Due to staff shortages and local school closures, the Canyon will be closed to all staff and guests until Thursday, January 20.
If you have any symptoms, please do not come to the Canyon. We ask this for the safety of your group and our staff who live and work in rural Real County as we face another surge from the Omicron variant. The CDC has provided a helpful self-assessment tool to help you determine if you might have COVID before you come to the Frio River Canyon. Click “Get Started” to complete the short, anonymous questionaire.
FOUNDATION CAMPS AND OUTDOOR SCHOOL CLOSED THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
Due to the recent increase in COVID-19 infection and hospitalization rates throughout the state, we have decided to cancel all Foundation Camp and Outdoor School reservations through September 30, 2021. If you have any questions about an upcoming reservation, please reach out to our registrar.
The Canyon is closed to all visitors, including driving tours.
Due to the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have decided to cancel all camps through the end of 2020. As you can imagine, we were terribly saddened to make this decision, and we hope you will pray alongside us for health and safety for all of our Foundation Camp groups, their families, and their communities.
Summer 2020 Sessions Cancelled from H. E. Butt Foundation on Vimeo.
Hi everyone. I’m coming to you today with sadness and disappointment, and also believing we are making the best decision.
Given the impact of COVID-19, we have decided to cancel all of our traditional summer programs, including Laity Lodge retreat center, youth camp, and family camp. All Foundation Camps are also closed through the end of July.
As you can imagine, we’ve agonized over this decision. For weeks, we’ve been paying careful attention to guidance from medical professionals and the CDC. We’ve debated options and prayed for wisdom. We’ve reached out to many of you to hear your thoughts about the summer.
It is heartwarming to hear how much you and your children care about Camp and what it means to you, and to know how much retreats matter to you as well.
We have erred on the side of caution and safety. We are making a decision that we believe helps protect our campers, our staff, and our families and communities.
We have also relied on our tradition, mission and legacy to guide us. Camp has always been a place of freedom, spontaneity, togetherness and fun with just a few boundaries. And retreats at the Lodge are a place to build relationships as much as they are about rest and reflection.
The protocols for hosting large groups right now compromise so much of what makes camp camp, and what makes the Canyon a place of restoration. This is not, however, a “See you next year!” message. We won’t have summer as we know it, but our teams are working on all sorts of creative ideas for bringing people together as soon as possible. If some type of new programming becomes possible, we’ll make further announcements. But for now, our camps and retreats are cancelled.
Each program will be in touch with you right away with more details about what this means for you. Look for emails and social media from youth camp, family camp, Laity Lodge, and Foundation camps later today.
Answers to many questions about refunds and registration for future camps and retreats are already on our program websites — which are all linked below.
Let me add this: Our mission is to serve God by cultivating wholeness in people and institutions for the transformation of communities. We’re not shrinking from our mission at all. It’s just going to look different this summer.
We are grateful for you. We’re praying for you, your families, and your communities. And we hope and trust that we’ll be able to see you again soon.
The Canyon is currently closed to all visitors, including driving tours.
Due to the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have decided to cancel all camps through the end of the year. As you can imagine, we were terribly saddened to make this decision, and we hope you will pray alongside us for health and safety for all of our Foundation Camp groups, their families, and their communities.
September
October – December
H. E. Butt Foundation Camp
H. E. Butt Foundation Camp
Video Transcript
Hi everyone, this is David Rogers, president of the H. E. Butt Foundation and Laity Lodge programs.
I hope this finds you and your family safe, sound, and healthy.
I wanted to give you an update about how we are approaching this summer. I know many of you have plans with one of our Laity Lodge camps or retreats as part of your summer vacation or summer job, or maybe you’re part of a group planning to come to Foundation Camp later in the summer.
As of today, there is still a lot we don’t know about what this summer holds. Our team is planning for a range of scenarios and possibilities as we await more guidance from state officials and medical professionals. We expect to be able to make firm plans soon about whether we can have camp, and, if we can, how we’ll host you safely and deliver an amazing camp experience.
For today, there is one item I can share with you, and there is one thing I want to ask of you.
First, we know we won’t have any programming in the Canyon before the last full week of June due to the phased reopening of Texas.
