Grizzly Pines, a private gay campground in Texas, is facing mounting backlash from across the LGBTQ+ community—particularly from the bear community—after reaffirming and then deleting a post about a policy banning transgender men from its property.
The Navasota-based, clothing-optional campground sparked condemnation after it publicly stated on Monday that it only allows cisgender men and would not allow trans men to attend upcoming events. That statement, posted on Trans Day of Visibility, claimed the exclusion was about preserving “comfort” and “shared lived experience” among men who were assigned male at birth.
“This campground was created as a haven specifically for men who historically lacked spaces where they could express themselves openly without outside judgment even from within the broader LGBTQ+ community. We’re not anti-trans; we’re just focused on preserving this unique sub cultural dynamic,” the venue posted.
Related: Gay Michigan Campground Bans Trans Men
Grizzly Pines has since removed the post, removed reviews, and disabled comments on its social media platforms.
The controversy has prompted a national conversation about exclusion, transphobia, and who gets to define community in LGBTQ+ spaces traditionally rooted in body positivity and inclusion.
Grizzly Pines did not respond to The Advocate’s request for comment.
The Houston Bears were the first to sever ties publicly, canceling their sold-out Bear Camp scheduled for May. In a statement, the group said they had hoped to include all men—trans and cis—at the event but learned Grizzly Pines would not allow it.
“The idea of having an event where we would be forced to tell some of our members ‘not you’ is incompatible with our values,” the Houston Bears said in a statement sent to The Advocate and posted online. “We know that it is very late in the process, but we also believe that it is never too late to do the right thing.”
The event will now take place at Rainbow Ranch in Groesbeck. “The Houston Bears welcome and celebrate all men, cisgender and transgender, at our events,” the group wrote.
The RGV Bears, based in South Texas, also canceled their Summer Camp and offered a message of solidarity: “To our RGV Teddy Bear trans members, we will create events that we can continue to enjoy together in siblinghood (bearhood).”
The bear community—known for its embrace of all body types, older men, and those often marginalized by mainstream gay culture—has been especially vocal in response.
Among those calling out Grizzly Pines’ decision is John Anderson, founder of Gay Camping Friends, which he describes as the world’s largest LGBTQ+ outdoor community, with over 231,000 members. Anderson, who launched the group in 2020, was dismayed by the campground’s tone and timing.
“I think their statement was passive-aggressive. It had a lot of read-between-the-lines messaging,” Anderson told The Advocate. “They said the Houston Bears had a ‘newfound support’ for trans people—and that sounded like mockery to me. There’s irony in saying you’re preserving a male experience while excluding trans men, who are men.”
Anderson, whose community organizes inclusive meetups and lists LGBTQ+ campgrounds, says this controversy shines a light on deeper divisions within queer spaces. “Some people treat these campgrounds like places where they should only see people they’re attracted to,” he said. “It’s not about inclusion or community for them—it’s about exclusion based on what they’re uncomfortable with.”
That discomfort, he says, reveals something darker. “One person commented, ‘It triggers our misogyny.’ That’s the kind of rhetoric I’ve had to moderate and remove from our groups over the past few days,” Anderson said.
Anderson also points to a concerning pattern in parts of the LGBTQ+ community. “There’s a huge swath of the LGB community that feels like the fight is over for them. They’ve made progress and now want to separate themselves from trans people. People post graphics that read ‘LGB’ with a slash through the ‘T.’ What they don’t understand is that attacks on trans people are the precursor to attacks on all queer people. They’re next.”
Local activists warn that excluding parts of the LGBTQ+ community will have severe consequences.
“In a political climate where Texas lawmakers are emboldened to file over 200 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills, most of which specifically target trans people, we must remain committed to our community—the whole community,” interim CEO of Equality Texas, Brad Pritchett, told The Advocate in a statement. “Transphobic policies should not be tolerated and should be costly. Let’s show every business in Texas, whether gay-owned or not, that it is expensive to hate your neighbors.”
Others took issue with the implication that trans men’s presence would somehow disrupt a space meant for men to feel physically and emotionally at ease.
A press release by Grizzly Pines private campground excluding trans men
A community member, Blake Bennett, summed up the contradiction bluntly in a Facebook comment. “The absurdity of advertising yourself as a welcoming space for men to feel positive about their bodies, and then saying certain men can’t come in because other guests don’t like their bodies,” he wrote.
Rob Beste, who previously attended events at Grizzly Pines, said he was unaware of the campground’s policy until now. “I had plans and even bought tickets to events in the past,” he wrote on Facebook. “This will never be the case again. I can’t fathom the mental gymnastics of stating you’re about inclusion while excluding certain types of men.”
Jake Crumley also weighed in, applauding the Houston Bears for aligning their actions with their values. “While I totally understand Grizzly Pines’ desire and right to craft a space for a specific type of person, I think this is shitty,” he wrote. “The trans men I know just wanna be one of the guys. If the clientele is so uncomfortable and concerned about who has what parts, that’s a reflection on the clientele. Catering and pandering to that, as a business, is really shortsighted.”
This isn’t the first time a gay campground has faced national scrutiny for excluding trans men. In 2021, The Advocatereported on Camp Boomerang inMichigan, which banned transgender men from its then-unopened RV park and defined its membership as people who “have a penis” and a state-issued ID marked male. The controversy ignited fierce backlash and led to the campground’s Facebook page being taken offline.
David Powell Eversole, who said he had enjoyed visiting Grizzly Pines in the past, announced he would not return. “In this era of fascism and hate against the queer community, we must be the change we seek,” he wrote. “Goodbye, Grizzly Pines. It’s been real.”
A press release by Grizzly Pines private campground excluding trans men
