Winter 2022:
- Farragut is open all year round but in the winter some roads are not available for vehicle traffic.
- Winter dry camping is available on a first come first served basis in our Thimbleberry campground (no water/no electricity/vault toilet). Winter Access to Thimbleberry is off Hwy 54 about a mile from the Visitor Center.
- South Rd is closed for the season.
- Please park in the Visitor Center parking lot or across Hwy 54 at the North Rd parking lot. Winter trails are groomed when snow is available and winter trail maps are available inside the Visitor Center. Fat tire bike trails are on the North side and Classic track cross country is on the South side.
- Visitor Center hours are 9 AM to 4 PM every day.
- All trails are open but the majority of trails are not groomed.
- No pets are allowed on groomed trails.
- The Road to the viewpoint and the Eagle Boat launch is not maintained in the winter so access is at your own risk and four wheel drive is required when snow is present.
- No motorized snow machines are allowed at Farragut.
Farragut State Park was the former site of Farragut Naval Training Station, a major training base of the U.S. Navy during World War II. The base was named after David Farragut, the first admiral in the U.S. Navy, the leading naval officer during the Civil War.
Ground was broken in March 1942, and by September the base had a population of 55,000, making it the largest city in Idaho. Liberty trains to Spokane ran three times daily. At the time Farragut was the second-largest naval training center in the world.
During the 30 months the base was open, 293,381 sailors received basic training at Farragut. The last recruit graduated in March 1945 and the facility was decommissioned in June 1946.
It was also used as a prisoner of war camp; nearly 900 Germans worked as gardeners and maintenance men. In 1942, Lt. Commander Henry T. McMaster, supervisor of support services at the station, contracted photographer Ross Hall to produce group and portrait photos of all recruits and companies. Operator of a studio in nearby Sandpoint, Hall employed up to 15 workers in creating a photographic archive of more than 300,000 images.
From 1946-49 it was the site of the Farragut College and Technical Institute, which did not re-open in late 1949 due to financial difficulties. The park adjoins the deepwater Lake Pend Oreille, where the Navy maintains a submarine research center at Bayview, the Acoustic Research Detachment. The land was transferred to the state of Idaho in 1949 and became a state park in 1965.
Tour the The Museum at the Brig during your Farragut State Park visit.
Current Conditions
Address: 13550 E. Hwy 54
Athol, ID 83801
Phone: (208) 683-2425
Hours of Operation: Day-use locations within state parks are open from 7 am to 10 pm, per Idaho state code 26.01.20 (5). Day-use hours may change based on park manager discretion.
