HUNT, Texas – Heart O’ the Hills, a summer camp for girls, has announced a new location and ownership for the 2026 season.
Elisabeth and John Hay purchased Heart O’ the Hills from the Ragsdale family and took ownership on Nov. 5.
“The Ragsdale family had been in internal discussion about the need to ‘pass the torch’ at Heart for a few years, but the events of July 4 moved the needle forward,” wrote Kathy Ragsdale, chairman of the family company that owned the camp.
The Ragsdale family held ownership of Heart for 49 of its 72 years.
Jane Ragsdale, former director of Heart O’ the Hills camp, was killed during the Hill Country floods over the Fourth of July weekend. The floods killed 119 people across the Hill Country, including 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic.
The camp will move to a 70-acre property along the North Fork of the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas, according to the camp’s website.
The site, which features over 1,800 feet of riverfront, was once owned by Bill James and has a camping history dating back to the 1940s. An existing stone lodge will remain at the property, while new cabins, dining and activity spaces will be constructed above the floodplain to ensure safety.
The camp said Elisabeth Hay will serve as camp director, with John Hay overseeing camp operations. Bailey McEachern, Monique Cikota and “many key staff” will be on hand to welcome campers for the 2026 season, according to Ragsdale.
The couple are parents of campers at Heart and Camp Stewart, with John Hay having attended Camp Stewart since the age of 6 and later serving as a counselor.
Construction is underway, and the camp plans to share updates regularly through email, its website and social media.
Families will have opportunities to tour the new property, and meet-and-greet events are planned in Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio.
Registration for the 2026 summer session is now open, but the camp said it is not accepting deposits at this time. Requests for 2026 deposits will be made once refunds from the previous ownership have been distributed.
Below is the full letter from Ragsdale announcing the change in ownership and location:
Ragsdale said the existing Heart O’ the Hills property will remain in the family for the time being.
For more information on camp dates, camp registration and more, click here.
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