Garfield Bay

Amenities

• Amenities: Boat ramp, dock, restrooms, benches and covered picnic area, swimming area, BBQ, grassy lawn.

• No camping on the beach, but a large campsite starts across the road (requires fee).

History

James McNicholas formed the Midas Galena Mineral Company in 1908, and proceeded to con investors and locals over the next couple of years. He convinced several wealthy eastern investors to buy stock in gold mining, apparently naming the new community Midas, after King Midas and his golden touch. However, the golden touch proved to be a curse for McNicholas as well, and despite his attempt to vanish with the money, the law caught up with him. An early settler, Charles Flaty, who was a homesteader and conductor for the Northern Pacific Railroad, renamed the town to Garfield after President James Garfield. 

The bay always attracted recreationalists, and a two-story hotel was completed here in 1908. About 80 people took steamboats from Sandpoint and Hope in July 1908 to celebrate the completion of the hotel, where guests were treated to champagne punch and trays of various delicacies. 

Due to its recreational popularity, a public boat launch and campground were developed by the Idaho Fish & Game and the U.S. Forest Service, and by 1960, the land was known as Garfield Park.