Labor Day 2025: Cascade/McCall, Idaho Adventure

We ventured to Cascade and McCall, Idaho for Labor Day weekend. This is an area of Idaho that we have wanted to visit since first moving to Coeur d’Alene in September of 2024. Cascade/McCall is located in Central Idaho, about a five-hour drive from us. To split up the drive, we stayed one night at Hells Gate State Park before continuing to our final destination.

We first heard of Cascade when we were camped next to someone in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He lives in Cascade and told us about the area, along with McCall. He strongly recommended that we visit Cascade and McCall, and encouraged me (Stella) to look for a job there. At that point in time, Larry and I were attempting to move to Alpine, Wyoming, so we had not considered Cascade/McCall.

Since ending up in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, we decided to visit this beautiful area, and what a great trip we had! While we were not overly enthused about Cascade, nor the campground that we had stayed at there, we did really like McCall. McCall is home to Brundage Mountain Resort, so it shares a familiar vibe, culture, and landscape with the areas we are accustomed to in Colorado. A coworker also encouraged us to visit McCall, knowing we would resonate with it. Please continue reading to learn about our adventure!

Saturday: After arriving in Cascade that afternoon and getting set up at the campground, we headed to Blue Heron Campground, part of Lake Cascade State Park. We launched The Big Mango at the boat ramp and began our paddling adventure on Lake Cascade. Lake Cascade is 47 square miles in area and is the fourth-largest lake in Idaho, lined with forested areas and dotted with homes. We began paddling northeast and eventually crossed over to the west side of the lake.

We encountered masses of seaweed, even good distance from the shore, that kept catching on our paddles, which significantly slowed us down. After paddling nearly four miles, we turned around and immediately felt a blast of wind, which was unexpected. For our journey back to the launch site, we paddled further out in the lake to avoid the seaweed as much as possible, even though the water was rougher further out. After loading up the kayak, the wind died down as suddenly as it had begun. We paddled a total of: 7.48 miles.

Sunday: Early that morning, we headed to McCall for a quick bike ride before getting out on the water. We parked the truck at the high school. There are a multitude of paved walking/biking trails throughout McCall, many of which wind through forested areas. We biked on the McCall Greenway and Walking Path south to the North Valley Trail. We only biked a short distance, but enjoyed every second of it. We biked a total of 4.69 miles.

Once finished, we drove to North Beach and launched the kayak. We were finally out on Payette Lake. We paddled south along the eastern shore. We were enamored with the beauty of the area, with the mountains surrounding the lake. It reminded us of Lake Granby in Colorado, which we have paddled on numerous times. We paddled a total of: 4.48 miles.

After loading up the kayak, we ate an early dinner and then headed to Ponderosa State Park for some biking. We parked at the Activity Center and biked east to the Huckleberry Loop. From the parking area to the trailhead, the trail is loose gravel; once on the trail, it is dirt and rocks. After biking for a short distance on the trail, there is a short yet very steep incline to get to the upper portion of the trail. I am not a mountain biker, so I stopped there to turn around. Larry, who thinks he is younger than he is, attempted to go up the hill. That endeavor did not turn out well. After he got cleaned off, we reversed course and biked through various places in the park. We biked a total of 2.91 miles.

With the bikes loaded, we were eager to get back out onto the water to continue exploring more of the lakes in the area, this time on Little Payette Lake. Little Payette Lake is a natural lake with a depth of over 100ft. There are a few homes around the lake, and careful navigation on the lake is very important late in the summer as lake is drawn down. Around the eastern side of the lake, it appears to have once been forest land that was cut to increase the size of the lake when dammed to hold back additional water for irrigation. The remaining tree stumps jut out of the water and are sometimes hidden, barely beneath the surface.

We parked at the day use/boat ramp and began paddling east along the northern shore. We were careful to avoid the hazardous trees beneath the surface, but the kayak ended up directly atop of a snag that was not visible. That was the first time we’ve encountered this type of problem, and I was panicked. Not because I had a fear of tipping or sinking, but because I feared Larry was going to need to get out of The Big Mango and lift the kayak over the log, and then figure out how to get back in the kayak without tipping it. Fortunately, Larry was able to figure out how to get the kayak off the log without much difficulty. Whew!  

Once free, we paddled much further out into the center of the lake and made our way to the western side and headed back to the boat launch. There, a kid was fishing along the shore and shared with us about how much fish is in the lake, particularly kokanee salmon. When Larry and I heard that, we affirmed that we will get fishing licenses so we can return there to fish. This little lake is stunning and we cannot wait to return! We paddled a total of 2.15 miles as the sun was cresting below the tree-lined mountain side.

FINAL THOUGHTS: This was a fabulous trip and we really like McCall. We hope to visit in the winter to snowshoe and cross-country ski. Ponderosa State Park is a beautiful, well-maintained park that would be a blast to explore year-round. We will return next summer in July for a longer trip, with hopes to explore more of this beautiful place.

WHERE IS PADDLE & TRAILS HEADED NEXT?

• September 12-14: Priest Lake, Idaho
• September 26-28: (to be determined)
• October 10-13: Port Angeles, Washington