My favorite xc ski, snowshoe and snow biking spots in McCall for Winter Carnival

Fat biking at Jug Mountain Ranch is a fun activity. (Courtesy McCall Chamber of Commerce)

Cross-country skiing in Bear Basin (courtesy McCall Chamber of Commerce)

Hi all,

Well, it's that time of year, once again, when the McCall Winter Carnival is swinging into action on Friday, Jan. 24, and it runs through Sunday, Feb. 2. The theme is "It's a Kids World."

I've been in McCall frequently in recent weeks, and despite 50 degree temperatures and bare ground in the Treasure Valley, it's full-on winter in McCall, with 2-3 feet of snow in town. Master ice sculptors are perfecting their masterpieces as we speak, and downtown McCall is looking bright and festive for this wonderful occasion!

"The McCall Winter Carnival was inspired by the Payette Lake Winter Games, first held in 1924 when a train from Boise brought 248 visitors to McCall. The official McCall Winter Carnival started in the 1960s and over the years, the Carnival has grown into an iconic Idaho event bringing more than 60,000 people to McCall each year!" writes the McCall Chamber of Commerce.

I highly recommend the Marti Gras parade on Saturday, checking out the ice sculptures, ice skating, live music, beer garden, and scores of other events planned for the next 10 days. Have you been growing out your beard, or ladies, your leg hair, for the hairy legs contest? The McCall locals have a great sense of humor, and they know how to celebrate winter!
While you're in town, I'd like to share my favorite places to go snow-shoeing, xc skiing or snow-biking in the greater McCall area.

Drew snowshoeing with me in Ponderosa
Park on the Meadow Marsh Trail.

1. Ponderosa State Park: Located close to downtown McCall, Ponderosa State Park has 12 miles (19.3 kilometers) of groomed cross country ski trails and 3.5 miles of marked snowshoe trails that will be nicely packed from recreation use until we get more snow. There’s also Rover’s Roundabout, a 1-mile groomed trail loop for dogs near the park entrance.

It’s a beautiful experience skiing at the park because of the huge ponderosa pine trees that tower over the groomed trails. The classic day trip is to ski up the main trail to Fox Run, climb Fox Run and take that around to Lakeside, turn right and climb up to Osprey Point, a sweet overlook of Payette Lake. That’s about 6.2 miles (10k) round trip.

My favorite snowshoe loop is to walk around Meadow Marsh. When you’re halfway through, if you’re feeling strong, you might take the Lily Marsh trail to Fox Run and retrace your steps. If that’s too easy, stay on Lily Marsh to Ridgeline and climb to the top of Osprey Point for the view.

Getting there: Take Railroad Avenue off Main Street, heading east. Follow signs to Ponderosa State Park (entrance and trail fees apply).

We're regulars at Bear Basin since they allow dogs on all of their trails. Huck loves it!

Bear Basin: We like Bear Basin because it allows dogs on all of the cross country ski and snowshoe trails, and the trails there have a little more diversity and length. The grooming is frequent and well done, as it is at Ponderosa. Bear Basin has 18.6 miles (30k) of cross country and skate ski trails, and 6.2 miles (10k) of marked snowshoe trails.

Beginning cross country skiers or skaters can do a 2-mile (3.2k) loop right out of the parking area on a green trail called “Just Right.” You can change things up and add more distance and challenge by doing the Polar Express Loop (1.4 miles/2.3k), Mack’s Loop (1.3 miles/2.1k) and Lyle’s (1.9 miles/3.1k). If you do all three of those intermediate to advanced loops, you’ll feel like you’ve gotten your workout for the day.

Snowshoers will find a number of loops in the woods close to the trailhead, and then, of course, you can travel more distance by making your own trail or following the cross country trails wherever you wish to go.

Getting there: Take Idaho 55 west of McCall to North Club Hill Drive at the top of the hill before you come to the Little Ski Hill. Turn right. Go a quarter mile to the Bear Basin Trailhead on your right. There is a restroom, yurt and parking by the trailhead. Be sure to pay your trail fees before you ski or snowshoe.

Snow biking on the North Valley Trail, excellent choice! 

Activity Barn/North Valley Trail: Located south of McCall, the Activity Barn is the go-to place for lift-assisted tubing. Kids love it. There’s also 3.1 miles (5k) of groomed cross country ski trails open to snowshoeing and fat biking as well. You can connect to the North Valley Trail, which is groomed out to Heinrich Lane, about three miles one way from the Activity Barn. The bonus of all of these trails is that they’re open for free, courtesy of Brundage Mountain and Valley County Pathways.

Getting there: Take Mission Street south of McCall to Moonridge Drive. Turn right and follow the road less than a mile to the Activity Barn parking lot.

4. Jug Mountain Ranch: Jug has awesome cross country ski/skate trails, plus it’s the go-to spot for fat biking in the area. There are 15.5 miles (25k) of groomed cross country ski and skate trails at JMR. The trails are also open to fat biking and dogs. The classic trip is to ski or ride Mainline trail up to Upper Jug Creek Reservoir. Enjoy the pretty setting of the lake, with Jughandle Mountain looming above, and then cruise downhill, retracing your steps, or take a different trail downhill.

JMR also grooms fat bike singletrack on the South Elk and North Elk trails, which are definitely worth riding. If you don’t have a fat bike, JMR rents them at the clubhouse. Fat bikes are available at McCall outdoor stores as well.