That means that if we are able to have camp, schedules are going to shift quite a lot for both campers and summer staff. Our teams are working on creative solutions for a revised summer calendar. I know that probably raises several questions for you, especially if you were planning to be in the Canyon during the first half of summer.
And here’s what I want to ask: please be patient while we continue to make decisions about this summer. There are lots of moving parts. We’re happy to hear from you, but right now our teams don’t have much more information than what I’m providing today.
If you are registered for youth or family camp, your spot is secure — we will offer a camping experience to everyone registered so long as we’re able to have camps. If you already know you need to cancel for any reason, that’s fine. You’ll receive a full refund for any payments you’ve made so far. The same is true for any Laity Lodge retreats.
Each of our programs will be sending more updates soon. You can check your inboxes, Facebook and Instagram feeds, and our websites for more information. You can also go to our Echoes magazine — echoes.hebfdn.org — You’ll find stories about how we’re trying to serve our whole community in this challenging time.
Whether you’re planning to attend a camp or retreat, or if you’re a counselor, or on program or work crew, we’re doing all we can to try to welcome you and host you safely this summer. We love this work, and so we hope to have camp. This summer would be my 30th consecutive summer of helping make these camps and retreats happen, and I’m hoping to see the Canyon full of kids and families encountering God.
Whatever happens this summer, we’ll get through this together. I know we are all fighting hard for our families and communities in this time, and we’re with you. Thank you for your prayers and all the ways you support the work of Laity Lodge and the Foundation.
We hope to see you soon.
Laity Lodge
Laity Lodge
H. E. Butt Foundation Camp
Dear families, campers, and staff,
This post is just a quick update to let you know how we’re thinking about Summer 2020.
We still hope to offer a camp experience to everyone who is registered. We don’t have any official announcements to make just yet—like you, we are living with a lot of uncertainty as we follow reports closely each day. So we’re preparing for a range of different scenarios as we await guidance from state officials and medical experts.
We promise to send updates to you as soon as we have that guidance—our expectation is that we’ll have more clarity by early May, and we’ll pass along any relevant information to you via email, our Facebook and Instagram channels, and our websites.
Know that we’re praying for you and all our communities. We’ll get through this together.
H. E. Butt Foundation Camp
Laity Lodge Family Camp
Laity Lodge Youth Camp
H. E. Butt Foundation Camp:
Laity Lodge:
LLFC:
H. E. Butt Foundation Camp:
H. E. Butt Foundation Outdoor School:
Laity Lodge:
LLFC:
Health travel advisory in effect due to COVID-19 precautions.
Laity Lodge has also cancelled an upcoming private retreat in response.
As of 4:00 p.m., RIVER ROAD HAS REOPENED. The waters have receded, and we continue to watch conditions closely. All Canyon guests and operations staff are safe and secure.
As of 8:00 p.m., River Road is closed to traffic in anticipation of possible flash flooding.
As of 2:15 p.m., RIVER ROAD HAS REOPENED. The waters have receded, and we continue to watch conditions closely. All Canyon guests and operations staff are safe and secure.
As of 7:00 a.m., River Road is closed to traffic. The Blue Hole monitoring system reads 16.4 feet, about 3 feet above normal. The Frio Canyon has received about 2.3 inches of rain in the last 24 hours, and we continue to watch conditions closely. All Canyon guests and operations staff are safe and secure.
The rise at the Blue Hole monitoring system read 15.4 feet, about 2.5 feet above normal. River Road had been closed at 5:00 p.m. in anticipation of this rise.
River Road reopened to traffic at 8:00 p.m. All Canyon guests and operations staff are safe and secure. Please continue to pray for the people in Junction who have been hit the hardest.
River Road was closed due to flooding. All Canyon guests and operations staff were safe and secure. Flood waters at Blue Hole peaked at seven feet above our flood gauge. H. E. Butt Foundation staff were able to warn their neighbors downstream of the ten foot wall of water heading their way. Camp Director John Kerr stayed in conversation with all affected groups. Please pray for the people in Junction who have been hit the hardest.
Storm Harvey had minimal impact in Real County. Please join us in praying for our neighbors on the Texas coast.
