{{Short description|Private summer camp in Texas, US}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox campground | name = Camp Mystic | location = Kerr County, Texas, US | image = 1926 Camp Mystic for Girls, Heart O' the Hills, Kerrville, Texas - 1 (cropped).jpg | caption = Image from 1926 brochure | pushpin_map = Texas#USA | coordinates = {{coord|30.0091|-99.3702|dim:500000_region:US-TX|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | campus_size = {{convert|725|acre}} | previous_names = Stewart's Camp for Girls | established = 1926 | website = {{URL|https://www.campmystic.com|campmystic.com}}}}
'''Camp Mystic''' is a private non-denominational Christian girls' summer camp in unincorporated Kerr County, Texas, US. It is set on a {{convert|725|acre|adj=on}} campus consisting of two neighboring sites {{convert|6|mi}} southwest of Hunt, near the confluence of the South Fork Guadalupe River and Cypress Creek. The camp serves girls aged eight to seventeen.
The camp was severely damaged in the July 2025 Central Texas floods; 27 people from the camp died, including 25 campers and two counselors.
==History== thumb|Activities shown in brochure, 1920s The camp was founded in 1926 by E. J. Stewart, under the name Stewart's Camp for Girls.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Herring |first=Rebecca J. |date=1994-12-01 |title=Camp Mystic: A Historic Summer Camp for Girls in Texas |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/camp-mystic |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Texas State Historical Association |language=en}}</ref> It offered a single eight-week session each summer.<ref name=":12" /> In July 1932, the camp suffered a flash flood which washed away several cabins, but no fatalities were reported.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Burnett |first=Jonathan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bYIIV5ZobM8C&dq=camp+mystic&pg=PA51 |title=Flash Floods in Texas |date=2008-04-02 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |isbn=978-1-58544-590-5 |pages=51 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Baker Mike |date=2025-07-11 |title=Texas Floods Often Threatened Camp Mystic |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/us/camp-mystic-flood-history.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250712204441/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/us/camp-mystic-flood-history.html |archive-date=July 12, 2025 |access-date=2025-07-12 |work=The New York Times |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1937, the camp was purchased by the Stacy family, who have maintained ownership ever since.<ref name=":8" /> Since 1939, the camp has been an all-girls camp.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Swartz |first=Mimi |date=July 2011 |title=The Not So Happy Campers |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-not-so-happy-campers/ |website=Texas Monthly}}</ref> By 1934<ref>{{Cite book |date=1934 |title=Annual Report of the American National Red Cross |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Trp9iQ7h6PMC&q=camp+mystic+texas |publisher=American National Red Cross |pages=98}}</ref> and until at least June 1942, the camp hosted a ten-day Aquatic School led by the Red Cross.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=January 1940 |title=Water-Safety Program |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J8MNPYQ7OHMC&q=camp+mystic+texas |journal=Beach & Pool |publisher=Beach and Pool Publishing Corporation |volume=14 |pages=13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m80cAQAAMAAJ&dq=camp+mystic+texas&pg=RA10-PA8 |journal=The Red Cross Courier |date=May 1942 |publisher=American National Red Cross |pages=8 |language=en |title=Aquatic Schools|volume=21|issue=11}}</ref> Although the camp is Christian,<ref>{{cite web |title=Camp Mystic for Girls |url=https://www.campmystic.com/ |publisher=Camp Mystic |quote=Camp Mystic is a private Christian summer camp for girls ... in Texas.}}</ref> some Jewish Texans also sent their children there, as there were no Jewish summer camps in the area in the 1930s.<ref name="forward">{{cite web |last=Feuer |first=Hannah |date=2025-07-07 |title=For the Jewish community in central Texas, deadly flooding hits close to home |url=https://forward.com/fast-forward/753199/texas-flooding-camp-mystic-jewish/ |website=The Forward}}</ref>
