About
Camp Aranzazu offers activities such as sailing, kayaking, fishing, archery, bird watching, arts and crafts, and a Challenge Course. Campers also take part in nature education that can include the use of a bird blind, boardwalks, and a firepit, as well as sailing with the dolphins.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
Camp Aranzazu states that campers of all ages and abilities can fully participate in classic camp activities at this 100-acre accessible residential camp. The camp’s mission is that it cultivates belonging for campers of all ages and abilities by creating accessible, empowering, and intentional camp experiences in a coastal environment. The camp hosts groups of campers with disabilities, medical diagnoses, or other unique challenges and partners with about 50 organizations each year to customize each camp experience in partnership with those organizations.
Camp Aranzazu is accredited by the American Camp Association and operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It became a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation in 2011. The camp’s leadership includes Finance Director Lauren Albrecht, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and a Board of Directors made up of professionals from fields such as law, medicine, banking, education, construction, and investment, and includes a Challenge Course Trainer, Taylor Maanao. Nathan Smith, BSN, RN, is listed among the staff credentials.
The camp’s history includes its earlier use as the Bishop Elliott Conference Center from 1959 to 1996, the purchase of the first 20 acres by founders Tom and Holly Forney in 1997, and trial camping groups beginning in 2002. Camp Aranzazu, a fully accredited camp and 501(c)(3), was founded in 2006, with accredited operation beginning that year, and the Challenge Course and Archery Range added in 2007. It became a Certified Wildlife Habitat in 2011, added a new Dining Hall, Administration Building, and Party Pool in 2016, and was directly in the path of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, after which neighbors and the camp community helped clean up and rebuild. The Unlimited Horizons Capital Campaign was completed in 2018 with fully developed bayfront property and programs, all in-person camping sessions were cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Holly’s Trolley was added in 2023, and the first national camp, The Amputee Coalition’s Paddy Rossbach Youth Camp, was hosted in 2024. From 2023 to 2026 the camp is operating under a strategic plan, and 2026 will mark 20 years of serving campers.
Camp Aranzazu reports that it has served tens of thousands of campers and their support staff from more than 55 counties in Texas, including more than 30,500 campers and their support staff welcomed since 2006 and a total of 32,500 campers and their support staff served. The camp notes that it operates in a coastal environment on the Texas Gulf Coast and that its grounds were formerly the Bishop Elliott Conference Center. It also notes that “Aranzazu” is a Basque term meaning “a spiritual place requiring a difficult path to reach,” and that the camp has barrier-free paths. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Camp Aranzazu produced “May The Good Times Never End” virtual camping activities and worked with long-time partners for virtual sessions, and it continues to host a national camp, The Amputee Coalition’s Paddy Rossbach Youth Camp. The camp also states that it offers community year-round with space around the campfire and opportunity for connection, and that Holly’s Trolley transports campers to bayfront activities and provides rest and relief during hot weather.
Testimonials from partner organizations and staff describe campers with neuromuscular disorders who require constant attention and care and special accommodations, and note that these campers call their time at Camp Aranzazu “the Best Week of the Year.” Another testimonial states that kids “just want to be typical and enjoy life—and they can do that at Camp Aranzazu,” and describes it as a place where kids feel loved and accepted. A nurse’s testimonial explains that, compared with seeing kids at their sickest in the hospital, at camp the nurse sees them “at their absolute best,” with “no IVs, no needles, no hospital beds… only time with friends, fresh air, and the challenge and triumph of new experiences,” and describes a feeling of belonging and an overwhelming sense of healing for campers and for the nurse.
Last updated July 24, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
Camp Aranzazu states that campers of all ages and abilities can fully participate in classic camp activities at this 100-acre accessible residential camp. The camp’s mission is that it cultivates belonging for campers of all ages and abilities by creating accessible, empowering, and intentional camp experiences in a coastal environment. The camp hosts groups of campers with disabilities, medical diagnoses, or other unique challenges and partners with about 50 organizations each year to customize each camp experience in partnership with those organizations.
Camp Aranzazu is accredited by the American Camp Association and operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It became a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation in 2011. The camp’s leadership includes Finance Director Lauren Albrecht, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and a Board of Directors made up of professionals from fields such as law, medicine, banking, education, construction, and investment, and includes a Challenge Course Trainer, Taylor Maanao. Nathan Smith, BSN, RN, is listed among the staff credentials.
The camp’s history includes its earlier use as the Bishop Elliott Conference Center from 1959 to 1996, the purchase of the first 20 acres by founders Tom and Holly Forney in 1997, and trial camping groups beginning in 2002. Camp Aranzazu, a fully accredited camp and 501(c)(3), was founded in 2006, with accredited operation beginning that year, and the Challenge Course and Archery Range added in 2007. It became a Certified Wildlife Habitat in 2011, added a new Dining Hall, Administration Building, and Party Pool in 2016, and was directly in the path of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, after which neighbors and the camp community helped clean up and rebuild. The Unlimited Horizons Capital Campaign was completed in 2018 with fully developed bayfront property and programs, all in-person camping sessions were cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Holly’s Trolley was added in 2023, and the first national camp, The Amputee Coalition’s Paddy Rossbach Youth Camp, was hosted in 2024. From 2023 to 2026 the camp is operating under a strategic plan, and 2026 will mark 20 years of serving campers.
Camp Aranzazu reports that it has served tens of thousands of campers and their support staff from more than 55 counties in Texas, including more than 30,500 campers and their support staff welcomed since 2006 and a total of 32,500 campers and their support staff served. The camp notes that it operates in a coastal environment on the Texas Gulf Coast and that its grounds were formerly the Bishop Elliott Conference Center. It also notes that “Aranzazu” is a Basque term meaning “a spiritual place requiring a difficult path to reach,” and that the camp has barrier-free paths. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Camp Aranzazu produced “May The Good Times Never End” virtual camping activities and worked with long-time partners for virtual sessions, and it continues to host a national camp, The Amputee Coalition’s Paddy Rossbach Youth Camp. The camp also states that it offers community year-round with space around the campfire and opportunity for connection, and that Holly’s Trolley transports campers to bayfront activities and provides rest and relief during hot weather.
Testimonials from partner organizations and staff describe campers with neuromuscular disorders who require constant attention and care and special accommodations, and note that these campers call their time at Camp Aranzazu “the Best Week of the Year.” Another testimonial states that kids “just want to be typical and enjoy life—and they can do that at Camp Aranzazu,” and describes it as a place where kids feel loved and accepted. A nurse’s testimonial explains that, compared with seeing kids at their sickest in the hospital, at camp the nurse sees them “at their absolute best,” with “no IVs, no needles, no hospital beds… only time with friends, fresh air, and the challenge and triumph of new experiences,” and describes a feeling of belonging and an overwhelming sense of healing for campers and for the nurse.
Last updated July 24, 2026.
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