Ponderosa State Park
Subnational Park · McCall, Idaho
Fifteen hundred acres occupying almost the whole of a peninsula that runs out into Payette Lake on the north-east edge of McCall, at five thousand feet. The park is essentially an old-growth ponderosa forest with a lake on three sides of it, and the trees are the point - big orange-barked pines that smell of vanilla in the sun, with a road and a trail network laid out through them. A second unit, North Beach, sits six miles further up the lake where the Payette River comes in.
1920 Davis Avenue, McCall, Idaho, 83638, United States
Open year round with an Idaho state park vehicle entry fee covering both this unit and North Beach; the state annual passport is accepted. ⚠ THE CAMPGROUND IS AMONG THE HARDEST TO BOOK IN IDAHO - reserved through the Idaho state park reservation service, with summer weekends typically gone months ahead. ⚠ WINTER IS A REAL SECOND SEASON: the trails are groomed for nordic skiing and snowshoeing and a Park N' Ski or equivalent permit arrangement may apply - check current rules at the entrance station. The North Beach unit is six miles further up the lake and has the best swimming water. Dogs on a lead throughout except the designated swimming beaches in season, and restricted on groomed nordic trails in winter.
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