Hensel Christian Youth Camp

Hensel Christian Youth Camp offers activities including volleyball, basketball, softball, soccer, and swimming. Campers also have access to rope swings over the water at a small lake on Cow Creek with a large deck.

• Ages: 6–18 years old

Hensel Christian Youth Camp is an encampment facility on 337 acres of the Hensel Ranch and is open year-round for enjoyment. The camp has eight dormitories and a dining hall capable of serving 200 campers, with the dining hall set up as an auditorium, dining room, or indoor play area and equipped with commercial restaurant equipment and a fireplace. The dining hall includes a covered patio with picnic table seating for about 100 campers and another patio overlooking a large, well-furnished playground. Swimming is provided in a beautiful small lake on Cow Creek with rope swings over the water. The camp is described as “A Place to Get Away and Enjoy Gods Wonder!” and “a place where young and old alike could enjoy recreation and fellowship,” and it is “directed by Christians where people can be recreated by God.” The camp is described as a place for youth, men’s, women’s, and church staff retreats as well as family reunions, and it is also available for weekend retreats and as a wedding venue. The inspirational beauty of the site has drawn people closer to God, and it is easily accessible and usable every week of the year because of normally mild winters in central Texas. Reservations are required. The camp’s history notes that in 1868 Herman Hensel left the gold fields of California and made his way to the central Texas hill country, and in 1965 Mrs. Minna Hensel set aside 337 acres of the Hensel Ranch for the development of an encampment facility. The camp is located in the Cow Creek Valley above the Colorado River. The camp’s leadership lists Dean Tomberlin as Camp Manager.

Last updated February 1, 2026.