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Know before you go: Flush restrooms, sinks, and drinking fountains at Eagle Island State Park are not currently available. Portable restrooms and handwash stations are available. Visitors: Please bring your own drinking water. This information will be updated and is current as of April 19, 2025.
Construction Update:
The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation will close the entrance from Linder/Hatchery Road at Eagle Island State Park on Tuesday, April 1, returning park operations to the original configuration utilizing the main entrance from State Street.
The Linder/Hatchery Road access point was opened to support construction activities and ease traffic during the campground expansion project. At this phase of the project, the Park will resume using its primary entrance on State Street. Visitors will need to use the State Street entrance going forward and the Linder/Hatchery Road entrance may be opened for events or other Park needs in the future.
Please be aware that construction is still on-going and we ask that all visitors be careful and follow the signage and the speed limit.
The shop road/horse trailer access road is currently closed but will reopen when it is safe to do so. We ask that horse trailers please use our overflow gravel parking lot for the time being!
The park’s water slide will remain closed and is scheduled to be removed in 2025. Originally constructed in 1983, it has been idle since 2023 due to equipment failures, which now make it unsafe to operate. Fixing the equipment will cost too much to be feasible, given the age of the structure.
Park management is evaluating alternative uses for the space once the waterslide is removed.
Historic Building Renovations:
The park will also be working on historic building renovations. Please be mindful of workers in the area.
Eagle Island State Park in mid-2022 enacted a new policy regarding dogs off-leash and has designated an area and trails that are open to off-leash dogs that are under the demonstrated control of their owners. Click here for details.
Eagle Island State Park was first purchased by the State in 1929. Prior to that, it was used for agricultural purposes, primarily as grazing land for cattle and hogs. Other agricultural crops have included grain, hay and various vegetable crops. The site was operated as a penitentiary farm until 1977. In 1983, the State developed the site as a park to include a water slide, picnic areas, restrooms, concessions, swimming areas and trails.
Today, the 545-acre park is still predominantly rural in character. Located in the southwest corner of Idaho, it is bordered on the north and south by the Boise River with agricultural land to the east and west. Urban and suburban uses have also developed around the park in recent years with residential neighborhoods north and south across the two channels of the Boise River. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game operates a fish hatchery to the southwest of Eagle Island State Park.
The park is heavily used in the summers by visitors swimming in the lake and using the water slide, picnicking, playing disc golf, walking on the many trails, and engaging in other types of passive, informal recreation. There are also a number of scheduled events at the park, drawing large numbers of visitors to the site. Many groups use the east shelter for weddings, receptions, birthdays and other family events. The rest of the year, the park is currently used for fishing, hiking, and horseback riding.
History Timeline
1929 – State Board of Prisons purchases Eagle Island property for use as a prison honor farm.
1930 – Eagle Island Prison Farm begins operations with 40 trustees. Dairy barns and milking parlor built. Original bunkhouse and dining hall/kitchen is completed.
1949 – Dormitory built by prison labor.
1965 – Idaho State Legislature enacted enabling legislation creating the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR). Slaughter house is built at Eagle Island Prison Farm.
1977 – Idaho Department of Corrections discontinues operation of Eagle Island Honor Farm and turns over the property to the Idaho Department of Lands. Idaho Department of Lands Board votes to set aside Eagle Island property for development as a State Park.
1980 – IDPR Board approves Eagle Island State Park General Development Plan and hires first manager.
June 25, 1983 – Eagle Island State Park is dedicated. Approximately 26 acres developed with waterslide, picnic areas, restrooms, concession building and swimming area.
Current Conditions
Address: 165 S Eagle Island Pkwy
Eagle, ID 83616
Phone: (208) 939-0696
Hours of Operation: Sunrise to sunset
