June 2007

Idaho's Gem of a Park

Idaho is known as the Gem State, with the star garnet, found only in Idaho, ranking as the state’s official gem. But we recently found another gem in Idaho: Farragut State Park, a 4,000-acre treasure surrounded on three sides by the state’s largest lake, Lake Pend Oreille.

Farragut State Park is 30 miles north of Coeur d’Alene and 28 miles south of Sandpoint. It is an ideal destination for RVers, offering 184 individual campsites, 160 of which have hookups. It also has six equestrian sites, camping cabins, and four group sites. The park is open all year.

Idaho is one of America’s most rural states with 40 percent of the state covered with trees. The state boasts more than 2,000 lakes and 16,000 miles of streams. What does all this suggest? An outdoor paradise for camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, boating, whitewater rafting, mountain climbing, trail riding and wildlife watching. And most of these activities are available at Farragut.

The park has horseback riding and llama trails, bicycle and mountain bike trails, swimming, fishing, volleyball, and a shooting range on the isolated western side of the park. Winter activities include cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. The challenging Wreckreator Disc Golf Course has two 18-basket courses and one nine-basket course. Model airplane hobbyists will find a large open field dedicated to their sport near the park entrance.

Maps to Farragut’s extensive trail system can be purchased at the park’s visitor center, which also has interactive displays and other literature.

Eagle Boat Launch offers launch ramps and convenient docks to tie up boats on Lake Pend Oreille, which is a prime fishing lake. A world-record 37-pound Kamloops trout was caught in Lake Pend Oreille.

An amphitheater and spacious group facilities make Farragut an ideal location for gatherings by large groups. Over the years, the park has hosted tens of thousands of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts on regional outings and campouts.

We found the campsites spacious, giving us our choice of sunny or shady places to sit and relax. Within the park, towering ponderosa, lodgepole and white pines dominate, with some Douglas and grand fir, poplar, and western larch giving the forest a delightful variety.

Modern restrooms with hot showers are conveniently placed throughout the campground. Both a trailer dump station and boat sewage pump are available.

Farragut State Park was once home to the world’s second largest naval training base. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Farragut Naval Training Station was constructed on 4,000 acres in 11 months by 22,000 civilian workers. The station cost nearly $160 million and was in use by the Navy from 1941 to 1946. The facility was named after the U.S. Navy’s first admiral, David Glasgow Farragut, who fought in the decisive Civil War battle of Mobile Bay, Alabama.

One of the few early structures still standing is the brig, which served as a confinement facility for unruly naval recruits. The concrete block building now houses a museum of naval and war memorabilia dedicated to the more than 290,000 naval recruits who received their basic training here. The museum offers a fascinating glimpse of life in a boot camp that included intensive classes in seamanship and warfare, along with field-training sessions. The clear, deep lake with depths of 1,200 feet was used for submarine testing.

As a camping destination, Farragut State Park is hard to beat for diversity and beauty. Although we arrived in July without reservations, it might be a good idea to have them, especially if your have a large rig. For general information, visit www.idahoparks.org/parks/farragut.aspx or call (208) 334-4199. For reservations, visit www.parksandrecreation.idaho.gov or call (866) 634-3246.

Mary E. Trimble is a writer who lives in Camano Island, Washington.