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Heart O’ the Hills Camp for Girls, a historic summer camp in the Hill Country, will relocate several miles north of its original location along the Guadalupe River after it suffered serious damage during the deadly July 4 flooding, according to a statement from new camp management.
The camp’s new location is several miles north of its original site, and is one of the first sites to announce it would relocate since the devastating floods that claimed more than 130 lives, including 25 campers and two counselors at Camp Mystic. Jane Ragsdale, the camp director of Heart O’ the Hills, was also killed, however no campers were on site during the flooding.
The flood’s death toll sparked a movement within the Texas Legislature to bolster camp safety requirements, especially among those within floodplains. Heart O’ the Hills’ new site will have cabins, dining areas and activity spaces “carefully constructed” out of the floodplain, according to the Heart O’ the Hills’ website. The camp’s previous location was one of five camps along the Guadalupe River with at least a third of its structures in the floodplain, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of flood and property maps.
“The new property is gorgeous, with abundant waterfront and all camp facilities well above any floodplain,” read a statement signed by Kathy Ragsdale, Jane Ragsdale’s mother.
Camp operators have expressed frustration with the state’s new safety requirements, worrying that the added restrictions would be too costly and force them to close. Many of the camps along the Guadalupe River that were impacted by the flooding have announced plans to reopen in 2026, including Camp Mystic.
The parents of the 25 campers and two counselors who died at Camp Mystic in September publicly condemned its decision to reopen in 2026, calling the move “unthinkable” less than three months after the tragedy.
In addition to the new location, Heart O’ the Hills will also be under new ownership. Elisabeth and John Hay, a real estate agent and attorney respectively, will take over as the operators of the camp. The Ragsdales sold the camp to the Hays after John offered some of his property as a new site for the camp.
“Today I feel the bitter sweetness of seeing a beloved daughter get married: the emotion of knowing she is no longer under your wings but stretching her wings to soar with her new partner,” Kathy Ragsdale said in a statement.
While the state Legislature is no longer in session, two committees were created in October with the intent of investigating the circumstances surrounding the July 4 flooding. Neither of the committees, one each in the state House and Senate, have scheduled a meeting yet.