McCall Idaho offers plenty of water to enjoy your SUP board on both the lake and river!
Whether you are a boater or a paddler, McCall offers plenty of water options to make the most of your visit. We were invited to camp for a weekend in Ponderosa State Park along with two other families. All combined, we had kids ranging from toddlers to teenagers, two campers, one tent, a truck full of bikes and inflatable paddle boards, and of course great friends. We had everything we needed to make memories to last a lifetime.
Over the weekend, we adventured on the water three different times. Camping in Ponderosa State Park, we were only a few hundred feet from the water, so we could easily carry the boards down and back without even needing to deflate and re-inflate the boards. We also adventured up to the north end of the lake where the Payette river flows into the lake. This is how we did it and how you can do it too!
Accessing Payette Lake from Ponderosa State Park
We camped in the Peninsula Campground which offers large campsites and great showers. But even better, the camp ground has a paved walking path that leads straight to the water. You do have to walk down a sandy path that is a little steep, but it’s not too much to handle carrying a 21 pound inflatable board and a bag with your PFD and paddle. There are also other pathways to get to the beach, these paths are a little more of a hike, but less of a decline.
The beach area is pretty tight, but we managed to fit our whole group down by the water and have a little picnic while taking turns going out on the water or watching the little ones play in the sand.
One of the best parts about camping so close to the water is that we left our paddle boards inflated the whole weekend. We just carried them back to camp and leaned them against a tree to dry. They were in a shaded area and weren’t in direct sunlight so we didn’t have anything to worry about. It also worked great for when it came time to leave. Trying to deflate and fold up wet sup boards in the sand isn’t that fun. We were able to wait for them to completely dry and then roll them up in the campground on the paved path. Less maintenance and cleaning once we got home from our trip.
Floating the Payette River into Payette Lake
On our second day, we decided to venture outside the campground and float the river. We loaded four fully inflated paddle boards and also a raft into the back of a truck and headed north on East Side Road until we found a good place to put in. We chose to put in at the bridge where East Side Road crosses the river, just north of Northwest Passage Campground. There isn’t a lot of room for parking, but we found a small pullout on the east side of the river. We thought the best access to the water was on the south west side of the bridge. It was a little steep getting in, but we managed.
While the crew unloaded the gear, two of us drove down to the take out to drop off a shuttle car for after the float. The take out is a developed area off Warren Wagon Rd with a beach, bathrooms, parking, and even a little rental shop. This is a very popular destination on a warm summer day so the parking lot was packed and we ended up parking on road.
The float was a bit long for the younger kids (and some of the adults stuck in a raft), but the river winded through some beautiful country. We meandered for a couple hours, taking turns on the paddle boards, raft, and even the inflatable mattress someone brought along. The water was very calm the entire trip. This seems to be a pretty popular paddle boarding river; there weren’t very many times where our group was the only group of sup boarders in sight; though it did happen around a few river bends.
Here are the gps coordinates for where we put in and got out when floating the Payette river leading into Payette Lake:
Put In: 45°00’32.1″N 116°03’31.7″W
Take Out: 44°59’36.2″N 116°04’15.8″W
One last SUP Adventure before heading home
On our last day camping in Ponderosa State Park, we had to use the sup boards one more time before deflating them and heading home. At only 21 pounds, they were easy to carry down to the river. This time the docks by the campground were open so we used that as our home base and just enjoyed being near the water.
After all was said and done, we packed up and headed home. As you can see in the photo below, packing inflatable paddle boards leaves plenty of room for all the other camping essentials you need to have a great time! The bed of this truck had 4 rolled up rise paddle boards, 5 bikes, and inflated inner tube, a tote of firewood, and still had some left over space for odds and ends. We loved our Paddle boarding adventure in Ponderosa State Park and can’t wait to go back again!
