Only three Texas summer camps currently hold state licenses to open this summer as operators race to meet strict new safety regulations with the season just weeks away.
Camp Thurman in Pantego near Dallas, Hidden Falls Ranch in the Panhandle and Frontier Camp in East Texas are the only facilities approved so far by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Roughly 300 other camps across the state remain in the approval process.
The bottleneck stems from major new laws passed last year after catastrophic Hill Country floods in July 2025 that killed 27 campers and staff members at Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River. Lawmakers responded with sweeping reforms that require all youth camps to submit detailed emergency plans, install reliable warning and public-address systems, move cabins out of FEMA-designated floodplains when necessary, provide mandatory safety training and share emergency plans with families.
The Texas Department of State Health Services now reviews those plans before issuing licenses for both day and overnight camps. This year’s application window opened later than usual on Feb. 2 to incorporate the new rules, compressing the timeline for roughly 300 camps still working through revisions.
The limited number of licensed camps is creating uncertainty for thousands of North Texas families who count on summer programs for their children. Many camps have expressed concern about the pace of state reviews, while officials say they are accelerating onsite inspections to help facilities reach compliance.
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The Texas Department of State Health Services now reviews those plans before issuing licenses for both day and overnight camps.
The Texas Department of State Health Services now reviews those plans before issuing licenses for both day and overnight camps.
