Summit Grove Camp & Conference Center exists to glorify God by mentoring, encouraging and equipping God’s people through our ministry programs. Summit Grove Camp is a ministry that, for over 100 years, has sought to glorify God through Christian camping. After your visit to one of our camping programs it is our desire that you leave Summit Grove Camp refreshed and changed…all for His glory!

During the summer, Summit Grove Camp hosts a full summer of opportunities for children, teenagers and families wanting to have a fantastic summer camp experience!

During the winter our conference center offers a place where people can relax, grow in their faith, and strengthen meaningful relationships by providing a place of relaxation and spiritual renewal.

The history of Summit Grove may be traced through a succession of camp meetings. These originated with a handful of Methodists who held their first meeting in a barn, owned by a Mr. Lowe, in the year 1816. A short time after this barn meeting - possibly the next year - the first Camp Meeting was held in Mr. Lowe's woods under the auspices of what was then known as the Eastern Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The camp continued to be held in Mr. Lowes' woods until the beginning of the Civil War.

At the close of the war in 1865, it was re-established in a new location known as Raymond's woods. This is the site of the present camp, where it continued for three years. At that time, all of the 500 to 600 tents were canvas. They were erected along ‘avenues’ which bore the names of the various Circuits of Districts from which the ‘tenters’ came. The avenues all focused toward the center like the spokes of a wheel, where the Tabernacle now stands. In addition to the 500 or 600 tents occupied, there were hundreds of families who came in large canopied farm wagons and lived in them until the close of the camp.

In 1868, the location was changed to Freeland. Maryland, where it continued until 1872. The present site was purchased, and the Summit Grove Camp Meeting Association was organized.

In 1872, the camp's name was officially changed to Summit Grove. For more than 60 years the Summit Grove Camp Meeting Association provided the facilities of Summit Grove Camp for use by the Methodist Conference of Baltimore. Many of the outstanding preachers of that day spoke from the platform of the Tabernacle. The cottages were still fully occupied, until the 50th anniversary held in 1922. After 1922, the attendance began to drop off. By 1935 Summit Grove was only a shadow of what it had been. The buildings were in disrepair and many of them were unoccupied.