How to find out if your Texas summer camp has been approved to open

With 174 Texas summer camps having been sent back to the drawing board for their emergency plans last week ahead of scheduled openings, here's how you can check whether your camp will be allowed to operate this year. 

Texas camp registration roster

The roster for active youth camps is available through the Texas Department of State Health Services, which keeps track of all license applications across the state. 

The Youth Camp Program licensee list can be found at this link — here, you can download a spreadsheet of all Texas camps, divided by groups of "application pending," dates when current applications will expire (within days or weeks, for most on the list), and some with newly approved licenses that will not expire until next year. 

Find a Licensee - Youth Camp Program

Only three Texas camps approved

Big picture view:

Of the hundreds of applications listed in the TDSHS spreadsheet, only three camps are listed with licenses expiring in 2027. 

• Camp Thurman, in Tarrant County
• Frontier Camp, in Houston County
• Hidden Falls Ranch, in Swisher County

All three have licenses expiring on March 31, 2027.

What's next:

Keep tabs on the TDSHS website to see if your camp has its license approved.

RELATED COVERAGE: ‘Thankful’: Texas leaders react to Camp Mystic closing for 2026 season

Summer camp application changes

The backstory:

The application process is different this year due to legislation that was passed in a special session of the Texas Legislature last summer, following tragic flooding that killed more than 130 people. Many of those people were at summer camps near the Gaudalupe River, which surged above its banks on July 4, destroying structures in and near known flood plains.

In the aftermath, critics across the country spurred lawmakers on to question the contingencies in place for natural disasters and other emergency circumstances. These investigations, which continue to develop, led to more stringent laws and regulations for how summer camps must prepare for and respond to such incidents. 

As a result, all 174 camps that submitted emergency plans this year as part of the re-licensing process were rejected and told to amend and resubmit their plans. Most notably, Camp Mystic was singled out. 

Camp Mystic withdraws application

Dig deeper:

Camp Mystic, the Texas summer camp under the most scrutiny after last year's devastating storms, has withdrawn its license application for 2026. This comes after hearings with a Texas legislative committee concerning the deadly floods last July.

Why you should care:

Twenty-five campers and two counselors at Camp Mystic died in the floods. One camper, Cile Steward of Austin, is still missing.

What's next:

The camp says that it will continue to "fully cooperate" with all ongoing investigations, comply with very lawful requirements and continue supporting recovery and healing efforts.