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Be sure to click on the maroon words for images.
The Camp Tyler Foundation maintains Camp Tyler,
The camp opened in 1949, and is one of the oldest community supported outdoor education facilities in the United States. Though the camp is old, it is the desire of the Camp Tyler Foundation for everything about the camp and our organization to be premier. We are committed to being the national model for outdoor education and thus, providing our community with the best camp facility and programs available. Camp Tyler is located on approximately 350 acres of forest and farm land, on the shore of Lake Tyler West, located about 5 miles southeast of Tyler, Texas. For your convenience, several maps are available in .pdf format. If you are not currently able to open pdf files you can download the necessary software by clicking on the icon below. It's easy to do and it's free.
The facilities at Camp Tyler have been developed to provide for a variety of outdoor experiences and have been designed to handle several programs running simultaneously. The buildings have been christened with the names of people who have made important contributions to the camp. The Camp Tyler Foundation has made it our policy to strive to provide barrier free facilities, allowing quality outdoor experiences for physically challenged campers. All new construction and renovation at Camp Tyler, since 1990, has taken into consideration the Americans with Disabilities Act standards. We listen to and respond to suggestions made by our campers, so please speak out if you see a way that we can make the outdoors more accessible to you.
Residence Camp The backbone of the camp is the Residence Camping Area. In the Residence Camp, activities pivot around Bradford Lodge. Bradford has a beautiful dining hall, (capacity 128), with a huge front porch overlooking Lake Tyler. The 65’x30’, dining room was modeled after the Paul Bunyan tales and has the feel of a logging camp from the late 1800's, with knotty pine paneling, open rafters and a huge stone fireplace. The dining area is supported by a first class commercial kitchen equipped with everything necessary to feed a large group. Our kitchen has a reputation as being one of the cleanest and best kept in Smith County. Bradford Lodge also has ample pantry and storage space for a week of camp, as well as a walk in refrigerator and a walk in freezer. Bradford Lodge can be used independent of the rest of the Residence Camp for a variety of gatherings. Attached to Bradford is the Gertrude Richardson Library. Built in 1989, this spacious room, 36’x28’, complements the mood set by the dining hall. There has been a continuous supply of books donated to the camp from members of the community, thus the Library houses a wonderful collection of volumes related to outdoor activities and natural sciences. We can also boast a complete collection of National Geographic magazines. In addition to being a very comfortable place to sit and read, the library serves as a warm, dry place during inclement weather and a meeting room for small groups. The Woldert, Wise, Vaughn Complex provides support for Residence Camp programs. The Woldert Wing houses the administrative offices; the Wise Clinic has a treatment room, nurse’s office, and overnight quarters for the nurse. The Vaughn Classroom, 37’x26’, is equipped with folding tables and chairs, a Power Point projector and screen, dry erase board, and 9 computers with high-speed internet access. Five spacious dorms are available to residence campers. Caldwell, Lindsey, Rudman, Donaldson and Dudley cabins each can accommodate 24 campers. Each of these buildings has heat and air conditioning, bathroom facilities, showers, a central living room with a fireplace and a fire ring/picnic area outside. The beds are regular twin size bunks. The Camp Tyler Foundation does not provide bed or bathroom linens so be sure to pack what you need if you are coming to camp. The Rock House Bathhouse has four showers with hot & cold water. It is located in the Residence Camp and is available for tent campers. Carved into the hillside below Bradford Lodge is the Amphitheater. Wooden benches provide comfortable outdoor seating for spectators. The stage has a concrete floor, lighting and electrical outlets for production equipment. Camp Tyler enjoys ¾ of a mile of lake shore on Lake Tyler. Along the shore, below Bradford Lodge there is a 70’x80’ swimming area in the lake, surrounded by a pier for camper safety. The water ranges from 3 feet to 10 feet deep when the lake is full. There is an aluminum ramp to allow for barrier free access as well as several ladders for swimmers to exit the lake. Also along the waterfront is a boating area, equipped with canoes, row boats and sail boats. Fishing in the lake is great. Homestead Pond and Goose Pond also provide good fishing as they are stocked with channel catfish and hybrid sunfish periodically. Farm
The Founders of Camp Tyler valued the rural experience and felt that every child should experience the farm. Consequently they bought the dairy that was adjacent to the original camp and set it up as the classic East Texas single family farm. The old Farm House serves as a museum of household furnishings from the early 1900’s. Many young people have their first encounter with cows, horses, pigs, rabbits, goats and chickens at the Camp Tyler Farm. As part of the 5th grade residence program, every student has the opportunity to milk a cow by hand and gather eggs from the hens. Horticulture is also a part of the farm experience and students have the opportunity to work in the garden, orchard and row crop fields. Students can actually plow with a mule, pick cotton and plant beans. The Grow Lab provides a climate controlled environment for starting seeds and for plant propagation lessons during inclement weather. In the Bunk House kitchen, corn that is picked in the field can be ground and made into corn bread or tortillas, eggs are candled and cream is churned into butter. Every child loves horses. The farm has a horse barn, tack room, round pen and 150’x300’ riding arena. At the edge of the arena there is a specially constructed ramp/loading dock to facilitate placing physically challenged students on the horses’ backs. The Camp Tyler Foundation realized that not every child who would like to raise a livestock project for 4-H of FFA lives on a farm. The Camp has ten livestock pens with shelters that are available for students to use for their projects, free of charge. The Elbert Caldwell Learning Center at the Farm, provides a large all purpose, all weather facility with a huge porch for almost any activity imaginable. Also at the Farm, the Tehan Building has two large classrooms and a full kitchen, which is ideal for instruction and meetings.
