Cool Way to Camp John Hay

BY: Nathaniel Silvano



This summer, it is very good to go to a place where the weather is definitely cool and you can really relax and unwind. You can never enjoy the summer vacation just staying on your place, enduring the extreme heat of the sun and the unending sweat. You don’t need to travel outside the Philippines just to get relief from the deadly hotness you experience everyday. There are a lot of choices waiting for you to choose and Baguio City is one of those.

Baguio is the most famous city in Benguet. It is popularly known as the City of Pines because of beautiful pine trees located in the city, and the Summer Capital of the Philippines for it has the perfect weather contrary to the hotness of the sun being encountered in Metropolis. Baguio is also prominent due to its places and spots including the parks namely Mines View Park , Wright Park , and Burnham Park . But, there is another place in the Baguio that is rarely visited and not being mentioned frequently among the residents of this city……. the Camp John Hay.

Camp John Hay also known as the John Hay Air Station is a station built for rest and recreation of United States Armed Forces in the country and Department of Defense personnels, employees and dependents.

It was established on October 25, 1903 after President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order setting aside land in Benguet for a military reservation under the United States Army.

This beautiful place was named after John Milton Hay, Theodore Roosevelt’s Secretary of State that time.

During the World War II, Japanese civilians used this as their internment camp and concentration camp. Also that era, many establishments had been built including US Army Hospital and The Residence, where the Governor General of the Philippines lived at.

Camp John Hay has 290 fully-furnished rooms in the different cottages, duplexes, apartments, and lodges, which are scattered about the complex. Some of these billeting units were equipped with colored television sets, refrigerators, and cooking facilities.

The camp is also surrounded by major attractions namely Par-69 golf course, The Manor, The Suites, and various shops and restaurants that stimulate the people to visit the place.

At present, Camp John Hay is considered as one of the best tourist spot in Baguio not just because of its natural beauty, but also because of its meaningful history.