Short answer: To book a camp for a Dallas-Fort Worth youth group or church retreat of 100 to 199 people, settle your headcount range and two or three possible weekends first, then decide how far your group will drive, and shortlist only camps that can sleep, feed and gather everyone at once. Start 6 to 9 months ahead for youth weekends, and earlier if you need a spring or fall date. Camp Connection lists Christian camps and retreat centers across Texas at /christian-retreat-centers/texas/, and a real person can call camps for you to find the ones with room on your dates.
Start with the drive
For a DFW church, the drive usually decides the region. Some groups stay in North Texas so students can leave after school on Friday and still arrive for dinner. Others are happy to drive farther to East Texas, Central Texas or the Hill Country for a bigger getaway. Before you look at a single camp, agree with your leaders on the longest drive your group will accept, including traffic leaving the Metroplex on a Friday afternoon.
What matters at 100 to 199
A group this size fits at more camps than a group of 200 or more, but the good weekends still go fast. Check three things first:
- Beds. Count every student, leader, sponsor and volunteer. Ask how the beds are split between cabins, lodges and private rooms, and how the camp separates adults from students.
- Meals. Ask whether the camp cooks and serves meals and how many people the dining hall seats at once.
- One room for everyone. Your main sessions need a room that seats your whole group together, with the sound and screens you plan to use.
If a camp misses any one of these, move on.
When to book
- Youth retreats and Disciple Now weekends: start 6 to 9 months out at the latest.
- Spring and fall weekends: these fill first, so have two or three date options ready.
- Midweek and January to February dates: often easier to find if your group can be flexible.
Questions to ask every camp
- Do you have room for our full headcount, including leaders, on our dates?
- Will our group have the property to ourselves, or will we share it with another group?
- Do you cook and serve meals, and can you handle food allergies?
- Which meeting room seats our whole group, and what sound and video does it have?
- What activities can your staff run for us, and what can we do on our own?
- Is there parking for buses, vans and trailers, and what time can we arrive on Friday?
- What do you need from us to hold the dates, and by when?
Write down the answers the same way for each camp so you can compare them side by side.
Let someone else make the calls
Calling camp after camp to ask the same questions takes days. Camp Connection does it for you: tell us your headcount, dates, starting city and what matters most, and a real person checks which camps actually have room for your group. Start on our church groups page or call (877) 729-2267.
For more help, read planning a Hill Country church retreat for 100 to 199 people, or if your group is larger, booking a Texas camp for a church group of 200 or more.