Heart O’ the Hills Camp sold, will relocate to Guadalupe River’s North Fork after flood

Heart O’ the Hills Camp for Girls will reopen under new ownership at a 70-acre site on the North Fork of the Guadalupe River following the July 4 flood that killed the camp’s longtime director, new owners announced this week.

Elisabeth and John Hay purchased the camp from the Ragsdale family and took ownership Nov. 5. The camp will relocate to property between Camp Stewart and Camp Waldemar at 685 FM 1340 in Hunt, with plans to welcome campers in summer 2026.

The flood killed Jane Ragsdale, who directed the camp for 38 years, and destroyed the original South Fork location. The disaster killed 119 people across Kerr County, including 28 at nearby Camp Mystic.

“The July 4th flood reminded us of how important camp is to this community, and we felt a calling to act,” the Hays wrote in a letter to camp families.

The new property features more than 1,800 feet of riverfront and was previously owned by Bill James, with camping history dating to the 1940s. An existing stone lodge will be preserved while new cabins, dining halls and activity spaces are being built above the floodplain.

Elisabeth Hay will serve as camp director, working with returning staff including Bailey McEachern and Monique Cikota. John Hay will oversee operations.

The Hays are parents of Heart and Camp Stewart campers. John Hay attended Camp Stewart beginning at age 6 and later served as a counselor. Their daughter has attended Heart for three summers.

The couple works in real estate and law. John Hay was among the first volunteers at the devastated Heart property July 5, helping with cleanup using a skid-steer. About a week later, he approached the Ragsdale family about purchasing his property, Riverbend Lodge, as a potential relocation site.

Instead, the families negotiated a sale of the Heart business to the Hays.

“I was too old to start anew and Jeeper wanted to focus on Stewart,” wrote Kathy Ragsdale, Jane’s mother and chairman of the family company that owned the camp. “Without Jane, Heart needed new leadership and energy as well as a new site.”

The Ragsdale family owned Heart for 49 of the camp’s 72 years.

Construction is underway at the new location. The Hays plan meet-and-greet events in Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio, along with property tours for families.

Registration for summer 2026 is open, but deposits will not be collected until refunds are distributed for the canceled 2025 season. The original ownership will issue refunds next week for all 2026 deposits and fees paid for July 2025.

Families registered for 2025 will receive a commemorative charm honoring Jane Ragsdale.

Heart O’ the Hills was founded in 1953 by Velma and Kenneth Jones in memory of their teenage daughter. The camp has had four principal owners over seven decades.

The original Heart property will remain with the Ragsdale family.