thumb|Landscape and buildings The camp paused operations during World War II from 1943 to 1945,<ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gW0vgTVHUyYC&dq=camp+mystic+texas&pg=PA551 |title=The Army Air Forces in World War II: Services around the world |date=1948 |publisher=Office of Air Force History |isbn=978-0-912799-03-2 |pages=551 |language=en}}</ref> when it functioned as a rest and relaxation site for soldiers, offering two six-week sessions.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Arnold |first=Bonnie |date=2018-06-15 |title=Campers arrive in Kerr County, bring $32 million impact |url=https://www.hccommunityjournal.com/article_e896fb60-6e8a-11e8-9faa-4b90402265f8.html |access-date=2025-07-05 |website=hccommunityjournal.com |language=en}}</ref> Following the war, the camp began offering two sessions each summer.<ref name=":12" />
Inez "Iney" and Frank Harrison were brought to Mystic in December 1948 by then-owner Agnes "Ag" Stacy. They were directors of Mystic from 1948 until their retirement in 1987.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=Mystic History |url=https://www.campmystic.com/mystic-history/ |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=Camp Mystic for Girls}}</ref>
In 1978, the camp was impacted by flooding from the Guadalupe River. A program director later recalled that staff transported more than 100 campers by station wagon to higher ground during the night.<ref name=":14" /> The camp also faced flooding again in 1984.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tolan |first=Curt Devine, Casey |date=2025-07-11 |title=Camp Mystic's owner warned of floods for decades. Then the river killed him |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/11/us/camp-mystic-owner-warnings-texas-flooding-invs |access-date=2025-07-12 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>
The camp offered two camp sessions a year until 1983, when a third session was added.<ref name=":1" /> By 1996, a session at Camp Mystic cost {{US dollar|635|1996|long=no}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mackintosh |first=Prudence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sSQ_uptJGuMC&dq=camp+mystic&pg=PA15 |title=Just as We Were: A Narrow Slice of Texas Womanhood |date=1996-01-01 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-75200-9 |pages=15 |language=en}}</ref> In 2011, a 30-day session cost {{US dollar|4300|2011|long=no}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harwood-Baynes |first=Megan |date=8 July 2025 |title=Generations of Texas elite in mourning over Camp Mystic tragedy |url=https://news.sky.com/story/generations-of-texas-elite-in-mourning-over-camp-mystic-tragedy-13393276 |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=Sky News |language=en}}</ref>
In the late 2000s and early 2010s, camp leadership underwent a protracted family feud.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=MacCormack |first=Zeke |date=2012 |title=Camp Mystic survives six year family feud |url=https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/camp-mystic-survives-six-year-family-feud-4113020.php |website=My San Antonio}}</ref> As of 2025, the camp was owned by Dick and Tweety Eastland.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2025-07-05 |title=Camp Mystic, the century-old girls Christian summer camp deluged by the Texas flood |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/camp-mystic-girls-christian-summer-camp-deluged-flood-texas-rcna217015 |access-date=2025-07-05 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>
In the 2010s, the camp expanded from their original Guadalupe site to the new Cypress Lake site. This expansion included the construction of cabins, a dining hall, a chapel, and an archery range for the new site.<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |date=2025-07-12 |title=FEMA removed dozens of Camp Mystic buildings from 100-year flood map before expansion, records show |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/12/us/texas-flooding-fema-flood-map-camp-mystic |access-date=2025-07-12 |website=CNN |language=en |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>
===2025 flooding=== {{main|July 2025 Central Texas floods}}The camp was hosting 750 campers at the beginning of July 2025.<ref name=":2" /> Under Texas state regulations, the camp was required to have an emergency plan "in case of a disaster", which officials from the Texas Department of State Health Services approved on July 2.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |title=Inspectors signed off on Camp Mystic's emergency plans days before catastrophic flooding, records show |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/inspectors-signed-off-camp-mystics-emergency-plans-days/story?id=123601635 |access-date=2025-07-09 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref> The state of Texas does not approve or retain copies of such plans; camps are only required to demonstrate that a plan exists.