Getting there: Take Idaho 55 to Lake Fork. Go east on Lake Fork Road to the entrance of JMR. Stay on the main road and drive up to the clubhouse and trailhead. Check in at the clubhouse before you ride or ski to pay your trail fees.

Enjoy Winter Carnival! 

- SS

Five fabulous kid- and family-friendly bike rides in Cascade and McCall

Kids do amazingly well on the Bear Basin Trails in McCall 

Barb and Paul ride a boardwalk on the Shoreline Trail at Jug Mountain Ranch 

Dropping into Upper Drain in Bear Basin 

Cindy and Steve Jones on the North Valley Trail, south of McCall 

Hi all,

The weather is warming up and many people from the Treasure Valley will be heading up to Cascade or McCall to stay cool, maybe take a swim and hang out at the cabin or go camping.

Audio from 94.9 FM The River for this segment. 

My own family has a wedding in McCall this weekend, so we're gearing up for that. In the spirit of enjoying the green and forested setting in Valley County, I'm offering up five fabulous kid- and family-friendly bike rides to consider when you're in the neighborhood. I've blogged about many other more expert trails in the area, but this week, it's about kids and families. These trails are just fine for adults, too, especially those who like a relatively low-key experience.  

I'll start with the easiest trails and work up from there. All of the trails except the Strand are featured in my guide, Mountain Biking in McCall.

1. The Strand in Cascade -  Kid-friendly rating ***** The Strand runs parallel to the North Fork of the Payette River from the south Hwy 55 bridge trailhead in Cascade to a point just short of Water's Edge RV Park. It's 2.2 miles one-way. At the north end trailhead, you just turn-around and ride back to the south bridge trailhead. This ride is cool because it runs along the river, where you might see wildlife, and then it also runs by Kelly's Whitewater Park, where you can see kayakers and surfers play in the waves. Plus, there's a nice lawn there and places where you can walk down to the river's edge and watch as close as you want. 

The Strand along the North Fork of the Payette River 

2. Crown Point Trail in Cascade - Kid-friendly rating ***** This trails runs alongside Lake Cascade from the Crown Point camping area 3 miles to the north trailhead at Vista Point Road. It's an out-and-back ride on a mostly flat surface with pine trees bordering the trail on both sides, or really nice lake views off to the west, plus West Mountain towers above on the opposite shore. There are some sweet beaches directly adjacent to the trail, where you could hang out and have a picnic, go swimming or just relax. Getting there: Take Lake Way from ID 55 to a point where it ends by the campground. There's a small parking area by the trailhead for Crown Point Trail. 

Spacious beaches next to the Crown Point Trail look inviting 

3. North Valley Trail - Kid-friendly rating **** The North Valley Trail is a little more challenging than Crown Point Trail because it has some singletrack sections, which might be difficult for young riders. Ideally, I recommend starting on the greenbelt path next to the City of McCall offices on Park Street in downtown McCall, and ride the paved pathway out south to where the path ends by the McCall Smokejumper Base on Mission Street. Go left (south) along Mission Street, pick up the paved pathway in River Ranch, keep riding south, and then follow signs to the North Valley Trail. It's about 1.5 miles or so from downtown to this point, and then it's another 3.5 miles on the North Valley Trail to Heinrich Lane. The trail ends here, so it's five miles back to the start; 10 miles total. The North Valley Trail is very scenic -- it runs by a large wetland pond, where you can see water birds, and it's bordered by pine trees for most of its course. It's a mix of two-track and singletrack on the old RR ROW. 

North Valley Trail is bordered by pines 

4. Bear Basin - Kid-friendly rating **** For kids 8 and up, the Bear Basin Trails are a perfect place to take the family for a low-key ride. The trail map shows green, blue and black trails by difficulty, which is helpful for those riding the area for the first time. I led a big group of my family on an intermediate ride last summer, starting on Baby Bear, dropping into the shadows of big trees on Sleepy Hollow, then climbing Blue Ridge to Upper Drain, a challenging switchback trail with big bermed corners. Even people who have never ridden banked corners do amazingly well when they try it for the first time. If it's too scary for some folks, have them walk down the trail. Upper Drain runs into Grand Traverse (not signed), the first singletrack trail you come to. Go left and return to Baby Bear junction. Try different routes and have fun in Bear Basin! 

5. Jug Mountain Ranch - Kid-friendly rating **** Jug Mountain Ranch continues to add more trails and knock it out of the park in terms of trail design and big fun factor. They've got a shuttle service to make it easy to reach the top of their trail system, or you can climb to Jug Mountain Reservoir and enjoy a super fun gravity ride downhill. The trail everyone is raving about lately is Berm N Ernie. Check out of the video and see what you think! Download their trail map here. One possible short loop is to ride the South Elk Loop, return to the trailhead area and take Basic Training to Mid-Mountain doubletrack, then take the lower part of Berm N Ernie back to the start. Or, take South Elk to the South Boundary Road, climb to the reservoir, ride Shoreline around the lake, descend on Vandelay, Harper's Hollow and finish on North Elk. JMR has a cool overnight shelter at Jug Mountain Reservoir that you can rent. Call (208) 634-5072 for more information. 

Have fun! - SS