Forest and Prairie
What would camp be without a forest? Well, Camp Tyler started without one. In 1949, the property was mostly worn out cotton fields that were eroding into the new lake which was still filling at that time. Students built check dams to stop the erosion and planted trees. Lots of trees! During the first three years, the 5th and 6th grade students from Tyler Independent School District planted 10,000 trees a year. Land that was once an old field, now supports a beautifully maturing forest that is home for more than 100 species of trees, shrubs, and vines, 165 species of wildflowers, 40 species of grasses and sedges, 50 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 210 species of birds. There are also abundant fungi, insects and other invertebrates, and aquatic life that have not been catalogued. Once upon a time the tall grass prairie and the eastern forests met in Smith County, Texas. Most of the millions of acres of prairie that were once found in Texas are long gone. At Camp Tyler, the students have been involved for several years in the Returning to Our Roots program; an effort to build a replica of the vast prairie on 35 acres of the camp. Meandering through the forest and prairie are almost 10 miles of hiking trails. The trails are wide and clean, making them easy to follow and fun to walk on. Every year a new layer of wood chips, that are donated by the companies that clear power lines of limbs, is spread on the trails to keep them free of muddy crossings and tripping hazards. In 2006, the American Hiking Society funded our Trails for All Project enabling us to construct ½ mile of barrier free trail, covered with 2” of crushed granite. The trail enables wheel chairs to travel from the residence camp to the prairie, via the Homestead Pond for a truly scenic and enjoyable trip. Maps of the trails and checklists of the fauna and flora are available at the camp office in the Woldert building. Activity Areas
Parts of the property have been developed to support specific educational objectives. Use of these areas requires the presence of a Camp Tyler Foundation certified instructor which can be arranged through our Program Coordinator, Kathy Lagesse, Kathy@camptyler.org. Social studies have been an important part of the curriculum at Camp Tyler for many years. Texas Village sets the stage for many of the lessons. At Texas Village you will find the Blacksmith Shop, (authentic and functional), the Wood Wright shop, the Gilley Creek School House (a replica of a one room school house, complete with quill pens, a dunce stool, and pictures of Lincoln and Washington beside the blackboard), and the Craft Shed. The area stimulates the young minds to imagine they are part of the westward expansion and become immersed in hands on learning about life in the 1800’s. The Adventure Challenge Area is a low elements ROPES course designed to develop the confidence of the individual student and build team spirit among classmates. Elements include the Black Hole, X-Traverse, Balance Beam, Spider Web, Nitro Crossing, High Beam, TP Shuffle, Devil’s Finger, Mountain to Mountain, Triangle Traverse, Climbing Tower and the most popular Zip Line. At the Forestry Area students learn about the history and principles of forestry in East Texas. The area is designed so that students can safely learn how to chop wood, saw with a crosscut, and burl logs. The forest surrounding the area serves as an arboretum, where students can learn to identify the common trees of our area. The Bobby Curtis Pavilion provides an all weather shelter for hands on scientific investigations in the prairie and its associated wetlands. In addition to 30’x60’ of covered concrete the pavilion has restrooms and storage space for educational equipment. The Kiwanis Teepee is another “warm, dry place”. Located in the northeast corner of the property, the building is an all purpose, all weather room with associated boys’ and girls’ bathrooms. It is a favorite location for tent camping scout groups on weekends.
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