Camp John Hay
Camp John Hay (CJH) is Baguio City's most popular visitor attraction. A beautiful resort in the mountains it features a world class competition Jack Niclaus-designed golf course (said to be the only course in the Philippines to have bentgrass greens) as well as hotels, a shopping center & a convention center, among other attractions.
Located on the south eastern side of the Summer Capital of the Philippines, its Main Gate is now located on Loakan Road, a 5-minute drive from its old location at the Upper Session Road-Loakan Road-South Drive rotunda.
Camp John Hay has a second entrance accessible via the Baguio Country Club road, which is closer to the other major tourist attractions of the City of Pines.
This former rest & recreation facility for American soldiers in Asia is a tourist destination in itself.
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Much has changed since it was converted into a privately run resort, although there are many areas still accessible to the public for free, and yet Camp John Hay's charm remains the same with its pine tree-lined roads, beautiful landscaping, quaint cottages and wide open spaces. The place remains a "must visit" for tourists.
For Camp John Hay is what makes Baguio, Baguio.
A Short History of Camp John Hay
This former rest and recreation facility of the U.S. Armed Forces is older than the city itself. For almost the whole of the 20th century it is what made Baguio City in the Philippines "Little America."
In 1903 Camp John Hay was designed as the rest & recreational facility for the US Military and Department of Defense in the Far East. This U.S. base, which was named after U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of State, was used by the Japanese as a concentration camp for American and British soldiers during WWII.
It was also used as their military headquarters when General Yamashita moved up north from Manila towards the end of the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines.
This 690-hectare property was finally turned over to the Philippines 1991 upon the expiration of the R.P.-U.S. Bases Agreement. From 1991 to 1997, Filipinos ran the former U.S. Air Force recreational facility for the first time as a resort, operating all the popular and familiar spots as close to the originals as possible: 19th Tee, Halfway House, Mile-Hi, Lone Star, Main Club, the Scout Hill Snack Bar and the Bakery.
Since 1997 it has been in the hands of a private developer on a long term lease. It boasts of private vacation houses, hotels and lodging facilities, including the most popular Baguio hotel, Camp John Hay Manor, a shopping center called Mile-Hi Center with numerous restaurants and stores, and a newly-built convention center. Jack Niclaus redesigned what is literally the coolest golf course in the Philippines into a competition golf course that continues to co-host the hugely popular annual Fil-Am Golf Tournament.
The Philippine government has retained a portion of the property and maintains the Historical Core featuring a museum at the Commander's Cottage,
Bell Ampitheater, a Butterfly Sanctuary. And the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) runs Igorot Lodge.
"My first visit to Camp John Hay was in the early 1970s as a guest of Joe Montemayor, who was then a Filipino immigrant to the United States. We had formal dinner at the Main Club where my brother and I were told to be on our best behavior as ... "
This is an article I decided to write to document my memories of Camp John Hay as I was growing up up to the time of the turnover.
Recreational activities include an Golf, of course, an EcoTrail, Picnic Grounds,
Mini Golf, Pony Rentals with a Trail Ride, Paintball & Wall Climbing.
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