Ponderosa State Park
Park
241 acres2.4 mi of trail
Miles Standish Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Karthikc123 · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in McCall
McCall has 20 miles of mapped trails, 2.2 for every square mile of land
291 acres are parks and preserves, 74 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Ponderosa State Park (2.4 mi). 8% of McCall’s land is conserved, about 443 acres.
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #4 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
443 acres · of 9.1 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
2.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
291 ac
74 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
63%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.4 mi
5.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
2 beaches · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is McCall?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does McCall have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, McCall is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #4 of 59 in Idaho. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of McCall’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical ID town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails2.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · ID 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land74 acres of park per 1,000 residents (291 acres) · ID 6 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home63% of residents within a half mile of a park · ID 87% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 88%
LessMore
Idaho towns of 2,500+ (59)Ahead of 95%
Few Idaho towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so McCall’s 8% is ahead of 91% of Idaho towns, while its trails per square mile lead 93% of them.
Water is 9% of McCall’s area (1 of 10 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 7%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Ponderosa State Park, with 2.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Riverfront Park
Park
31 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Ponderosa State Park241 acres · 2.4 mi of trail
DirectionsRiverfront Park31 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Whitetail Club Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLegacy Park2 acres
DirectionsBrown Park1 acres
Rotary Park1 acres
DirectionsWild Horse Park1 acres
Who protects it
443 conserved acres
8% of McCall’s land. Water is left out: McCall has 9.1 square miles of land and 0.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages McCall’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks227 ac
State Department of Land121 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits99 ac
U.S. Forest Service41 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service17 ac
State Park · 227 acUnknown Easement · 119 acConservation Easement · 99 acNational Forest · 41 acFederal Other or Unknown · 17 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 166 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 30 of 35 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ponderosa State Park State Park | State parks | 227 | Open |
| Payette National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 41 | Open |
| Mccall Fish Hatchery Federal Other or Unknown | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 17 | Restricted |
| Idaho Department of Lands State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 2 | Unknown |
Things to do
16 places to go in McCall
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in McCall
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in McCall
9 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in McCall
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in McCall
Aspen CampgroundIn Ponderosa State Park
DirectionsBlackberry CampgroundIn Ponderosa State Park
DirectionsChokecherry CampgroundIn Ponderosa State Park
DirectionsRV Group CampgroundFee · In Ponderosa State Park · Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.5 mi
Miles Standish Trail0.3 mi
Wooley Ave. Boardwalk0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.6 mi
off-road bike paths
0.7 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
16Tennis
6Basketball
6Pickleball
5Baseball
2Beach volleyball
1Skate park
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →9 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Rice MeetinghouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itElo SchoolBuilding · listed 1982
About itNickolai Wargelin HomesteadBuilding · listed 1982
About itCharles Koski HomesteadBuilding · listed 1982
About itMatt N. Hill Homestead BarnBuilding · listed 1982
About itSouthern Idaho Timber Protective Association (SITPA) BuildingsBuilding · listed 1990
About itMcCall District Administrative SiteBuilding · listed 1991
About itPayette Lakes ClubBuilding · listed 2017
About itJohnson Flying Service HangarBuilding · listed 2019
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in McCall: May to September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 37 | 44 | 51 | 61 | 69 | 81 | 81 | 71 | 56 | 40 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 2.8 | 3.6 |
July is the driest month (0.6 in) and the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.6 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in McCall →
Questions about parks and trails in McCall
Where can I hike in McCall?
The longest trail networks: Ponderosa State Park, 2.4 miles; Riverfront Park, 0.1 miles; Whitetail Club Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of McCall is conserved land?
8% of its land, against a typical 2% for an Idaho town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on McCall’s trails?
Ponderosa State Park and Riverfront Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in McCall?
6.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.6 of off-road paths and 0.7 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near McCall?
100,398 acres of parks and open public land lie inside McCall or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 416 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does McCall have?
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #4 of 59 in Idaho. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from McCall neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →