Camp Mystic plans to reopen in Texas next summer, a year after floods
killed 27
[September 24, 2025]
By HALLIE GOLDEN
The owners of Camp Mystic say they plan to partially reopen next summer
the all-girls camp where 27 campers and counselors were killed during
catastrophic floods that swept through the Texas Hill Country in July.
The area of the camp along the Guadalupe River that was destroyed by the
floodwaters will not reopen next year, the owners said in a letter to
Camp Mystic families, some of whom have criticized the nearly
century-old camp over its safety measures and preparedness in wake of
the tragedy. But another part of the camp that wasn't damaged will
resume welcoming campers.
The letter was sent to families Monday, weeks after many of them stood
behind Republican Gov. Greg Abbott as he signed tougher camp safety laws
that prohibit cabins in dangerous parts of flood zones and require camp
operators to develop detailed emergency plans, to train workers and to
install and maintain emergency warning systems.
“As we work to finalize plans, we will do so in a way that is mindful of
those we have lost," the letter said.
The campers and counselors were killed when the fast-rising floodwaters
roared through a low-lying area of the summer camp before dawn on the
Fourth of July. All told, the destructive flooding killed at least 136
people, raising questions about how things went so terribly wrong.
County leaders were asleep or out of town. The head of Camp Mystic had
been tracking the weather beforehand, but it’s now unclear whether he
saw an urgent warning from the National Weather Service that had
triggered an emergency alert to phones in the area, a spokesperson for
camp’s operators said in the immediate aftermath.
The camp, established in 1926, did not evacuate and was hit hard when
the river rose from 14 feet (4.2 meters) to 29.5 feet (9 meters) within
60 minutes.
One of new state laws allocates $240 million from the state’s rainy day
fund for disaster relief, along with money for warning sirens and
improved weather forecasting.
Michael McCown, whose 8-year-old daughter Linnie died in the floods, was
among those who urged lawmakers this summer to act.
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Campers belongings sit outside one of Camp Mystic's cabins near
the Guadalupe River, July 7, 2025, in Hunt, Texas, after a flash
flood swept through the area. (AP Photo/Eli Hartman, File)
“It will hurt my family forever that, for reasons I
still do not know, these protections were not in place nor thought
out thoroughly for my daughter and the rest of the girls here,” he
said in August.
Cici Steward, whose 8-year-old daughter Cile remains missing, said
“the truth is, Camp Mystic failed our daughters.”
“For my family, these months have felt like an eternity. For the
camp, it seems like nothing more than a brief pause before business
as usual,” she said in a statement Tuesday to The New York Times.
“Camp Mystic is pressing ahead with reopening, even if it means
inviting girls to swim in the same river that may potentially still
hold my daughter’s body.”
The camp also said that it will build a memorial to those killed in
the flooding.
“In the memorial’s design, we will strive to capture the beauty,
kindness and grace they all shared, while focusing on the joy they
carried and will always inspire in us all,” the letter said.
The letter said leaders are “working with engineers and other
experts to determine how we will implement the changes required”
under the newly passed bills.
The victims of the flood included Richard “Dick” Eastland, the owner
of Camp Mystic, who a family spokesperson has said was killed while
trying to rescue some of the campers.
“We are sorry that we have not been perfect at communicating, and we
know that,” read the letter, signed by members of the Eastland
family. “The distance that has grown between some of us saddens us
all, and we are here to communicate with you as much as you desire
while respecting each of your individual needs."
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