Questions Parents Frequently Ask

Read about our registration system here.

Check out our dates and prices.

Read about how to apply for a scholarship.

We recommend a trunk that is no taller than 15 inches and no longer than 34 inches. FYI, we prefer camp trunks over suitcases because they are generally larger and make it easier for campers to keep personal items consolidated and easy to find.

Our overall camper-to-counselor ratio is approximately one to four.

We encourage you to contact your camper through letters, care packages, or email messages accessible through your account. We do not encourage phone calls or allow visits because we have found that this disrupts the camp and camper experience. We are fully conscious of our responsibility for the care of campers, and we take this responsibility very seriously.

If you are trying to contact a camper who is not your child, the camper’s parent will need to purchase an email package and invite you as a guest.

No. We require campers to leave all electronic devices at home. We do not have cell phone reception in the Canyon, so cell phones will not work for making calls or sending texts. Any devices that are brought to camp will be discretely confiscated and returned at the end of the camper’s session.

Why no devices? Our goal is for campers to build significant relationships during their time at camp as well as truly benefit from spending time in God’s beautiful creation. Experience has taught us that screens and electronic devices at camp can serve as a relational block. Camp is an incredible opportunity to unplug from technology for a time and we believe that experiences like this are increasingly rare and therefore even more important for today’s youth.

We understand that many campers wish to use their smartphones as cameras. Our media team will provide high-quality photos and video of your campers session. If additional personal pictures are desired, we encourage campers to bring inexpensive digital or disposable cameras. We have also made disposable cameras available for purchase in our camp store.

Care Packages are fun and a great way to communicate with your camper. Fill them with your camper’s favorite things, including favorite foods. Check out The Makings of a Great Care Package for lots of good ideas and more info!

At Singing Hills, daily snacks and drinks at the camp store, Cantina, are provided and that cost is included in the registration fee. Campers do not need to bring cash to camp. Note: The Singing Hills Cantina also offers clothing and other merchandise on Opening and Closing Days for parents to purchase.

Echo Valley offers an on-site general store, Sugar Shack, where campers are given the opportunity to purchase candy, snacks, clothing and other merchandise. Parents can log into their accounts and load money on a camper’s itinerary for campers to spend. On average, campers spend $2-$4 per day on snacks and drinks. Campers are discouraged from bringing cash to camp for camp store purchases.

LLYC is situated along the banks of the Frio River on the 1,900-acre H. E. Butt Foundation property deep in the Texas Hill Country, 13 miles north of Leakey on U.S. Highway 83. The camp is approximately 120 miles northwest of San Antonio and 60 miles west of Kerrville. Click here for driving directions!

Label, label, label everything with your camper’s first and last name! LLYC is not responsible for missing items. However, at the close of each camp session, any found items that seem to be of value will be brought to the Kerrville office to return if identifiable. All returns will be made as soon as possible and mailed to the home address via U.S. First-Class Mail. All postage will be prepaid, but we ask that the postage be reimbursed for return of lost and found items. Lost and found items will only be held for two weeks, so check your camper’s bag before leaving camp. All unclaimed items will be donated to a local charity.

At this time, we do not offer a multiple-sibling discount. If you are concerned about the cost, click here to learn how to apply for a scholarship.

Family and friends can send Bunk Notes through our Bunk1 system accessed through My Account.

Please be aware that we print and hand deliver all Bunk Notes to campers. During this process, we screen all messages and images that are sent. If messages are deemed inappropriate for any reason by our camp directors, we reserve the right not to deliver those messages.

Please help us keep LLYC a safe and positive environment for campers!

Campers are assigned to cabins by grade. A roommate request for another registered camper may be made through your account, but it will need to be accepted by the camper being requested. We cannot guarantee all requests, but we will do our best to honor them. Only one request per camper, please.

Check out our page on Opening and Closing Days here.

We take great pride and care in the selection of each member of our staff. We work hard to hire folks with the highest integrity, personal and spiritual maturity, and an enthusiasm for life and working with young people. Each staff member is personally interviewed, reference-checked, and background-checked before they step foot on our property. Once here, they receive 40-80 hours of intensive job-specific training. Please visit our Health and Safety page for more information about our summer staff hiring and training practices.

We take the waterfront and all water activities very seriously. We have a required swim test on opening day of every session that every camper must participate in. If they don’t like to swim, or don’t want to swim at all during their time at camp, we will make an exception and not make them take the swim test. The test consists of a short-distance swim and then treading water for 30 seconds. This just gives us an idea of their swimming ability and lets us see their confidence in the water. If they do not pass their test, we will ask them to swim only in the shallow water and/or wear a life jacket when they plan to swim in deep water. We also have gobs of really good-looking, Red Cross certified lifeguards on the waterfront any time there is an opportunity to play, swim, kayak, or canoe in the Frio River. We keep the lifeguard-to-camper ratio at 1-10.

Homesickness is fairly common among our elementary-age campers; however, it can happen with middle school and high school campers as well. Most homesickness occurs with campers who are away from home for the very first time. This is completely normal. Our whole focus for the first few days of camp is to integrate the camper into our community. We help facilitate friendship within their cabin with both peers and counselors. We know when the lonely times are (at rest time and bed time), and we work hard to console and comfort them as well as redirect them. Generally, homesickness will fade away as the campers settle into the agenda of camp, and usually, that occurs within the first 24-48 hours. We caution parents not to panic if halfway through the session they get a letter stained with tears asking them to come rescue their camper! Call the directors first, and they will give you an updated report on your camper. It wouldn’t be the first time that quickly after a letter like that was written, the camper adjusted well and started loving their experience.

View our camp policies here.

You bet! Just print out our LLYC Health Form (located in your account dashboard or here: Health Form), fill out the top portion, and attach the camper’s athletic/school physical to the LLYC form.

Through experience, we know how much rain it takes to create a rise in the river. We also have a river monitoring system that notifies us if the river begins to rise at the headwaters (Blue Hole). If we experience a rise in the river, we shut off all traffic in the river, and the roads are chained closed. All of the campers (and cabins) are well above flood plains. We make sure the campers are kept out of the river at a safe distance. If there happens to be significant flooding during your camper’s session, we will send out a notification to keep you updated.

Registration for any given summer is done prior to that year. A camper may be put on a wait list for that summer only. If a camper does not clear the wait list, they will be eligible for early registration the following summer.

Our camp is a Christian interdenominational camp. We are not affiliated with a specific denomination.

Please see our health and safety FAQ for more information.