By Kjel Jones — independent custom-home researcher for St. Anthony and the Fremont County valley floor. Not a builder and not a general contractor. Licensed Idaho real estate agent, LPT Realty.

Published 2026-10-03

Fifteen parks, one river town: St. Anthony’s park inventory, dated and counted

Fifteen parks, counted

The recreation chapter of the comprehensive plan opens with a number most towns this size cannot match: “St. Anthony has 15 parks and designated trails distributed among its neighborhoods which provide many different recreational opportunities for its citizens.” The chapter’s inventory, with the plan’s approximate areas:

• Clyde Keefer Memorial Park — ~2 acres (community)
• Westside Ball Park — ~9 acres (community)
• Boyd Yancey (Horsey) Park — 1.7 acres (neighborhood)
• Harry Worrell Park — ~1 acre (community)
• Jaycees Park — ~1 acre (neighborhood)
• Skater’s Haven Skate Park — ~1 acre (community)
• Cedar View Estates Park — ~1 acre (neighborhood)
• Rotary Park — ~1 acre (memorial)
• American Legion / Daughters of Utah Pioneers Park — ~0.5 acres (memorial)
• St. Anthony South Park — ~0.5 acres (neighborhood)
• Ralph Litton Park — 0.5 acres (neighborhood)
• St. Anthony Sand Bar — 0.33 acres (community)
• Veterans Memorial Park — ~0.2 acres (memorial)
• Boys Town Park — ~0.2 acres (community)
• Henry’s Fork Greenway, north and south sides — the trail pair that threads them together

Each falls into one of four types the plan describes: neighborhood parks (playground equipment, a multipurpose slab, grass, benches), community parks with facilities of community-wide purpose, greenway trails for connectivity and nature, and small memorial parks that commemorate historic events or groups.

The oldest ground: steps cut around 1910

The oldest park layer in town is the volcanic-rock point where the Henry’s Fork bends. Veterans Memorial Park, inside Clyde Keefer Park, “juts out into the river atop the outcropping of volcanic rock,” with an illuminated flag flying around the clock and a Dough Boy statue in the park since after World War I. Its steps carry the chapter’s earliest date:

• “Steps cut out into the rock when the park was established around 1910 lead down toward the river.”
• “In 1987 it was established as a separate park.”

Around it sits Clyde Keefer Memorial Park — an island in the center of town formed by the Henry’s Fork and the St. Anthony Canal, once known as Riverside Park and named for a former mayor. You reach the main island by a wooden foot bridge over the canal and a wooden vehicle bridge over the river; a set of historic steps leads from Bridge Street down to the lawn. A new picnic shelter with electrical outlets was built in 2006, “which is used during the annual Free Fisherman’s Breakfast.”

Rebuilt after the flood of 1976

The biggest park carries the town’s hardest memory. Westside Ball Park occupies the site of the Fremont County Fairgrounds in the early days of St. Anthony:

“The park was rebuilt after 1976 with Teton Dam Recovery Organization funds to include three small size baseball diamonds and one women’s softball field with lights. The concession stand in the middle was rebuilt in 2006 and added a sound system in 2007.”

— City of St. Anthony Comprehensive Plan, ch. 10, Recreation and Parks (2023). Retrieved 28 September 2026

The Teton Dam failure is the flood behind the hazards chapter; here it is the reason the ballfields exist. Today the park adds two youth soccer fields and a picnic area, the UVYA has put in new backstops, fencing, and improved dugouts, and the City has acquired land to the north for two new ball fields with backstops and bleachers, a new diamond, and an open playing field. The fields are used nearly every night during the summer.

The 1980s, the 2000s, the 2010s

The rest of the inventory reads like a dated chronicle of civic patience:

• 1980s: Harry Worrell Park “built in the 1980s with grants,” named for a former city councilman, part of the property donated by Union Pacific Railroad — lighted tennis court, a newly installed toddler park, shelter with tables.
• August 2003: the City received an Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation grant … to build the asphalt trail for the southern greenbelt along the river on BLM ground.
• 2005: the skate park was finished, “built with grants including one from the CHC Foundation,” the independent philanthropic foundation in Idaho Falls — and it is planned for relocation to a property on 4th North, with a splash pad in the plans.
• 2006–2007: Clyde Keefer’s shelter (2006); Westside’s concession stand rebuilt (2006) and sound system added (2007); new trees planted on South Park’s east side in 2007.
• September 2011: a statue of a mountain man trapper was added along the southern greenbelt trail — dubbed “Henry Two Feathers” by students at Henry’s Fork Elementary School, spearheaded by Deon Davenport and the Fort Henry Buckskinners with the Rotary Club and the City.

Water, woods, and two miles of river trail

Two parks exist because of the river itself. The Sand Bar is the town’s swim hole — a sandy beach with a diving board, a water slide, playground equipment, and a shower to rinse off sand, drawing people from the surrounding area on hot days. Boys Town is its opposite: a wooded park on the north bank donated with an agreement that it be maintained as a naturalized area, where moose, deer, waterfowl, and beaver might be seen.

The Henry’s Fork Greenway comes in two halves: a paved north nature trail from a trailhead at Riverview Cemetery nearly two miles along the river, and the asphalt south-side trail from the 2003 grant — used by walkers, joggers, dog owners, and bicyclists, and in winter, once snow depth allows, for cross-country skiing or snowshoeing.

