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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Paradise Found Farragut Draws Record Number Of Enthusiasts

All that cold white powder is turning up the heat on outdoor recreation.

Farragut State Park is winding down a record winter for attendance, and officials are confident the appeal will carry through the year.

Because of heavy snowfall luring cross-country skiers and snowmobilers, Ranger Lonnie Johnson said winter use has exploded - “double, triple” what it was a year ago.

“This is the first year we’ve groomed in three years,” Johnson said.

Since January, the park has sold 500 year-long attendance passes, far more than usual. And most group camp spaces have been reserved through August.

The park has also had success with some of its special winter events. A free cross-country skiing day in January drew 400 people.

Why the rush for passes and summer camp spaces? Johnson said people have finally discovered Farragut. It’s also likely that as Kootenai County grows, more people will make the 30-minute drive north to the park.

“It’s fun and overwhelming,” Johnson said, adding that rangers usually get something of a break come cold weather.

There was no break Sunday. Although few showed up for some scheduled ski games, the park was busy with folks doing their own thing.

Snowmobiles buzzed in the distance. Skiers swished all about the park. Mountain bikers combed anything paved.

Spokane Valley resident Jim Huttenmaier reserved camping spaces for a Boy Scout troop. Valerie Duffy of Boise went skiing.

“I took my daughter cross-country skiing for the first time,” Duffy said. She picked Farragut because North Idaho natives told her “this is the place.”

She agreed. “I’ve skied in Wisconsin and Iowa, and there’s no comparison. This is beautiful.”

Early in the day, fog hung low on the park like a cottony blanket, dark treetops peeking through. In the afternoon, the fog burned away and was replaced by the yellow glare of sunshine on ice crystals.

Success has its drawbacks, though. Last summer, the park had to install camping pads - gravel areas marked off for tent staking - at its Whitetail campground. So many people were camping there, it was being worn out. Shrubs and other foliage were dying.

“It turned into an open bowl,” Johnson said. “It was getting tramped down.”

When the thaw comes, park officials also have another challenge: clearing out about 1,000 trees knocked down during the November ice storm.

It should keep rangers busy.

“This spring is going to be unbelievable,” Johnson said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo