Frequently Asked Questions

H. E. Butt Foundation Camp 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.

There is no fee for use of the facilities for qualified groups. Qualifying groups must provide their own programming, food service, insurance coverage, and staff for the supervision of their retreat activities.

Our program is reserved for nonprofit organizations that serve the common good and bring campers who would not otherwise be able to afford the opportunity. Typically, we register varied types of church retreats, youth service organizations, schools, MHMR retreats, and other groups who are dedicated to serving people in the state of Texas. We are unable to reserve campsites for family reunions and/or individual cabin rentals.

If you’re from Texas, you may have known us as “H-E-B Camps.” That’s a misnomer—H-E-B and H. E. Butt Foundation are separate organizations with distinct missions (H-E-B runs its own community initiatives). You can call us H. E. Butt Foundation, though most people refer to us by the name of the program they use the most.

Good question! We built a special section of our site to help you out with the application process.

Each campsite can be dialed directly:

Echo Valley 830-291-8624

Singing Hills 830-291-8688

Linnet’s Wings 830-291-8730

Headwaters 830-291-8704

You can also call the Foundation Camp office at 830-232-3671.

It’s true. And wonderful. Fortunately, we do not have the internet or cell phone reception in the Canyon, so cell phones will not work. As with all possessions that are brought to camp, there is always potential for accidents and theft. It is best to leave electronics at home.

Current Certified Lifeguards (18 years or older) are required for all waterfront activities. If your group brings a Certified Lifeguard and provides the paperwork to our registrar, we provide the life jackets, boats, paddles, and cliffs. Whooping and hollering optional.

Yes! You will have to drive in the river to reach your campsite. The road through the river has a solid rock bottom and is well marked; the water is only about four inches deep.

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.

In 1954, the H. E. Butt Foundation acquired 1,900 acres north of Leakey, Texas, to fulfill a long-cherished dream of Howard Butt, Sr., to provide a place where boys and girls, men and women could further their knowledge of God and his creation while enjoying the freedom of camp life that had so appealed to him during his youth. Mary Holdsworth Butt joined her husband in this dream. Along with subsequent generations of the Butt family, they progressively developed retreat facilities along the beautiful Frio River.

Although we welcome registered service animals if they are needed to assist a guest during camp, please leave your pets and firearms at home.

No. Due to the decrease in active cases, we are no longer requiring negative COVID-19 tests as of March 2022.

No. Due to the decrease in active cases, we are no longer requiring vaccination. The H. E. Butt Foundation still recommends vaccination as the most effective tool against COVID-19.

Guests should not attend camp if they are sick less than 24 hours prior to camp.

Our COVID-19 policies are written in pencil, not ink, and we adjust regularly as conditions allow. We have a working team that meets at least once per week to review our COVID policies in light of changing circumstances. We examine a range of regional data, including daily new cases, infection rate, positive test rate, local ICU capacity, vaccination percentage, and the relative vulnerability of our communities and the populations we are serving.

We also consult with trusted medical professionals who understand our unique camp and retreat environment and/or have infectious disease expertise. Additionally, we follow the guidance of the CDC and Texas Health and Human Services.

Plan to clean food preparation areas, common areas, and private spaces (cabins and rooms) with disinfectant before and after your camp experience.