Ranch Camp is an innovative 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.

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

We're beginning to gear up for another GREAT summer of Ranch Camp! In our continuing effort to serve campers better, you will notice some changes in our Ranch Camp 2010 schedule. For example, we've changed one of the Adult sessions to a Teen Session. Over the past couple of summers, our Teen sessions have reached full capacity encouraging us to have one more Teen session.

Campers 13-years and up who have intellectual disabilities are welcome. They must be physically and emotionally well. Campers with controlled seizure disorders may apply. Teen camps are for ages 13 to 22, though teens may attend adult camps, if desired.

In 2010, we are introducing Mini Camp. Mini Camps are designed so that individuals who live in group homes and elsewhere can attend camp without interfering with their therapeutic leave requirements.

Click here to register online for Ranch Camp. Sessions fill very fast, so you'll want to secure a spot for your camper soon!

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. 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. 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!

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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 2008, Ranch Camp celebrated its 14th year by hosting over 350 campers. They came from all over Texas and - following the national publicity from People Magazine and CBS News in 2007 - we had campers from 15 other states and even one from Finland. Our activities covered everything from working with the horses to archery and kayaking.

Ranch Camp will continue to grow. We are working on offering some specialty camps and retreats for the whole family, including a Dude Ranch camp and a Trail Ride camp. Every year our program offers more opportunities for people with and without disabilities to experience a little bit of life on a working farm and ranch. We hope you'll join us!

Don't delay! Many sessions fill up fast. Click here to register online for Ranch Camp.