GAC is a co-ed camp available to children entering 4th-9th grade in the fall of 2026.
The $100 registration fee is non-refundable.
The $695 camp balance is fully refundable before April 1st, and partially refundable before May 1st. After May 1st the camp balance is non-refundable.
There is a $25 fee to change your camper’s session.
If you email us within 48 hours of registering and request to change to a different open session, we will waive the $25 change fee. If the session you desire is already full, we will ask you to fill out the waitlist form.
If you have already paid the $695 camp balance in part or in full, we will transfer this amount to the new session regardless of whether the session change happened before or after the cancellation period. We will not ask you to pay any of the $695 a second time if your child is only attending one session.
If the session you desire is closed on our website we will ask that you fill out a waitlist form for the newly desired session.
If you choose to withdraw from your original session, you will be issued a refund only if the request is made within the cancellation period stated on your original invoice. Registration fees remain non-refundable in any scenario. If your camper is moved off the waitlist and into the new session, we will apply to the new session any of the camp balance that you already paid.
Within a (+/-)month of registering, you will receive a $695 invoice to the email listed on your registration form. You will have the option to pay this amount in one or two installments. Please take note of the due date written on your invoice. All payments are due within 60 days of invoice receipt, or two weeks before the start of your camp session – whichever comes first. Payments may be made by credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, or bank transfer.
The Great Adventure Camp (GAC) is located at The Cat Spring Retreat in Cat Spring, Texas (45 minutes from Katy between Sealy and New Ulm). The facilities include air-conditioned cabins and buildings. We average 150 campers per week and 50 staff. Each counselor is assigned five to eight campers. All of our buildings and cabins are grouped in the same area.
We have a range of cabin sizes as a product of gradual construction over a 20+ year period. Our smallest cabins can accommodate 12 campers and our largest 20 campers.
Our campgrounds include a swimming pond, volleyball area, archery range, hiking trails, a baseball diamond, and a basketball court. There is a lake on-site with inflatable water toys, canoes and banana boats.
Counselors receive a one-week intensive training on childhood-development, first-aid, emergency response, child abuse awareness and prevention, outdoor water activities training, and more. All staff will have undergone a background and reference check. Most of our staff are former campers or staff members that know first-hand what the life changing camp week means to a camper.
A former GAC counselor is our on-call pediatrician. One of our directors is a paramedic, and another is a mental health professional.
Yes. We have fire, tornado, flooding, lightning, intruder, and lost camper protocols in place and posted in each building. Counselors run emergency drills during the week of staff training, and campers will run an emergency drill the first day of camp.
No, the Cat Spring Retreat hasn’t flooded since our establishment in 1999. We are not in a flood plain, and we do not have a natural waterway on the premises. The lake is aquifer-fed and drains in the direction away from the cabins. Our facilities have been used as evacuation housing during past hurricanes.
We want to welcome as many campers as possible each session. However, we also want to make sure every child has a safe, positive, and quality camp experience. Therefore, we will not enroll beyond what our facilities and staff can safely accommodate. While we can’t guarantee placement from a waitlist, please be assured that we carefully monitor openings all the way up until the weekend before each session. If a spot becomes available for your camper, we’ll reach out right away!
Should I register for a different session if I’m still waiting to find out if my camper will get off the waitlist?
Only if you genuinely would want your camper to attend that session in the event that they don’t get off the waitlist! All cancellation and refund policies will apply to any session for which you register. If you are moved into a waitlisted session, we will transfer any payments you’ve made toward the camp balance.
We invite you to list your camper’s bunkmate requests on their registration form. These requests will be prioritized in the order you list them. We cannot guarantee more than three mutually-made requests, but will always try to group requested campers together when possible. Most bunkmate requests of the same grade will lead to campers being in the same cabin, especially if both families make the same request, unless there is a significant disparity in ages or grades. This is because we have found that campers who are more than two grades apart have less fun at camp when they are not in a cabin with their age group.
If your child is coming without a friend, they will make new friends quickly. First day activities are planned to promote friendships of all campers within the cabin.
Upon arrival at check-in!
You are welcome to let us know in the notes of your registration form or by email/contact form if there is a counselor your camper is particularly wanting to be assigned to. We are unable to always honor counselor requests, but we will keep the request in mind as we’re assigning cabin groups.
We train our staff specifically on how to best respond to homesick campers. This training includes one-on-one check-ins and knowing how to identify homesickness even when the camper doesn’t want to tell their counselor that they aren’t feeling well. Having feelings of homesickness is normal and expected of campers at some point during a first time away from home! If this is a continued issue with your camper, you will be notified.
Yes, our counselors are responsible for deciding and creating each session's theme. We do not announce the theme until the first day of camp. Past themes have been things like Superheroes, Christmas in July, and Safari!
If your camper has a dietary restriction that we should be made aware of, please reach out to us in advance of their session so we can prepare and advise on how to best proceed.
You are welcome to bring letters for your camper at check-in. If you are mailing a letter for them through the USPS, please mail it at least two weeks before the start of their camp to make sure we receive it in time to be sorted. Parents are not required to bring letters for their child, not every camper gets mail. We pass out mail once a day.
IMPORTANT We only accept letters for mail! Please do not send any packages, goodie-bags, gifts, etc.
If you are bringing mail for your camper, please label each letter with their name and the day of the week you would like your child to receive it if you have a preference.
At GAC we believe that cell phones distract campers and do not allow them to fully experience all that camp has to offer. For this reason, campers are not allowed to bring a phone to camp. It is a wonderful time for your camper to experience life without modern technology. We want them to unplug and enjoy camp. We know that some campers like to take pictures on the last day, therefore, you may bring their phone/camera with you when you pick them up so that they may take pictures on the last day. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding.
The co-ed LIT program is for youth who are entering 10th grade – college freshman in the fall after their camp summer.
GAC Leaders in Training (LIT) is a high-school age youth development program that helps run the behind-the scenes of camp. The LIT help set up games, prepare meals, and assist the counselors throughout the week. Each LIT receives 40 hours of service credit towards their school, church, or honor society.
