Camp Mystic, where 25 young girls and two counselors died in catastrophic flash flooding last July, announced it will remain closed this summer a month ahead of its planned opening for its 100th anniversary.
The announcement came days after a review by Texas health investigators found the camp had failed to comply with a slate of newly enacted health and safety regulations, the New York Times reported.
Camp Mystic announced it will remain closed this summer. Getty ImagesThe camp said that 800 girls had signed up to attend the camp starting in the spring — just months after the tragedy.
Rather than bringing the camp into compliance, however, the owners announced in a statement viewed by the outlet Thursday that it would instead “step back” from opening for the summer.
“No administrative process or summer season should move forward while families continue to grieve, while investigations continue and while so many Texans still carry the pain of last July’s tragedy,” the statement read.
The camp said the decision was “intended to remove any doubt that Camp Mystic has heard the concerns expressed by grieving families, members of the Texas House and Senate investigating committees and citizens across our state.”
Last July, 25 young campers and two counselors died in catastrophic flash flooding at Camp Mystic. REUTERSKyle Findley, a lawyer representing several families of young campers who died in the flooding, said the decision to keep the camp closed was the right thing to do.
“For every grieving family impacted by last summer’s tragedy, today’s announcement that Camp Mystic has decided to not operate camp this summer is long overdue. We applaud the State investigators, Senators, and State Representatives for their hard work in investigating and questioning the parties involved in this undeniably preventable tragedy,” he wrote.
“Although Camp Mystic has withdrawn its application for the 2026 summer camp season, the families’ pursuit of justice will continue through the Courts to complete the investigation in their pursuit for transparency, accountability and ensuring that another avoidable tragedy like this never happens again.”
Earlier this month, Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ruled that the camp must leave many of the buildings damaged by the flood untouched after it became clear the camp was preparing to reopen on higher ground.
During an injunction hearing, Camp director Edward Eastland sobbed on the stand, revealing he had no idea what happened to still-missing 8-year-old camper Cecilia “Cile” Steward.
He also admitted the camp failed to use a loudspeaker to evacuate the grounds at the time of the disaster, and didn’t meet with staff to discuss the incoming storm — measures that could have saved lives.
The announcement came days after a review by Texas health investigators found it had failed to comply with a slate of newly enacted health and safety regulations. REUTERS“I wish we never had camp that summer,” he said on Monday during a hearing tied to lawsuits filed against the camp by victims’ devastated kin, including Cecilia’s parents.
The all-girls Christian camp lost 25 campers, most of them under 10 years old, and two counselors when the Guadalupe River breached its banks overnight on July 4, 2025.
Generations of Texas girls have attended Mystic, including from the state’s most prominent families. Former first lady Laura Bush was a camp counselor.
Earlier this month, Jennifer Getten, 41, whose 9-year-old daughter, Ellen, was among those who died at the camp, told The Post she was appalled that the camp was planning to reopen at all after the tragedy.
“The trauma that all of these children experienced is horrific. For them to think they can just take on hundreds more children before we even know completely everything that happened is just unbelievable,” said the mom, whose 12-year-old daughter, Gwynne, was also at the camp but survived.
Additional reporting by Steven Vago.






