- Camp David has been a destination for presidential rest and relaxation since it opened.
- The camp has also been the site of meetings and summits with various world leaders over the years.
- Camp David has been the site of some big national and foreign policy decisions.
Nestled in the countryside of Maryland, in the Catoctin Mountain Park, is the presidential country retreat known as Camp David.
The first parts of the complex were built by the Works Progress Administration in 1935, and Franklin D. Roosevelt made it the presidential retreat. FDR originally named the property “Shangri-La,” a name it kept until the Eisenhower administration, who named it Camp David after his grandson.
The compound has expanded over the years, with new cabins being built and even a pool. It has also been the site of diplomatic events like the Camp David Accords in 1978 and the G8 summit in 2012.
Here’s a look inside Camp David, where presidents go to escape Washington.