Each year, when the month of November rolls around, Larry and I (Stella) begin thinking about snow, snow and more snow, along with different places we’d like to travel to. We always hope to be cross-country skiing and/or snowshoeing by mid-December. Sadly, this winter and the winter prior have not been great in Northern Idaho. That being the case, we set our sights on going to McCall over the long New Year’s weekend since they had snow.
We knew, ahead of time, that there was not going to be a ton of snow during our visit, the temperature was going to be warm, and that rain was likely. And, while all of these were true, we found just enough snow to cross-country ski for three days. Snowshoeing was not an option because of the limited amount of snow.
On our first day, we went to the Bear Basin Nordic Center, located in the Payette National Forest just outside of McCall, which has a groomed trail system for skate and classic cross-country skiing. There are 15+ miles of groomed trails, varying in difficulty. There was just enough snow to set the tracks for classic skiing, but we found the tracks to be icy. We spent the majority of our time skiing in the skating lane, as it provided a smoother glide.
The trails wind through both open and forested areas. I especially liked Ed’s Meadow Trail because most of it is flat, which allows me to stride and glide with ease. Although this was our first ski of the season, our kinetics and technique were a bit off. It was a great practice day to get back into the sport! We completed a total of 6.45 miles.
The next two days, we cross-country skied in Ponderosa State Park, using our Madshus backcountry skis. Both days, we parked at the Activity Center and skied wherever we wanted to go, cutting our own tracks in the snow. We really enjoyed skiing in the park because there are endless places to explore on skis. And, we saw a handful of deer in the park, who did not appear to be afraid of humans. On our first day in the park, we completed a total of 7.42 miles; on our second day, 6.73 miles.
FINAL THOUGHTS: We first ventured to McCall over Labor Day weekend 2025, and we were eager to explore it in the winter. It is a beautiful area, and we particularly like spending time in Ponderosa State Park. There were other places we had wanted to ski/snowshoe, but our options were limited due to the weather. However, there is always next season when we might be able to return. For this trip, we skied a total of 20.6 miles.
Looks fabulous but cold !!! Looks like you are having lots of fun !!!
The 2 of you are amazing & perfect for each other! We love your adventures & photos, we think you should send just us more photos with both of you in them. ❤️