Farragut State Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Farragut State Park |
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IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
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Lake Pend Oreille from Farragut State Park
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 Farragut State Park
Location in the United States
Farragut State Park
Location in Idaho
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| Location | Kootenai County, Idaho, United States |
| Nearest city | Athol, Idaho |
| Area | 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) |
| Elevation | 2,054 ft (626 m) |
| Designation | Idaho state park |
| Established | 1966 |
| Administrator | Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation |
| Website | Farragut State Park |
Farragut State Park is a super fun public park in the northwest United States. It's located in northern Idaho, right at the southern end of Lake Pend Oreille. This huge park covers about 4,000 acres, which is like having 3,000 football fields!
You can find Farragut State Park about 5 miles east of Athol, Idaho in Kootenai County, Idaho. It's also about 30 miles northeast of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. People love coming here for all sorts of outdoor adventures, including camping, picnicking, hiking, and mountain biking. You can also go cycling, fishing, boating, swimming, and enjoy other water sports. Plus, there's orienteering, disc golf, model airplane flying, archery, and even horseback riding!
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Did you know that Farragut State Park used to be a very important place during World War II? It was once a huge training base for the United States Navy, called the Farragut Naval Training Station.
From 1942 to 1945, over 293,000 sailors came here to get their basic training. That's a lot of people learning to be sailors! The base was very busy for about 30 months. The last group of new recruits finished their training in March 1945. The Navy officially closed the base in June 1946, after the war ended.
A College for a Few Years
After the Navy base closed, the area became a college. From 1946 to 1949, it was home to the Farragut College and Technical Institute. The college had many sports facilities because of the old Navy base.
However, the college closed down in 1949. This happened because fewer students were enrolling, and the college had money problems.
Becoming a State Park
In 1950, the U.S. government gave about 3,854 acres of the old Navy training center land to Idaho's Idaho Department of Fish and Game. This land became the Farragut Wildlife Management Area, a place for animals.
Later, in 1964, the fish and game department gave some of that land back to the government. Then, in 1966, the state of Idaho officially made this land into Farragut State Park. This was done by a special law from the Idaho Legislature.
A Special Place for Scouting Events
Farragut State Park is also famous for hosting many big Scouting events. It has been a very important location for both Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of the USA.
- In 1965, the park hosted the Girl Scout Senior Roundup.
- In 1967, it was the site of the 12th World Scout Jamboree. This was the only time the World Scout Jamboree was held in the United States until 2019!
- The park also hosted the National Scout Jamboree twice, in 1969 and 1973.
- In 2002, it hosted the Star Northwest event for the Boy Scouts.
During the 1969 National Scout Jamboree, something very cool happened. On July 18, 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong sent a special greeting to the Scouts from space! He was on his way to the moon aboard Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong was an Eagle Scout himself. Other famous people like Frank Borman, commander of Apollo 8, and Olave Baden-Powell, the wife of Scouting's founder, also spoke to the Scouts.
At the 1973 Jamboree, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt and astronaut Gene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17, also spoke to the Scouts.
Wildlife in the Park
Farragut State Park is home to many different animals. If you visit, you might see white-tailed deer, moose, and elk. There are also mountain goats, cougars, and black bears. In the water, you can find fish like bass and trout.
Things to Do and See
Farragut State Park offers many fun activities for everyone. You can enjoy traditional outdoor fun like picnicking, boating, swimming, hiking, and camping.
But there are also unique things to do! You can play disc golf, fly model airplanes at a special field, and visit the Naval Training Center. There's also a museum called the Museum at the Brig. This museum is located in the old jail building from the naval training station. It has displays about boot camp, Navy history, and war items. You can even see historic prison cells!
