Camp David is the country retreat for the president of the United States of America. It is located in the wooded hills of

Catoctin Mountain Park Catoctin Mountain Park, located in north-central Maryland, is part of the forested Catoctin Mountain ridge−range that forms the northeastern rampart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the Appalachian Mountains System. Approximately 5120 acres o ...

, in

Frederick County, Maryland Frederick County is located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Maryland. At the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 271,717. The county seat is Frederick. Frederick County is included in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ...

, near the towns of Thurmont and

Emmitsburg Emmitsburg is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States, south of the Mason-Dixon line separating Maryland from Pennsylvania. Founded in 1785, Emmitsburg is the home of Mount St. Mary's University. The town has two Catholic pilgrima ...

, about north-northwest of the national capital city of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Frequently Asked Questions
.

, Retrieved on February 4, 2011. "10. Where is Camp David? The Presidential Retreat is within the park however, it is not open to the public and its location is not shown on our park maps for both security and privacy. If you're interested in historical information, visit our Presidential Retreat webpage." It is officially known as the Naval Support Facility Thurmont. Because it is technically a military installation, the staffing is primarily provided by the

Seabees United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...

, Civil Engineer Corps (CEC), the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. Naval construction battalions are tasked with base construction and send detachments as needed. Originally known as Hi-Catoctin, Camp David was built as a camp for federal government agents and their families by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

. Construction started in 1935 and was completed in 1938. In 1942,

President Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

converted it to a presidential retreat and renamed it "Shangri-La", for the fictional Himalayan paradise in the 1933 novel ''

Lost Horizon ''Lost Horizon'' is a 1933 novel by English writer James Hilton. The book was turned into a film, also called ''Lost Horizon'', in 1937 by director Frank Capra. It is best remembered as the origin of Shangri-La, a fictional utopian lamaser ...

'' by British author James Hilton. Camp David received its present name in 1953 from

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

, in honor of his father and

grandson Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

, both named David. The Catoctin Mountain Park does not indicate the location of Camp David on park maps due to privacy and security concerns, although it can be seen through the use of publicly accessible satellite images.

Presidential use

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

hosted

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

at Shangri-La in May 1943, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

held his first cabinet meeting there on November 22, 1955, following hospitalization and convalescence he required after a heart attack suffered in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, on September 24. Eisenhower met

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

there for two days of discussions in September 1959.

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

and his family often enjoyed riding, golf and other recreational activities there, and Kennedy often allowed

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

staff and Cabinet members to use the retreat when he or his family were not there. Lyndon B. Johnson met with advisors in this setting and hosted both

Australian prime minister The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is also accountable to federal parliament under the principl ...

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party. Holt was born in S ...

and Canadian prime minister

Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...

there.

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

was a frequent visitor. He personally directed the construction of a swimming pool and other improvements to Aspen Lodge.

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

hosted Indonesian president

Suharto Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...

at Camp David.

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

initially favored closing Camp David in order to save money, but once he visited the retreat, he decided to keep it. Carter brokered the

Camp David Accords The Camp David Accords were a pair of political agreements signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on 17 September 1978, following twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David, the country retrea ...

there in September 1978 between

Egyptian president The president of Egypt is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointer of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the Constitution of Egypt following the Egyp ...

Anwar al-Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...

and Israeli prime minister

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

visited the retreat more than any other president. In 1984, Reagan hosted British prime minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

. Reagan restored the nature trails that Nixon paved over so he could horseback ride at Camp David.

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

's daughter, Dorothy Bush Koch, was married there in 1992, in the first wedding held at Camp David. During his tenure as president,

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

spent every Thanksgiving at Camp David with his family. In July 2000, he hosted the

2000 Camp David Summit The 2000 Camp David Summit was a summit meeting at Camp David between United States president Bill Clinton, Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat. The summit took place between 11 and 25 July 2000 a ...

negotiations between Israeli prime minister

Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Jan ...

and Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat there. In February 2001,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

held his first meeting with a European leader, UK prime minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

, at Camp David, to discuss missile defense, Iraq, and NATO. After the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

, Bush held a Cabinet meeting at Camp David to prepare the

United States invasion of Afghanistan In late 2001, the United States and its close allies invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government. The invasion's aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the September 11 attacks, and to deny it a safe base of operatio ...

. During his two terms in office, Bush visited Camp David 149 times, for a total of 487 days, for hosting foreign visitors as well as a personal retreat. He met Blair there four times. Among the numerous other foreign leaders he hosted at Camp David were Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

and President Musharraf of Pakistan in 2003,

Danish prime minister The prime minister of Denmark ( da, Danmarks statsminister, fo, Forsætisráðharri, kl, Ministeriuneq) is the head of government in the Kingdom of Denmark comprising the three constituent countries: Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islan ...

Anders Fogh Rasmussen in June 2006, and British prime minister Gordon Brown in 2007. Barack Obama chose Camp David to host the

38th G8 summit The 38th G8 summit was held in Camp David, Maryland, United States, on 18–19 May 2012. The event occurred just before the year's NATO summit. The G8 summit was moved from Chicago, where it was going to be held back-to-back with the NATO summi ...

in 2012. President Obama also hosted Russian prime minister

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...

at Camp David, as well as the GCC Summit there in 2015. Donald Trump hosted Senate majority leader

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McConne ...

and Speaker of the House

Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member o ...

at Camp David while the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

prepared to defend both houses of Congress in the

2018 midterm elections The 2018 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. These midterm elections occurred during Republican Donald Trump's term. Democrats made a net gain of 41 seats in the United States House of Representatives, gaining a majo ...