Enough park? The NRPA arithmetic

The chapter benchmarks itself against the field manual of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA): its 2016 Field Manual “indicates that on average, parks and recreation agencies in smaller jurisdictions (with less than 20,000 residents) provide one park per 1,335 residents” — which would average to less than three parks for St. Anthony’s population. The plan judges park count a poor measure for a town of many small parks and turns to area instead: the NRPA average of 9.5 acres of park land per 1,000 residents “would suggest an area of around 34 acres for a population of 3,600.” The city’s own rough estimate stands at “well over 18 acres”, not counting the generous land around the greenbelts.

What is missing has names: a dog-friendly park is identified as a need by the committee and community members — dogs are restricted from existing parks and “a suitable site has yet to be identified” — and a survey by BYU-Idaho interns found visitors from the nearby sand dunes want a swimming pool. Permanent restrooms have given way to seasonal portable units after damage and vandalism, and the plan wants ADA accessibility and bike racks at all parks.

The committee and the Master Plan

Keeping all fifteen running is the St. Anthony Parks & Recreation Committee, which “monitors the upkeep of the parks and is working again to develop a Parks and Recreation Master Plan” — meant to cover maintenance, future needs, and a year-round recreation program. The same committee provides input on the City’s urban forest and has participated in the annual Arbor Day events. Its to-do list includes controlling erosion in Clyde Keefer and Pioneer Parks, replacing outdated playground equipment against Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines, and building an integrated plan for Cedar View Estates Park, the newer subdivision park with limited equipment today.

Before you pick a lot by its park

1. Find the park on the plan’s parks map and walk it at the hour you would use it — the chapter’s feature table records what each has, from drinking water to sledding hills.
2. A lot beside a neighborhood park buys daily-use value; a lot beside Westside buys nearly-nightly summer activity. Decide which of those is an amenity for you.
3. Watch the relocation news on the skate park and the 4th North splash-pad plans — park geography in this town has moved before.
4. If you are platting, the land-use chapter’s policy to set aside adequate land for future parks is the reason a park question can arrive in your review.
5. Then weigh the park against the rest of the lot’s facts — streets, services, hazards: (208) 656-1745.

Parks are the reason many lots feel the way they do: the grid keeps them within a few blocks, the census sets how many neighbors share them, the Open Space designation protects the corridors between them, and the sidewalk duty decides whether the walk to them starts at your property line.

Common questions

How many parks does St. Anthony have?

The comprehensive plan states St. Anthony has 15 parks and designated trails distributed among its neighborhoods. The inventory runs from Westside Ball Park at roughly 9 acres down to Veterans Memorial Park and Boys Town Park at about 0.2 acres each, plus both sides of the Henry's Fork Greenway.

What is the biggest park in St. Anthony?

Westside Ball Park, at approximately 9 acres. It sits on the site of the Fremont County Fairgrounds from the town's early days and was rebuilt after 1976 with Teton Dam Recovery Organization funds. It now includes baseball diamonds, a women's softball field with lights, soccer fields, and newly expanded fields to the north.

What is the oldest park in St. Anthony?

The ground now called Veterans Memorial Park. Its steps were cut out into the volcanic rock when the park was established around 1910, and in 1987 it was established as a separate park inside Clyde Keefer Park. Its Dough Boy statue has been in the park since after World War I.

What is Horsey Park in St. Anthony?

Boyd Yancey Memorial, commonly called Horsey Park because of the horse-shaped swings that used to be a feature. It takes up a full city block - 1.7 acres - with a picnic shelter, a cement slab for skating and basketball, playground equipment, plenty of shade, and family reunions every summer.

Was Westside Ball Park rebuilt after the Teton Dam flood?

Yes. The park was rebuilt after 1976 with Teton Dam Recovery Organization funds to include three small-size baseball diamonds and one women's softball field with lights. The concession stand in the middle was rebuilt in 2006 and added a sound system in 2007.

When was the St. Anthony skate park built?

The skate park was finished in 2005, built with grants including one from the CHC Foundation, a philanthropic foundation in Idaho Falls. Due to expansion of the adjacent St. Anthony Work Camp, it is planned to be relocated to a property on 4th North, with a splash pad among the planned features.

Can you swim in the Henry's Fork at St. Anthony parks?

The plan says people traditionally fish and swim from the banks at Clyde Keefer Park, but swimming is encouraged at the nearby Sand Bar park because the river currents are fast and unpredictable year round. The Sand Bar has a sandy beach, diving board, water slide, and a shower to rinse off sand.

How long is the Henry's Fork Greenway trail?

The north trail is a paved nature path from a trailhead at Riverview Cemetery that follows the river along the east side of the city's sewage treatment plant for a distance of nearly two miles. The southern greenbelt trail was built with an Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation grant received in August 2003.

What is the Henry Two Feathers statue?

In September 2011, a statue of a mountain man trapper was added along the southern greenbelt trail south of the Henry's Fork River. Students at Henry's Fork Elementary School dubbed it Henry Two Feathers. The project was spearheaded by Deon Davenport and the Fort Henry Buckskinners with the Rotary Club and the City.

Does St. Anthony have enough park land compared to other towns?

By NRPA's 2016 Field Manual, smaller jurisdictions average one park per 1,335 residents and 9.5 acres of park land per 1,000 residents - suggesting around 34 acres for a population of 3,600. St. Anthony's rough estimate is well over 18 acres, not including land around the greenbelts, so the plan judges the count high but the acreage below the benchmark.

Is St. Anthony planning a dog park or swimming pool?

A dog-friendly park has been discussed and identified as a need by the Parks and Recreation Committee and community members, since dogs are restricted from existing public parks, but a suitable site has yet to be identified. A survey by BYU-Idaho interns indicated visitors from the nearby sand dunes desire a swimming pool.