A warm breeze ruffles the meadow grass and carries the scent of cedar and pine, of fresh mountain earth, and wild flowers. The industrious humming of insects mingles with the songs and calls of countless avian sentinels. A horse nickers from a nearby corral. The mountains are close here, and seem taller from the canyon floor. It’s both difficult and wonderful to imagine the 1.5 million acres of US Forest Service land that lies ready to be explored just beyond the boundary of the 35-acre plot that is Shoshone Creek Ranch.
Originally established under a Forest Service Special Use Permit in 1998 as a Christian based youth camp, Shoshone Creek Ranch was able to expand and purchase the 35 acres from the U.S. Government in 2009. In 1980, a man by the name of Frank McPherson passed away, leaving his old homestead empty and abandoned. In 2005, seeing a need for a structure large enough to be used as a gathering hall, McPherson’s Cabin was donated, disassembled, moved, and reassembled McPherson’s cabin to serve that purpose—a cabin he’d built by hand in the early 20’s and 30’s with the help of a team of horses to lift the logs into place. There is now a log barn on site that also once stood at the McPherson homestead.
At Shoshone Creek Ranch, they’re about offering opportunities, opportunities to learn and grow intellectually and spiritually. Opportunities to serve in the community or simply to enjoy the beauty and outdoor recreation that is North Idaho. They offer several weekend programs, including a family weekend package that includes campfire songs, skits, and s’mores, family style meals, outdoor rec. activities—river tubing, horseback riding, rock climbing, zip line, etc.—and in your free-time, just tell them what you want to do and they’ll show you where to go, and how to do it. Free time options also include two National Scenic Trails near the ranch, plus the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s, and the river road for bike enthusiasts. The ranch holds an active Outfitter’s Guides Permit, so really, the options are endless.
You don’t have to sign up for a weekend program to take advantage of the fantastic opportunities Shoshone Creek Ranch has to offer. And you don’t have to sleep in a tent; RV’s are welcome. They’re open May to October, and in their off- season it’s a great place to park for snowmobiling. The area boasts 500 miles of groomed trails and plowed roads.
When it comes to youth camps and service, Shoshone Creek Ranch takes their work seriously. Each summer the ranch has 500 – 600 youth participate in their programs, who’ve put in an unbelievable 35,000 community service hours already. One such project included building an addition to a home for a local man who’s wife was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. They needed a bedroom to be built on the ground level, and had no way to make it happen. Thanks to Shoshone Creek Ranch and their dedicated campers, this couple was able to get the help they needed. Lives were blessed.
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Hearts were touched. People, young and old, were changed.
When asked what Shoshone Creek Ranch is all about, Bob Baker of Lutherhaven/Shoshone Creek Ranch explains; they are about getting young people outside, and getting them together to build relationships with other young people. They’re about giving them opportunities to serve, to learn, and to lead. “To build meaningful relationships with significant adults,” he says. “That’s why we encourage parents and grandparents to participate.”
There’s much more to learn here—how the ranch came to be, the history of Frank McPherson, many more stories of people whose lives have been bless by gracious acts of service—but there’s no better place to hear these tales than around a campfire at Shoshone Creek Ranch with family and friends close by, and a marshmallow roasting on the end of a stick.
By Toby Reynolds
As Featured In: Summer/Fall 2014