The camp was not accredited by the American Camp Association, which recommends that campers and staff be trained to respond to natural disasters.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |last1=Gerberg |first1=Jon |last2=Schuppe |first2=Jon |date=2025-07-09 |title=Texas officials approved Camp Mystic's operating plan days before the fatal floods |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-officials-approved-camp-mystics-operating-plan-days-fatal-floods-rcna217514 |access-date=2025-07-10 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>
Between 2011 and 2020, the Federal Emergency Management Agency revised its Special Flood Hazard Area maps to exclude 30 camp buildings following two separate appeals from the camp, possibly due to concerns about insurance costs or increased regulation.<ref name=":15" /> The Special Flood Hazard Area marks regions most at risk for 100-year floods. By 2025, at least 12 camp structures were entirely within the Special Flood Hazard Area, with several others partially inside it.<ref name=":15" />
==== Flooding ==== At 1:18 a.m. CDT on July 4, 2025, the National Weather Service office in San Antonio issued a flood watch for Kerr County, Texas and surrounding areas that would later be impacted by severe flooding.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Daryl Herzmann |title=KEWX Flood Watch #3 |url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/?wfo=KEWX&phenomena=FA&significance=A&eventid=3&year=2025 |access-date=July 6, 2025 |website=Iowa Environmental Mesonet |language=en}}</ref> At about 4:00 a.m. on July 4, flash flooding began in Kerr County; officials were unable to issue evacuation orders due to the speed at which events unfolded.<ref name=":2" /> The Guadalupe River rose {{convert|26|ft}} in approximately 45 minutes.<ref name=":3">{{cite news |last1=Schoenbaum |first1=Hannah |last2=Vertuno |first2=Jim |date=2025-07-04 |title=Texas families plead for information on at least 23 girls missing from summer camp after floods |url=https://apnews.com/article/texas-flooding-girls-missing-camp-mystic-395992e236e35c4486f9a6a97eed7704 |access-date=2025-07-05 |language=en |work=Associated Press News}}</ref>
It was later reported that camp director Dick Eastland, age 70, had received a flash flood warning at 1:14 a.m. but did not begin evacuations until around 2:30 a.m., more than an hour later. However, the flood warning did not include an evacuation order.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Luscombe |first=Richard |date=2025-07-14 |title=Texas camp leader waited over an hour after flood warning to evacuate |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/14/texas-floods-girls-camp-evacuation-delay |access-date=2025-07-16 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> By that time, the river was already rising rapidly. When the Guadalupe campsite flooded, campers took shelter in cabins, a recreation hall, and on nearby hilltops.<ref name=":3" /> The camp’s Cypress Lake site also experienced flooding; while the water was not severe enough to inundate cabins, it caused property damage, including to the waterfront.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Blakey |first=Katy |date=2025-07-05 |title='It didn't look like Camp Mystic anymore': Dallas teen describes evacuation, devastation |url=https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/dallas-camper-details-camp-mystic-evacuation-devastation/3878910/ |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth |language=en-US}}</ref>
By dawn, campers at both the Guadalupe and Cypress Lake sites had no access to food, running water, or power.<ref name=":3" /> Rescue efforts were underway by the afternoon of July 4,<ref name=":3" /> with campers transported to an elementary school in Ingram, Texas that was being used as a reunification center.<ref name=":3" />
Twenty-eight people died in the flooding: 25 campers aged 8–10, two counselors aged 18 and 19,<ref name="sundby">{{Cite news |last=Sundby |first=Alex |date=July 7, 2025 |title=Texas flooding victims include 27 Camp Mystic campers and counselors, camp confirms |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/camp-mystic-campers-counselors-killed-texas-flooding/ |access-date=July 7, 2025 |work=CBS News}}</ref> and Dick Eastland.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-05 |title=Camp Mystic Director Dick Eastland among the dead in Guadalupe River flood |url=https://www.tpr.org/news/2025-07-05/guadalupe-river-flood-camp-mystic-director-among-the-dead |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Texas Public Radio |language=en}}</ref> Eastland died while attempting to rescue campers; his body was found in an SUV along with those of three Bubble Inn campers.