Presidential Vacations & Retreats

Gallery

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President Ulysses S. Grant put the presidential stamp on Long Branch by acquiring a large seaside cottage, driving his carriage along the beach and returning every summer of his presidency. Postcard of the Grant cottage at Elberon, New Jersey. c. 1914.
Joan Schnorbus, Long Branch Historical Museum Association
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This 1886 drawing depicts President Grover Cleveland and First Lady Frances Cleveland fishing at their honeymoon cottage at Deer Park Maryland with members of the press. Cleveland found fish to be even more mysterious and startling in their behavior than their human counterparts. "No one has yet been wise enough to explain their ways or account for their conduct."
Life, New York, Collection of Lawrence Knutson
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President Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir on Glacier Point, Yosemite Valley, California, 1903. Roosevelt was also know to often exchanged the sizzle of a Washington summer for the ocean breezes of Sagamore Hill, his Oyster Bay home which forever transformed the nature of the presidential vacations.
Underwood & Underwood, Library of Congress
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President Howard Taft on the green at Chevy Chase, Maryland in the summer of 1909. The first serious presidential golfer, Taft never let high scores discourage his love of the game.
Library of Congress
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In May 1943 Winston Churchill visiting Shangri-La (now known as Camp David) where he had a chance to observe President Franklin D. Roosevelt working on his stamp collection. The prime minister recalled that he watched him "with much interest and in silence for perhaps half an hour as he stuck them in, each in its proper place, and so forgot the cares of the State." — Caption from "Away from the White House"
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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President John F. Kennedy at the helm of Manitou, sailing off the coast of Maine, on August 12, 1962. He was never happier than when at the tiller of a sailboat, steering the course, chomping on a small cigar, lunching on fish chowder, and bantering with family and friends. — Caption from "Away from the White House"
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
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President Lyndon B. Johnson and First Lady Claudia Johnson walk through a field of wildflowers at the LBJ Ranch, Stonewall, Texas, in July, 1968. "All my life I have drawn strength and something more from those Texas Hills." Johnson's internal compass pointed west to the Texas hill country where visitors saw him at his most unvarnished, full of over-flowing exuberance. During his five years in the presidency, Johnson made the ranch a virtual extension of the White House.
Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library
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President Richard Nixon and First Lady Patricia Nixon stroll along the shoreline of San Clemente Beach, California in January, 1971. Nixon believed in frequent escapes, discovering "how isolated from the reality of American life" a president can feel at the White House. "Like other presidents, before and after me, I felt the need to get out of the White House and out of Washington in order to keep some sense of perception."
Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
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President Gerald Ford skiing in Vail, Colorado, in December 1974. When he finished a run, Ford chatted easily with reporters and bystanders. A half dozen Secret Service agents, all chosen for their skiing skills, stood by. When an onlooker told him everyone was proud to have him in Vail, the president grinned. "You make me justice of the peace and I'll quit" -- and he meant the presidency! — Caption from "Away from the White House"
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
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President Jimmy Carter and his family take a rafting trip down the Salmon River in Idaho in August, 1978. When Carter discovered that his visits made his tiny hometown of Plains, Georgia, a target for disruptive protests, he took most of his vacations elsewhere.
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum
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President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan ride horses on the grounds of their retreat, Rancho Del Cielo in November, 1981. "Living in the White House," said Reagan, gave him "a bird-in-a-gilded-cage feeling." He flew away to his California ranch as often as he could.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library
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The walls in President George H.W. Bush's private office at Walker's Point in Maine, seen here in 2004, are a testimony to his love of fishing. Bush commented once, after having a fish hook removed from his ear while fishing in off Kennebunkport, Maine, "If that had been in the eyeball, I guess we would have gone in, but it wasn't, and I didn't. After all, it was a perfect day for bluefish." — Caption from "Away from the White House"
White House Historical Association
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President William Clinton and family at the Grand Tetons National Park in August, 1995. In the remote regions of Yellowstone to witness the controversial release of wolves into the wild, a thunderstorm pelted Clinton with hail the size of hard peas prompting a park ranger to say, "Hail to the chief."
William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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President George W. Bush cleared cedar branches during a month-long vacation at his 1,600-acre ranch near Crawford, Texas, in August, 2002. "The amazing thing about this job is, the job seems to follow you around."
George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
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President Barack Obama looks down the fairway while golfing at Vineyard Golf Club near Lobsterville Beach during his vacation on Martha's Vineyard, August 27, 2009.
Official White House Photo

About this Gallery

Presidents have found different ways to escape the pressures and politics of the position. For early leaders, it was a matter of course they would leave the White House for the summer to tend to a personal businesses or farms. The modern-day presidency is a year-round job. So while the work often follows, the countryside of Virginia or seaside of Maine can provide a better backdrop for writing speeches or drafting policy — and spending quality time with family and friends.