People curious about camping but lacking equipment can give it a test run through the First Time Adventure program at Winchester Lake State Park.
The park loans out gear packages that include a tent and tarp, a camp stove and propane, four sleeping bags, chairs, roasting sticks and a lantern. It also lets campers use a stand-up paddle board, fishing gear and canoe.
Assistant Park Manager Steven Kuskie said the equipment allows inexperienced people to get a taste of outdoor recreation without first having to make a big investment.
"We are trying to offer the camping gear as well as the activities so it's an experience-based program," he said. "If they are not savvy in what they are doing, we will show them the basics."
The gear as well as funding was donated to several state parks by equipment company The North Face and outdoor retailer Cabela's, and marks one of the first ways in which the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation is taking advantage of legislative approval to partner with corporations.
"This is what it looks like; this is corporate sponsorship in the park," he said.
The agency, at the request of Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, is trying to ween itself off of taxpayer support and become self-sufficient. In 2015, a bill allowing parks to partner with corporate sponsors made its way through the Legislature, and a year later legislators approved rules governing the practice. The idea is to allow the partners that provide funding or other donations to attach their names to programs, but not to parks themselves.
"We are not putting names on buildings and parks, we are not selling the farm," said Evelyn Mason, fundraising coordinator for the department at Boise. "We are putting their names on programs and thanking them through social media and the website and in creative ways using marketing."
In addition to Cabela's and The North Face, the department partnered with Airstream Adventures Northwest, which produced a 40-foot camp trailer featuring the logo of each of Idaho's state parks. The trailer then traveled the state and visited each park.
Kuskie said the First Time Adventures partnership hopes to attract new people to camping. In theory, those who like it will become regular visitors to parks and perhaps become customers of the corporate sponsors. People interested in borrowing some of the camping gear or one of two complete packages at Winchester can make arrangements to do so by calling (208) 924-7563. Advanced notice is required to make sure the gear is available and there is space at the park.
"I want people to use it. I want North Face and Cabela's to say that was a great use of our money, let's keep going," he said.
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Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.
