Camp David

Frederick County, United States

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Camp David, a 125-acre presidential retreat nestled in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park near Thurmont, Maryland, exemplifies National Park Service rustic architecture. Built by the Works Progress Administration between 1935 and 1938, it originally served federal employees before President Franklin D. Roosevelt converted it to a presidential hideaway in 1942, naming it "Shangri-La" after the fictional Himalayan utopia. President Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed the compound Camp David in 1953 to honor his father and grandson. Located roughly 62 miles north-northwest of Washington, D.C., the facility functions as a military installation staffed by the Seabees, the Civil Engineer Corps, the Navy, and the Marine Corps, though its exact location remains unmarked on park maps for security reasons.