KERR COUNTY, Texas – Camp Mystic will reopen in summer 2026, but not the location where 27 campers and counselors died in the July 4 floods.
The camp sent a letter to families and alumni Tuesday, announcing it would reopen one of its two locations for summer 2026, which is the organization’s 100th anniversary.
The Cypress Lake camp is next to the Guadalupe location but is not located directly on the Guadalupe River.
The announcement sparked a wide range of opinions and emotions.
“My mother went to Camp Mystic,” said Brady Lehmann, a former Mystic camper and counselor. “My older cousins, and then myself, and then my younger cousins, and my daughter is signed up. When I found out we were having a little girl I had a little Mystic onesie. It’s hard to put into words how Mystic is an intrinsic part of who I am.”
Lehmann was a camper and counselor in Bubble Inn, the cabin of the 27 campers and counselors who died in the flooding.
Being from Kerrville, she knows many people who died across the county.
“I lost friends, their entire family is gone,” Lehmann said. “They’re not from camp, but I know a lot of the Mystic families who lost their daughters. Some of them were my camp counselors, or they went to camp with me.”
When she got the email Tuesday from Camp Mystic saying it would reopen Cypress Lake, her initial feeling was happiness.
To her, it meant one less loss.
“I just started crying on the couch because I was so excited. The life lessons that we learned at camp will get to continue,” Lehmann said.
The letter from Mystic said, “We are not only rebuilding cabins and trails, but also a place where laughter, friendship and spiritual growth will continue to flourish. We look forward to welcoming you back inside the green gates.”
The letter continued, “We are working to implement new safety protocols and other changes that comply with recently passed camp safety regulation, the Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act.”
However, the news caused a different type of shock for some of the families who lost daughters at Mystic.
The mother of 8-year-old Cile Steward, the only girl still missing, blasted the decision.
Cici Steward told the New York Times, “The truth is, Camp Mystic failed our daughters. ... Camp Mystic is pressing ahead with reopening, even if it means inviting girls to swim in the same river that may potentially still hold my daughter’s body.”
Lila Bonner’s father Blake told the New York Times that he and other parents believe the camp’s resources should instead be devoted to recovering Cile’s body.
Mystic’s letter mentioned a memorial at camp that will be built for the girls who were lost, yet some of the families, including Bonner’s, said they weren’t consulted about that.
“It is a grief I hope I never have to endure,” Lehmann said of the families who lost girls at Mystic. “I just want them to know that we love them so much and we pray for them daily. The strings we have to them are because of Mystic.”
That’s why Lehmann hopes there is a way forward for everyone involved.
While the letter from Mystic mentioned a reopening of Camp Cypress Lake, it also mentioned the Guadalupe location where the flooding happened.
“Because of the devastating damage sustained by Camp Mystic Guadalupe River, we will not be able to reopen in 2026,” the letter said.
“We continue to evaluate plans to rebuild Camp Mystic Guadalupe River,” the letter continued. “Our planning and procedures will reflect the catastrophic 1,000-year weather event that occurred on July 4th, including never having campers return to cabins that had floodwaters inside them.”
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