. The

46th G7 summit The 46th G7 summit of the leaders of the Group of Seven was originally scheduled for June 10–12, 2020, at Camp David, United States. However, the summit was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Planned venue Attempt to hold summit at Trump re ...

was to be held at Camp David on June 10–12, 2020, but was cancelled due to health concerns during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Count of visits by each president

Practice golf facility

To be able to play his favorite sport, President Eisenhower had golf course architect Robert Trent Jones design a practice golf facility at Camp David. Around 1954, Jones built one golf hole—a par 3—with four different tees; Eisenhower added a driving range near the helicopter landing zone.

Security incidents

On July 2, 2011, a F-15 intercepted a civilian aircraft approximately from Camp David, when President Obama was in the residence. The two-seater, which was out of radio communication, was escorted to nearby

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...

, without incident. On July 10, 2011, a F-15 intercepted another small plane near Camp David when Obama was again in the residence; a total of three were intercepted that weekend.

Gallery

208-PU-Folder 3a (29265926851).jpg, Main living room of the lodge, with FDR's chair (near bookcase) and Teddy Roosevelt's rocker File:Marine Corps guard at Shangri-La (later Camp David) on May 7, 1944 - 208-PU-Folder 3 (29265928051).jpg, U.S. Marine standing guard at Shangri-La, 1944 Camp David 1959.jpg, Main Lodge during Eisenhower administration, 1959 David Eisenhower in Camp David.jpg,

David Eisenhower Dwight David Eisenhower II (born March 31, 1948) is an American author, public policy fellow, professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and eponym of the U.S. presidential retreat Camp David. He is the grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhow ...

(1960) Serious Steps.jpg, Eisenhower with John F. Kennedy, in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo JFK & Kids with horse at Camp David, 1963.png, John F. Kennedy,

John F. Kennedy Jr. John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. (November 25, 1960 – July 16, 1999), often referred to as John-John or JFK Jr., was an American lawyer, journalist, and magazine publisher. He was a son of the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kenn ...

, and Caroline Kennedy (riding 'Tex') Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker, Ambassador W. Averell Harriman and President Lyndon B. Johnson outside cabin at Camp David - NARA - 192570.tif, Lyndon B. Johnson with Ellsworth Bunker and

W. Averell Harriman William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986), better known as Averell Harriman, was an American Democratic politician, businessman, and diplomat. The son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman, he served as Secretary of Commerce un ...

at Aspen cabin (1968) President Richard Nixon and Pat Nixon walking their dogs at Camp David.jpg,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

and Pat Nixon Photograph of President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty Ford Walking with Their Daughter Susan and Their Dog... - NARA - 186835.tif, Gerald and Betty Ford with their daughter Susan Sadat Carter Begin, Camp David 1978.gif, Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter, and

on the Aspen Lodge patio, September 6, 1978 President Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Camp David 1986.jpg, Ronald Reagan and

(1986) Camp David 29-0054a.png, George H. W. Bush and advisors in the Laurel Lodge conference room (1990) Video Recording of Photo Opportunity at Camp David - NARA - 6037428.ogv, Bill Clinton with Israeli prime minister

and Palestinian president Yasser Arafat at Camp David peace talks (2000) Shinzo Abe & George W Bush, 2007Apr27.jpg, George W. Bush with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe (2007) G8 Summit working session on global and economic issues May 19, 2012.jpg, The 2012 G8 Summit. Clockwise: Barack Obama (standing),

Cameron Cameron may refer to: People * Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan * Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) ;Mononym * Cam'ron (born 197 ...

Medvedev Medvedev (russian: Медве́дев) and female Medvedeva (Медве́дева), from Russian ''medved’'' (медве́дь), meaning the animal "bear", are Slavic surnames. Notable bearers of the name include: Medvedev (male form): *Alexander ...

Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...

, Van Rompuy, Barroso, Noda, Monti,

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut *Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County * Harper, Il ...

, Hollande. Hurricane Dorian Briefing at Camp David (48665510311).jpg, Donald Trump is briefed about Hurricane Dorian, August 2019 President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with their national security team and senior officials.jpg, Joe Biden on a video conference in August 2021

References

Works cited

External links

* from White House page
Camp David
from the

Federation of American Scientists The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an American nonprofit global policy think tank with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to attempt to make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1946 by scientists who wo ...

Digital documents regarding Camp David
from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library {{Authority control Presidential residences in the United States Buildings and structures in Frederick County, Maryland Houses in Frederick County, Maryland South Mountain Range (Maryland−Pennsylvania) Continuity of government in the United States Executive branch of the government of the United States United States Navy installations White House Military Office Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower Works Progress Administration in Maryland Articles containing video clips National Park Service Rustic architecture Rustic architecture in Maryland Houses completed in 1935