 2026 holiday season by heading to Leavenworth, Washington for their famous Village of Lights: Christmastown. No one can say bah humbug to this festival that lights up this quaint Bavarian-style village with thousands of twinkling lights. The festival runs from Thanksgiving through February 2027! (Reserve a tiny house at the Leavenworth Tiny House Village.)

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Get in These 2024 Travel Trends

Skyscanner.com, a travel search engine, recently came out with an article that discussed travel trend predictions for 2024. We thought it would be a good idea to take their trend predictions, pair them with our glamping locations, and see if this could make for the perfect travel ideas for you in 2024. Here goes….

Main Character Energy: Using the term “set-jetting,” this travel trend has travelers heading to the locales where some of their favorite screen characters reside. For example, Emily In Paris, the Neflix hit that follows the life of an American marketing exec when she’s transferred to Paris. OK, while we don’t have a glamping destination in France just yet, we can get you pretty close staying stateside. Book a cozy glamping cabin stay at Thousand Trails Las Vegas and head to The Strip to discover Paris Las Vegas. What you’ll find here is not only a replica of the Eiffel Tower, but also the Arc de Triomphe, the Paris Opera House, the Louvre, and the Musee de Orsay, which gives you an idea of Emily’s daily scenery. The bonus here is that anyone who is a fan of reality TV can dine at Vanderpump à Paris – owned by the Bravo TV celeb Lisa Vanderpump, famous for Vanderpump Rules. In Season 3 of the series, Emily heads to Provence, the region in southern France known for its beautiful lavender fields. Plan ahead and book a trip at California’s Thousand Trails Idyllwild (cabin or cottage glamping accommodations available here) and head over to 123 Farm, a beautiful lavender farm in Beaumont, which has gorgeous lavender fields from June to mid-July. The Farm’s lavender festival runs May through July each year.

Cabin at Thousand Trails Russian River
Cabin at Thousand Trails Russian River

Budget Bougie Foodies: According to Skyscanner, 47% of American travelers have booked a trip specifically to try a restaurant in the destination and another 27% said they’d travel to eat specific cuisine of the area. Some ideas for a glamping/gourmet gorge can include:

  • Thousand Trails Russian River: Book a glamping cabin or cottage at this great California retreat and explore several Michelin Star restaurants in the area including French Laundry in Yountville, Cyrus in Geyserville, Auro in Calistoga, and Barndiva in Healdsburg.
  • Thousand Trails Colorado River: Glamp in a cabin here and plan to head into Austin (about 90 miles) for some of the best authentic Texas BBQ. The Lone Star style for BBQ includes smoked beef brisket, a less sweet, more spicy sauce and, of course, the requisite large slice of white bread. Per eater.com, the must-eat spots include Franklin Barbeque (from James Beard Award-winning pitmaster, Aaron Franklin), Brown’s Bar-B-Queen (situated in a big red trailer in South Austin), and Sam’s BBQ, an oldie that’s been around since the 1950s.
  • Thousand Trails Natchez Trace: Book a stay at a tiny house at Natchez Trace and explore the culinary delights of Nashville. Stop in at Robert’s Western World for a fried bologna sandwich, Hattie B’s for some famous hot chicken, or the Loveless Cafe for some of the best biscuits and jam around. A walking food tour is another fun way to eat your way through Nashville (check out walkeatnashville.com).


Gig-tripping: Maybe it originated with the Grateful Dead’s Deadheads, but gig-tripping is what they’re now calling what you do when you travel to follow the music. You don’t have to go as far as another continent like the Swifties did this past year, but there are plenty of music festivals coming up in 2024 that work well with a glamping destination. Consider Coachella, scheduled for two weekends in April (12-14 and 19-21). Book a stay in a colorful cottage in Thousand Trails Palm Springs and you’re about 30 miles from all the fun of Coachella. Catch the next big stars of Country music at Key West Songwriters Festival 2024, set for May 1-5. Choose from a tiny house at Sunshine Key Tiny House Village or a colorful cottage at Encore Fiesta Key for your homebase for this fest. For a lineup of next year’s big music events, visit musicfestivalwizard.com and see who’s playing near your favorite glamping location in 2024.

Cottages at Palm Springs RV Resort
Cottages at Palm Springs RV Resort

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