<ref name=":19">{{Cite news |last=Goodman |first=J. David |last2=Khurana |first2=Malika |last3=Erden |first3=Bora |last4=Hernandez |first4=Marco |last5=Liu |first5=Yuhan |last6=Patanjali |first6=Karthik |last7=Saget |first7=Bedel |last8=Smart |first8=Charlie |date=2025-11-16 |title=Swept Away |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/11/15/us/camp-mystic-flooding-deaths-video-map.html |access-date=2026-02-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The camp's infrastructure was heavily damaged.<ref name="sky9jul25">{{cite news |date=9 July 2025 |title=More than 160 people still missing after deadly Texas floods |url=https://news.sky.com/story/more-than-160-people-still-missing-after-deadly-texas-floods-including-young-children-13394323 |publisher=Sky News}}</ref> The camp's gatehouse and a storage building were destroyed.<ref name=":19" /> As of February 6, 2026, all but one of the bodies had been recovered.<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |last=Amestoy |first=Louis |date=2026-02-14 |title=Parents seek emergency order to stop Camp Mystic from destroying evidence, court date set for March 4 |url=https://kerrcountylead.com/parents-seek-emergency-order-to-stop-camp-mystic-from-destroying-evidence-court-date-set-for-march-4/ |access-date=2026-02-17 |website=The Kerr County Lead |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":17">{{Cite web |date=2026-02-06 |title=Parents of Camp Mystic camper still missing fear their daughter, Cile, may never be found |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/parents-camp-mystic-camper-still-missing-fear-daughter-cile-may-never-rcna257103 |access-date=2026-02-17 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>
==== Aftermath and legal proceedings ==== In September 2025, Camp Mystic announced in an email that it would partially reopen the Camp Mystic–Cypress Lake campus, which had not sustained damage during the flood, for the summer of 2026.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Runnels |first=Ayden |date=2025-09-23 |title=Camp Mystic plans partial reopening in 2026 after devastating floods |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/23/camp-mystic-flood-reopening-cypress-lake-2026/ |access-date=2025-09-24 |work=Texas Tribune |language=en-GB}}</ref> In November 2025, the families of six children and the two counselors killed in the flooding filed two lawsuits against the camp’s owners and other parties, claiming negligence. The suit claims that despite the camp being located in a known high-risk flood zone, campers were told to remain in their cabins, the camp had not adopted a legally required evacuation plan, and staff prioritized saving equipment over evacuation—creating what the filings described as a "self-created" disaster.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Helsel |first=Phil |last2=Kottke |first2=Joe |last3=Damberg |first3=Chelsea |date=2025-11-11 |title=Families of girls and counselors who died in Texas floods allege negligence by Camp Mystic |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/families-girls-counselors-died-texas-floods-camp-mystic-negligent-rcna243134 |access-date=2025-11-13 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> Separate lawsuits were also filed by the families of two other deceased campers.
Shortly after the suits were filed, Camp Mystic issued two statements—one from the camp and one from its attorneys—offering prayers for the families and asserting that there had been no prior warning and that the flood was completely unexpected.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cienfuegos |first=Courtney Friedman, Luis |date=2025-11-12 |title=Families, Camp Mystic respond to lawsuits filed after 27 girls, counselors killed in Hill Country floods |url=https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2025/11/12/camp-mystic-responds-to-lawsuits-filed-after-27-girls-counselors-killed-in-hill-country-floods/ |access-date=2025-11-13 |website=KSAT |language=en}}</ref> A lawsuit filed by Will and CiCi Steward, the parents of camper Cile Steward, whose body has not been recovered, alleges that the camp ignored multiple flood warnings.<ref name=":17" />
In December 2025, Camp Mystic announced that it would install a flood warning system on the campgrounds.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wiley |first=Kelly |date=2025-12-12 |title=Camp Mystic to get new flood warning system ahead of summer |url=https://www.kxan.com/investigations/camp-mystic-to-get-new-flood-warning-system-ahead-of-summer/ |access-date=2025-12-13 |website=KXAN-TV}}</ref> By February 2026, five lawsuits representing 15 families had been filed against the camp.<ref name=":18">{{Cite news |last=Holley |first=Peter |date=2026-02-06 |title=In a New Lawsuit, the Parents of the Last Missing Mystic Camper Say the Camp Should Shut Down Forever |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/camp-mystic-cile-steward-lawsuit/ |access-date=2026-02-17 |work=Texas Monthly |language=en-US}}</ref> That same month, Will and CiCi Steward sought an injunction to prevent Camp Mystic from reopening in March 2026 as planned, arguing that reopening would "destroy evidence".