McCall Idaho Snowmobiling
The Ultimate Destination for Snowmobilers
There are few destinations across the United States, or the globe for that matter, that rivals the dry powder snow conditions and terrain that McCall, Idaho has to offer. While there are a lot of great winter sports in the area, those conditions are best experienced on their plethora of groomed snowmobile trails.
The thrill and action behind the adventure of snowmobiling will leave you coming back to this sport year after year and making plans well in advance to ensure your trip will be as memorable as possible. So if you are new to the area, or a seasoned Sled Head, DoneRight Management has several homes and cabins that will accommodate your snowmobile trailers and trucks with sled decks.
Just 2 hours north of Boise, it’s a breathtakingly scenic drive along the Payette River into the beauty and splendor of a winter wonderland. McCall and Donnelly is loaded with hundreds of miles of groomed trails and thousands of miles of every imaginable terrain possible and accessible, the area translates to a memorable experience for every level of rider. McCall has four groomers who maintain over 750 miles of trails to ride from dawn to dusk as well as thousands of acres of powder-covered backcountry.
Once you’ve settled into your vacation rental, unpacked your bags and maybe cracked a cold one or two, it’s time to decide which trailhead to launch your adventure depending on where you are staying and the riding conditions you are seeking.
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Close to the heart of McCall are 5 staging areas close to the snowmobile trailhead.
The most well known trailhead is heading out from the Francis Wallace parking lot. Known as Francis Wallace, the parking lot is a short 20 to 30 minute drive north along Warren Wagon Road heading out of McCall skirting along Payette Lake, just past North Beach.
On busy days and holiday weekends, there is overflow parking called Brush Creek, considered as the extra lot near Francis Wallace. And on plenty of occasions, when both lots are filled to capacity, trucks with sled trailers park along designated portions of Warren Wagon Road.
Both Cheap Thrills and CM Backcountry Snowmobile rental companies have their sled rentals depart from the Francis Wallace parking lot for their half-day and full-day sled rentals. For the fortunate ones who make plans on staying at one of the cabins available overnight or for the weekend at either Burgdorf Hot Springs, Secesh Stage Stop, or one of the cabins in the historic town of Warren, Francis Wallace parking lot has two rows designated for overnight parking.
If you have sleds, and are not renting snowmobiles, the Green Gate parking lot is the closest snowmobile parking lot to McCall, just a few miles up on Warren Wagon Road. Some may know it as the Yahoo Coral Parking lot.
Here you’ll have plenty of space and easy access to the hundreds of miles of groomed trails to get you to the backcountry for the deep powder experience mostly all within the Idaho forest service and BLM lands areas.
Additional snowmobile parking for the western region of Valley County and New Meadows are Gordon Titus Parking Lot, aka the Goose Creek High Elevation lot near Brundage Mountain Resort and the West Face Parking lot off Highway 55.
The Wallace Lane Parking lot in New Meadows connects into the Goose Lake trail system as far as Hazard Lake. There is also a lot north of Tamarack Falls on West Mountain Road west of Donnelly. From these parking lots, you can hit the trails that lead you to granite lake, which is a world of fun when it’s frozen solid with a fresh blanket of snow layered on top.
Several options for snowmobile rentals are available in McCall, Donnelly and Cascade.
There are now several companies providing snowmobile rental sleds for trail riding, backcountry deep powder sledding, and guided tours.
A few options include:
Mountain Meadow Adventure Rentals rent sleds out of Donnelly, Idaho.
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Dress in layers, having excellent thermals is a must, a baklava mask and headgear will keep you toasty warm, especially on cold days. Bring gloves and boots, full body suites are also available.
A sense of adventure is all that is required for snowmobile rentals, trail sleds require virtually no experience, whereas backcountry sledding is reserved for people who are willing to take lessons and invest time into developing the necessary skill sets required to access backcountry deep powder snowmobiling.
You need to be old enough to hold on to the handle bars and have complete command of the unit at all times, understanding that this sport can inflict serious injury or death.
Most guided trail tours are either 4 or 8 hours long, and most backcountry snow tours are 8 hours long.
The powder sled is a power machine built for backcountry off trail excursions, and touring sleds are the Cadillac’s of the snow, comfy and easier to operate.
At some point, once you have parked your vehicle in the lot, you will find the rental company and walk over where your rental sled waits for hands on operational instructions from the agency.
Plan on being at the rental agency location 1 hour prior to your departure time to fill out the paperwork and receive the additional information and tutorial provided by the guided snowmobile rental agency.
If you are adventurous and prefer heading out without the expertise and local knowledge that a guided tour will provide, then the self-guided tour will enable you the freedom to venture out into the wilds with no limitations.
Recognize that snowmobiling is an active sport, requiring decent physical endurance and capabilities. If you are too young, lack or possess certain physical strengths, then it would be wise to reconsider this activity. Likewise, as we tend to age, know your limits and physical capabilities that would potentially over extend your ability and compromise your life.
The central Idaho Mountains are known to have some of the best snow conditions in the country as being dry, super powdery and light most of the time.
Snowmobile trails lead you to a winter wonderland backcountry adventure with crazy deep powder everywhere you turn. As wind your way up the snow covered Warren Wagon Road 33 miles up to Secesh, there you can rest and fuel for your sleds at the Secesh Stage Stop, along with great burgers, fries, and a really cold one to wet the whistle.
13 miles past Secesh is Warren, once the capital of Idaho back in the 1800’s, you will find jovial hospitality at the infamous Baum Shelter Restaurant.
Photo Credit: Pictoscribe – via Instagram
Are you willing to step back in time? The 1800’s awaits you at the Burgdorf Hot Springs, known to many as one the country’s best hot springs, and bring your sense of adventure with you. This is a relic, a gem of history that you will need to book and reserve a cabin in advance to stay overnight in order to use the hot springs.
Until further notice, the day use of the hot springs is not available to the general public, just paid overnight stays. From the Burgdorf Hot Springs, you can grab something to eat, down a cold one, or fuel up your sled at the Secesh Stage Shop just 5 miles away. Warren is 18 miles or so from the Hot Springs, great grub, gitchy cool 1800’s Baum Shelter bar & grill.
The McCall area has thousands of acres in the Payette National Forest to years of snowmobiling fun for all ages and abilities.
