Ranch Camp is an old-fashioned camp for teens and adults with intellectual disabilities, designed with their special needs in mind, located on 340 beautiful acres northeast of Austin.

Camp activities include swimming, fishing, kayaking, archery, horses, nature walks, drama, crafts, and a party EVERY night! Campers sleep in air-conditioned bunkhouses and enjoy their meals in an air-conditioned dining hall.

Ranch Camp is licensed by the Texas Department of Health and we are proud to have met the demanding requirements for accreditation by the American Camp Association.

Watch a video produced by CBS News with Steve Hartman, based on his visit to a 2007 session of Ranch Camp.

Our campers are 13 or older, have mild to moderate intellectual disabilities and are physically and emotionally healthy. They are capable of basic self-care but sometimes need a helping hand. They should enjoy the fun and fellowship of camp, which is often loud and rowdy. They should be able to keep up with a team and follow basic instructions. Campers with well-controlled seizures are welcome at camp. Their applications will be carefully evaluated to make sure the Ranch can safely meet their needs while at camp.

click thumbnails to learn more...

We are unable to serve campers with serious health problems. We must refuse acceptance to campers with behavior problems such as hitting, spitting, biting, running away, tantrums and refusal or inability to sleep or eat. Campers exhibiting such behavior will be immediately dismissed from camp.

Campers with criminal records or currently under adjudication, on parole, or on probation will not be admitted to camp and will be immediately dismissed if such information has been withheld and later discovered, in which case all fees paid to date will be forfeited regardless of deadlines otherwise specified.

No refunds will be made for campers who must leave because of illness or behavior issues. However, every attempt will be made to accommodate campers who are unable to make their session because of illness in a later session at no additional charge.

Camping programs at Down Home Ranch are open to adults of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or national origin.

Our Counselors are college students, most majoring in special education or a related field. They are carefully screened and trained. Our Counselors-in-Training are young people between the ages of 13 and 17 who assist with meals and program. The staff to camper ratio is 1:3. Everyone involved in camp must have a love for both camping in general and for our campers in particular, and we can safely say that most people fall in love with both their first week at camp!

When we decided to hold our first summer camp, there were five of us meeting in the old trailer donated by the Rinderknecht family. It was 1995 and we were having a Board meeting when Fr. Sheldon said in his squeaky, high-pitched voice, "We've just got to get a program going." We didn't have any money and there were no buildings on the ranch, so Judy and Jerry decided to do the same thing that folks in Central Texas had been doing for generations - camp in the great outdoors.

So, with tents and cots loaned by the Texas National Guard, we launched the first Ranch Camp. Pat Geary brought 13 campers up from Houston for a week that almost did everybody in, but changed our lives.

We took the campers to a public pool, and went fishing at a nearby pond. We had a few animals, and figured out how to do a couple of craft projects. Basically, we just made it up as we went along.

In 2011, Ranch Camp celebrated its 17th year by hosting over 350 campers. Our campers come from all over Texas and - following the national publicity from People Magazine and CBS News in 2007 - we've had campers from 15 other states and even one from Finland. Our activities covered everything from working with the horses to archery and kayaking.