<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":18" /> On March 4, 2026, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ruled in the plaintiffs' favor to halt renovations to the Guadalupe Camp until the investigations are complete, but allowing the Cypress Lake campus to re-open in the summer of 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.kxan.com/independence-day-floods/judge-halts-renovations-at-camp-mystic-guadalupe-site-as-flood-victims-family-fights-to-prevent-reopening/ |first=Avery |last=Travis |date=2026-03-05 |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=KXAN-TV |title=Judge halts renovations at Camp Mystic Guadalupe site as flood victim’s family fights to prevent reopening}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/camp-mystic-texas-floods-lawsuit-a9058c9979697bc36c6b464d5294af45/ |first=Jim&Sean |last=Vertuno&Murphy |date=2026-03-04 |access-date=2026-03-07 |website=AP-News |title=Texas judge declines to close Camp Mystic despite family's request after last year's floods}}</ref>
In April 2026, It was announced that Camp Mystic would not be reopening for the summer. <ref>{{Cite news |last=Goodman |first=J. David |date=2026-04-30 |title=Camp Mystic Says It Will Not Reopen This Summer After Fatal Texas Floods |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/30/us/camp-mystic-texas-floods-closure.html |access-date=2026-04-30 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The decision came following hearings in which Texas lawmakers questioned whether the camp was adequately prepared to reopen. The camp was also criticized during the two-day hearing for filing to plan and train staff to evacuate cabins during floods and how the chaotic evacuation began too late. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Foxhall |first=Emily |date=2026-04-30 |title=Texas’ Camp Mystic won’t reopen this summer |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/30/texas-camp-mystic-reopen-canceled-2025-flood/ |access-date=2026-05-03 |website=The Texas Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Facilities and administration== The camp is set on about {{convert|725|acre}} in unincorporated Kerr County, Texas, {{convert|6|mi}} southwest of the city of Hunt. The campus consists of two neighboring sites near the confluence of the South Fork Guadalupe River and Cypress Creek.<ref>{{cite map|author=Geography Division|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/DC20BLK/st48_tx/county/c48265_kerr/DC20BLK_C48265.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Kerr County, TX|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|date=2025-07-11|page=28 (PDF p. 29/47)|access-date=2025-07-11|quote=Camp Mystic Way S}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Rigdon |first1=Renée |last2=Fritz |first2=Angela |date=July 7, 2025 |title=Children's camps in Texas were located in areas known to be at high risk of flooding |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/07/climate/childrens-camps-texas-flooding |website=CNN |quote=The camp is located at a dangerous confluence of the South Fork Guadalupe River and Cypress Creek, where flood waters converged.}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":9">{{cite web |last=Snider |first=Mike |date=2025-07-05 |title=Where is Camp Mystic, the Christian girls camp hit by flooding in Texas? |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/nation/2025/07/05/camp-mystic-texas-flooding-girls-camp/84478214007/ |publisher=The Arizona Republic}}</ref> The camp serves girls aged eight to seventeen.<ref name=":0" />
The camp's recreation hall was built in the 1920s, using lumber from local cypress trees.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |date=2025-07-04 |title=Camp Mystic in Texas, Where 20 Children Are Missing, Is Nearly a Century Old |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/04/us/camp-mystic-texas.html/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250705145318/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/04/us/camp-mystic-texas.html/ |archive-date=2025-07-05 |access-date=2025-07-05 |work=The New York Times |language=en}}</ref>
As of 2018, the camp had 78 counselors.<ref name=":1" /> At the time of the 2025 flood, the camp had 108 staff.<ref name=":13" />
==Activities and traditions== As of 2018, the camp offered three sessions each summer: two 30-day sessions and a 13-day session in early August.<ref name=":1" />
