Sparkling Ponderosa Park
MCCALL, Idaho – Close your eyes and imagine a perfectly blue alpine lake, ringed with rolling pine forest and dotted with quaint cabins and vacation homes.
Out on the water, gleaming white sailboats jostle at the starting line for a friendly, late-morning race. Pontoon boats bob over gentle waves as race spectators grandly sip Bloody Marys and nosh on sweet rolls and eggs.
This is the life of the Lake People at Ponderosa State Park. And you can be one, too, even if you’re not a zillionaire.
Ponderosa Park is located on Payette Lake. While private lakeshore property gets more expensive every year, Idaho’s most popular state park keeps the woods and the water accessible to just about everyone; staying the night at one of the park’s 222 campsites costs just $22.
Besides the obvious water attractions and amenities, including boat ramps, docks and beaches, park visitors have access to about 1,000 acres of prime forest land filled with songbirds, deer and other wildlife.
Cort Conley’s staple Idaho guidebook, “Idaho for the Curious,” rates McCall as the third most popular destination in the state, behind Sun Valley and Coeur d’Alene. But that doesn’t mean McCall is third-rate. Far from it.
The trees for which the park is named, ponderosa pines, tower up to 150 feet overhead, providing a welcome canopy of coniferous shade. On the pine needle-covered forest floor, squirrels and chipmunks dart between the tents and trailers, trying to steal bits of food off the tables while avoiding the ever-present threat of overly curious canines.
The campgrounds are a constant buzz of activity during the day, with bicycles cruising up and down the paved road loops and trails, Frisbees whizzing between the trees and children shouting and playing games. In the evening, the kids hold sticks of flaming marshmallows, waving them around like medieval torches.
On weekends, the state offers evening programs at the camp amphitheater.
One recent Saturday, Diane Evans Mack, a biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, gave a lecture to about 40 people on how to pick out birds by their calls, a handy skill for wildlife watchers in the dense forest.
“The western tanager sounds like a robin with a sore throat,” she explained before the group marched through the forest to try out new listening skills. Right on cue, a tanager started singing with its bluesy voice somewhere in the not-too-far distance.
One favorite on-the-water activity is to drive to the north side of the lake and canoe upstream against the slow-moving North Fork of the Payette River, also known simply as “The Meanders.”
There are few power boats on this shallow stretch, and wakes are prohibited, so it’s ideal for the beginning paddler. It’s also a wonderfully productive area to view wildlife, such as deer and beaver and smaller mammals, particularly during low-light hours.
Don’t have a canoe or kayak? No problem. They’re available for rent in the parking lot just south of the river mouth for a nominal fee.
Because Ponderosa is one of the most popular sites in the state, it’s best to make reservations weeks or even a couple of seasons in advance.
I’ve taken my family to Ponderosa at least once a year for each of the past four years. We’ve found the campsites clean, though well-used. Like most Idaho state park campgrounds, they’re an upgrade over the standard Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management campgrounds that are common in the rest of the state.
There are some challenges to camping at Ponderosa besides getting a reservation. For instance, you may find yourself holding your towel and waiting in line for the restroom, particularly during the morning rush.
And this year in particular, there seems to be an overabundance of crows in the park, which begin squawking at dawn and don’t quit until late in the evening.
Still, $22 and a 10-minute wait for the facilities are small prices to pay for the natural beauty and convenience of Ponderosa State Park.