Camp Mystic, the Texas Hill Country camp where 28 people died in catastrophic flooding last July, announced April 30 that it will not welcome campers this summer.
The decision comes nearly 10 months after 25 young campers, two teenage counselors and the camp’s executive director, Dick Eastland, died as the Guadalupe River camp flooded July 4. Camp Mystic’s owners had planned to open a secondary campsite in late May, but backed down at the urging of flood victims’ families and state lawmakers.
“As parents, we are left asking hard questions that cannot be withdrawn or postponed. We will continue to seek answers, because honoring our daughter means demanding better for every child,” Ryan and Elizabeth DeWitt, whose 9-year-old daughter, Molly, died at Camp Mystic, said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the Department of State Health Services, which licenses Texas youth camps, confirmed to Community Impact that Camp Mystic had withdrawn its application to operate in summer 2026.
At a glance
Members of the Eastland family, who own and operate Camp Mystic, told lawmakers April 28 that they would open their Cypress Lake site to campers May 30. That location did not flood last summer and is located on higher ground than the Guadalupe River camp.
The Eastlands backtracked two days later, writing that they did not want to “unintentionally effect further harm” on flood victims and their families.
“We also recognize that over 800 girls want to return to Camp Mystic Cypress Lake this summer,” Camp Mystic officials wrote in an April 30 statement. “Our special bond with our Camp Mystic families does not change or end with the announcement. We love each of you.”
A DSHS spokesperson said Camp Mystic’s 2025 license expired March 31. Under state law, all summer camps are allowed to continue operating while their licenses are being reviewed, but since Camp Mystic withdrew its 2026 application, its license is no longer active, according to the DSHS.
During legislative hearings this week, the Eastlands apologized to the victims’ parents and acknowledged that they could have done more to respond to the deadly flood. The family also defended its efforts to better prepare for future summers, noting a 60-page emergency plan that was in the works.
“We tried our hardest that night, and it wasn't enough to save your daughters,” Edward Eastland, one of the camp’s directors, said. “I regret not communicating more with each of you earlier, and I'm so sorry.”
The families of the girls who died at Camp Mystic attended court and legislative hearings in April, holding photos and wearing pins honoring their late daughters, who are known as the “Heaven’s 27.” Seven of those families testified at the state capitol April 28, telling lawmakers this was the first time many of them had seen the Eastlands in person since dropping their children off at camp in late June.
