Payette National Forest
National Forest · McCall, Idaho
Two and a third million acres of west-central Idaho, created in 1944 and run from McCall on the shore of Payette Lake. It carries the largest single share of the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, a piece of the Hells Canyon Wilderness on the Oregon line, and the Seven Devils Mountains standing above the deepest river gorge in North America. Most of it sits on the Idaho Batholith, the largest body of granite in the United States, which is why the lakes are clear and the rock is pale.
500 North Mission Street, McCall, Idaho, 83638, United States
Open year round with no entrance station and no fee. ⚠ THE SEASON IS THE REAL GATE: the Heaven's Gate road and the Seven Devils trailheads often do not open until July and close again with the first heavy snow, and high roads across the forest are unploughed from November. THE SUPERVISOR'S OFFICE AT McCALL keeps limited days - typically Wednesday to Friday, part-days - so do not plan a map or permit stop around it without ringing first; district offices at Council, New Meadows, Weiser and the Krassel district keep their own. Free self-issue wilderness registration is at the trailhead boards. ⚠ MAIN SALMON RIVER LAUNCHES ARE PERMITTED BY ADVANCE LOTTERY on recreation.gov in the control season. Campgrounds are a mix of first-come and reservable and the McCall-area sites fill for July and August. Fire restrictions are normal from July.
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