McCall

About McCall

McCall sits two hours north of Boise on the shore of Payette Lake, a glacier-carved alpine lake ringed by ponderosa forest, and it has managed to stay a real town rather than a resort-branded one. Summer is the headline season — swimming and paddling on the lake, hiking in Ponderosa State Park's peninsula, and long northern evenings — but McCall is genuinely a two-season destination, with Brundage Mountain's famously dry powder a short drive up the hill in winter. Lodging inventory is small-town small, which means summer Saturdays and Winter Carnival sell out far ahead, and rates that aren't displayed on the open web are worth checking before you settle for what's left.

The town's signature event is the McCall Winter Carnival, held late January into early February, when snow sculptures line the streets and every room for miles is spoken for — book that one months out. Tamarack Resort, about 30 minutes south on Lake Cascade, adds a second base option with ski-in lodging in winter and golf, mountain biking, and zip lines in summer. Year-round, Burgdorf and Gold Fork hot springs give the trip its soak-in-the-snow postcard moment.

Our Travel Editor's McCall advice: in summer, pay for lake proximity — being able to walk to Payette Lake's beaches at sunset is the trip. In winter, decide between Brundage convenience and downtown McCall's restaurants, because the drive between them on a powder morning is short but the vibe is different. And whatever the season, book Winter Carnival and July weekends the moment your dates firm up; this is a small market that does not bail you out at the last minute.

— Our Travel Editor