Join Us for a Group Chat (The Kind That Actually Matters)
You’ve heard your kids talk about group chats a thousand times. Well, we’re inviting them to join the most important group chat of their summer. The only catch? These chats are not happening on their phones.
At YMCA Camp Cullen, our group chats happen around crackling campfires under star-filled skies. They happen on cabin porches in rocking chairs. They happen on hiking trails, in canoes on Lake Livingston, and during late-night conversations that turn cabin mates into lifelong friends. These are the conversations that matter. The ones where kids actually look each other in the eye, share real stories, and build genuine connections that last far beyond a screen’s glow.
The Connection Crisis No One’s Talking About
Today’s kids are more “connected” than ever, yet loneliness among children and teens is at an all-time high. They have hundreds of online friends but struggle with face-to-face conversations. They can text all day but feel anxious making eye contact. They share their lives through screens but miss the magic of experiencing life in real time, with real people, in real places.
Camp Cullen offers something radically different: a week unplugged from technology and plugged into nature, authentic friendships, and self-discovery. No phones. No social media. No screens. Just kids being kids in the most important and increasingly rare way possible.
What Happens When Kids Disconnect
Something remarkable occurs when children step away from technology and into nature. Without the constant ping of notifications and the pressure of curated online personas, kids rediscover who they really are. They try things they’d never post about. They laugh without performing for an audience. They fail, learn, and try again without anyone capturing it on video.
At Camp Cullen, nestled on 500 acres along the shores of Lake Livingston in Trinity, Texas, kids ages 7 to 17 experience:
Real Conversations: The kind that happen organically while roasting marshmallows, not the kind squeezed between emojis and auto-correct.
Authentic Friendships: Built on shared adventures, not shared followers. These are the friendships that start with “remember when we…” instead of “did you see my post about…”
Present-Moment Living: Kids experience their adventures in real time rather than through a phone screen. They watch sunsets with their own eyes, not through a camera lens. They feel accomplishments rather than just posting about them.
Unfiltered Joy: Without the pressure of documenting everything for social media, kids experience pure, unfiltered fun. They’re free to be silly, try new things, and embrace experiences without worrying about how they look online.
Camp Cullen: Where Real Life Happens
A week at Camp Cullen is guaranteed to be filled with fun, adventures, and memories that last a lifetime. From horseback riding and climbing towers to arts and crafts, water sports, and zip lines, there’s something for everyone. Kids experience nature close-up, explore new talents, and embark on unforgettable summers.
Focused Interest Tracks: Ready to supercharge your child’s overnight camp experience? Camp Cullen offers focused tracks that build community around special interests including equestrian, water sports, teen leadership, and teen adventure.
Character Development: Our goal is to provide a summer camp experience rich in tradition, centered on our core values of caring, honesty, respect, responsibility, and faith. These values are explored intentionally each day, helping campers understand their personal value system while gaining independence, self-worth, and lifelong positive memories.
Endless Discovery: Your camper can explore 500 acres of campgrounds during their time here. Outside our buildings, kids experience target sports ranges, horse trails, geological quarries, a wild west town, miles of hiking trails, a pool, and more. The opportunities for discovery and wonder are endless!
Best-in-Class Facilities Meet Pristine Nature
The YMCA Camp Cullen facility is intentionally designed to deliver a high-quality, immersive experience to kids of all ages. The cabins, activities, layout, and amenities, mixed with the well-preserved natural environment, provide the perfect setting for fun, growth, excitement, disconnection from the world’s hustle, and reconnection with nature and new friends.
At the end of their day of adventure, kids return to clean, climate-controlled bunkhouses with their friends. They’ll feel right at home with en-suite, individual bathroom and shower facilities. Front and back porches complete with rocking chairs provide spaces for relaxing and building relationships with cabin mates. This is where some of the best conversations happen—the ones without distractions, without screens, without filters.
More Than Fun: Intentional Growth
We are intentional in every element of program design to help your child progress along the journey to becoming the very best version of themselves. While maintaining the broader Y mission of being a camp “For All,” we put into practice our five core values, highlighting one value each day to discover what it means to our campers.
YMCA overnight camp is full of structured challenges for your child. These challenges come from all directions, whether leaving home for the first time, trying new activities, encountering barriers to success, making their own decisions, setting goals, or handling conflict in the cabin.
All camp counselors are trained in guiding your camper through those opportunities to develop new life skills and become a more confident, independent, resilient young person. We seek out the moments to make a difference, and that’s where the most incredible growth can be found.
Safety and Excellence You Can Trust
YMCA Camp Cullen is accredited by the American Camp Association, meeting up to 300 standards for health, safety, and program quality. We’re also inspected and licensed by the Texas Department of Health & Human Services. YMCA Camp Cullen makes each child feel like we’ve been waiting just for them. Campers are guaranteed to feel special, safe, and like they belong.
The Group Chat Your Child Actually Needs
This summer, give your child the gift of disconnection. Let them experience the freedom of a week without screens, the joy of authentic friendships, and the confidence that comes from trying new things in a supportive environment.
Let them join group chats that matter—the ones around campfires where stories are shared, friendships are forged, and memories are made. The ones on hiking trails where kids encourage each other to reach the summit. The ones in cabins after lights out where laughter echoes and bonds deepen.
These are the conversations that shape who they become. These are the connections that last a lifetime. These are the summers they’ll remember forever.
Summer 2026 registration is open now at YMCA Camp Cullen. Give your child a week that matters. Give them a summer unplugged.
Visit ymcacampcullen.org/summer-camp to register today.
Because the best group chats don’t happen on phones. They happen around campfires, under stars, surrounded by friends who see you—really see you—for who you are.
YMCA Camp Cullen: Where real connections happen, real adventures unfold, and real kids discover their real potential.