The camp offers a wide range of outdoor activities, including archery, canoeing,<ref name=":0" /> cheerleading, fishing,<ref name=":4" /> horseback riding, lacrosse, and riflery,<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Best Summer Camps: Overnight Camps |url=https://www.houstoniamag.com/travel-and-outdoors/2014/03/best-overnight-camps-march-2014 |access-date=2025-07-05 |website=Houstonia Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> as well as indoor activities such as cooking, journalism, and "beauty", including classes in "politeness training" and facials.<ref name=":5" /> Upon arrival, campers choose their activities and receive individual schedules.<ref name=":1" /> Campers are divided into two teams—the Kiowa and Tonkawa "tribes"—which compete in sports and games throughout each session.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Reynolds |first=Virginia |date=2021-05-22 |title=Texas' Most Beloved Summer Camps — Storied Overnight Camps are a Tradition Like No Other for Generations of Texans |url=https://www.papercitymag.com/culture/texas-best-summer-camps-mystic-waldemer-vista/ |access-date=2025-07-05 |website=PaperCity Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
Campers do not have access to electronics and are encouraged to write letters home. Parents are offered a one-way email service to contact their children.<ref name=":1" />
Sundays are "reserved for praise and worship on the waterfront and vespers on Chapel Hill".<ref name=":6" />
Campers are assigned seats in the dining hall, with arrangements changed weekly.<ref name=":1" /> Fried chicken is served every Sunday,<ref name=":0" /> and Blue Bell ice cream is offered daily for dessert after lunch.<ref name=":6" />
The camp maintains ties with the boys' camps Camp Stewart and Camp Vista, and campers visit Mystic for dances and "a program of skits".<ref name=":1" />
==Alumni== Some campers have been children or grandchildren of Texas governors Price Daniel, Dan Moody, and John Connally.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":10" /> First Lady Laura Bush worked as a counselor at the camp while she was in college,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gormley |first=Beatrice |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ds6mEDOCa3oC |title=Laura Bush: America's First Lady |date=2010-05-11 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4391-1430-8 |pages=27 |language=en}}</ref> and Lady Bird Johnson attended events at the camp.<ref name=":10">{{Cite news |last=Flahive |first=Paul |date=2025-07-06 |title=Camp Mystic, now in ruins from Texas floods, was a pillar for generations of women |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/07/06/nx-s1-5457778/camp-mystic-now-in-ruins-from-texas-floods-was-a-pillar-for-generations-of-women |access-date=2025-07-06 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref>
===Former campers=== * {{annotated link|Rosebud Baker}}<ref name=":11" /> * {{annotated link|Pamela Brown (journalist)|Pamela Brown}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/cnn-pamela-brown-camp-mystic-texas-floods-b2784036.html |title=CNN anchor who attended Camp Mystic 'overwhelmed with emotion' visiting site of deadly Texas flood |website=The Independent |date=July 7, 2025}}</ref> * {{annotated link|Luci Baines Johnson}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Sullivan |first=George |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qVghAQAAMAAJ&q=camp%20mystic%20texas |title=The Personal Story of Lynda & Luci Johnson |date=1966 |publisher=Popular Library |pages=39 |language=en}}</ref> * {{annotated link|Mary Martin}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Martin |first=Mary |author-link=Mary Martin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tSuJ9Z6pDiQC&q=camp+mystic+texas |title=My Heart Belongs |date=1976 |publisher=Warner Books |isbn=9780446893558 |pages=163 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaufman |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lZuDCgAAQBAJ |title=Some Enchanted Evenings: The Glittering Life and Times of Mary Martin |date=2016-07-12 |publisher=Macmillan + ORM |isbn=978-1-250-03176-1 |language=en}}</ref> * {{annotated link|Lynda Bird Johnson Robb}}<ref name=":11">{{cite web |last=Rodriguez |first=Paulina |date=2025-07-07 |title=Inside Camp Mystic: The Elite Summer Camp Before the Flood |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-camp-mystic-the-elite-summer-camp-where-texans-sent-their-kids/ |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=The Daily Beast |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Texas|Christianity}} * {{annotated link|Christian Camp and Conference Association}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{official website|https://www.campmystic.com/}} Category:1926 establishments in Texas Category:Buildings and structures in Kerr County, Texas Category:Christian organizations established in 1926 Category:Christian summer camps in Texas Category:Girls' summer camps in the United States Category:Women in Texas Category:Kerr County, Texas