Ponderosa State Park Campground Idaho
1920 Davis AveMcCall, Idaho 83638
208-634-2164
Lat / Long:
Ponderosa State Park campground is located on the shores of beautiful Payette Lake. The campground has 173 sites including 40 full hookup, 10 companion full hook-up, 89 electric, 22 companion electric, 9 deluxe (lake view) cabins, and 1 camper cabin. Some campsites also have yurts.
Campground/park amenities include drinking water, flush and vault toilets, hot-water showers, trash collection and a dump station. There’s also a boat ramp, day-use picnic area, canoe/kayak rentals and visitor center (WiFi available). Cell service is fair in the area.
Campsites can accommodate tents, trailers and RVs. Each site also has a table, fire ring and grill. Check-in time is 2pm and check-out is 1pm. Generators are okay to use from 7am to 10pm.
You might also like Upper Payette Lake Campground or Lake Cascade State Park.
Ponderosa State Park – Area Recreation & Activities
The park offers a variety of year-round outdoor recreation including boating, fishing, water sports, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, hiking, biking, picnicking and wildlife viewing. Cross country skiing is also popular in the winter (groomed Nordic track).
Other nearby activities include downhill skiing, golf, tubing, ice skating and mountain biking.
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Campsite Types
- ADA
- Cabin
- Electric Hookup
- Full Hookup
- Group
- RV
- Tent
- Trailer
- Yurt
Season:
Year Round
Elevation:
5,050
# of Campsites:
173
# of RV Campsites:
162
Amenities
- Bathhouse
- BBQ Grills
- Boat Launch/Ramp
- Boat Rental
- Campground Host
- Campsite Tables
- Cell Service Fair
- Drinking Water
- Dump Station
- Electrical Hookup
- Fire Pit
- Fire Rings
- Firewood Available
- Grills
- Group Pavilion
- Pets OK
- Picnic Tables
- Ranger Station
- Recycling Center
- RV Hookups (Full Hookups)
- Showers
- Trash Collection
- WiFi
Activities
- Biking
- Bird Watching
- Boating
- Boating (non motorized)
- Canoeing
- Cross Country Skiing
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Jet Skiing
- Kayaking
- Lake
- Mountain Biking
- Nature Trails
- Paddle boarding (SUP)
- Paddle Boating
- Photography
- Picnicking
- Stargazing
- Swim Beach
- Swimming
- Visitor Center
- Walking Trails
- Water Skiing
- Water Sports
- Wildlife Viewing
- Winter/Snow Sports
Ponderosa State Park Photos
Ponderosa State Park Comments & Reviews
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Ponderosa State Park has two camping sections, the Peninsula Campground and the RV Campground. The spaces in each section are not uniform in size or spacing. In the Peninsula Campground, most have adequate distance between the spaces, but the trees are sparse in some so the neighbors feel close. There are some spaces that are close to the road and feel exposed, but it never felt noisy. The trees here are tall, but lack foliage at the trunk, so you get the shade but not the privacy.
The sites that are near the restrooms are so close that it feels like the restrooms are in your site. I would not recommend a site near the bathroom.
The Peninsula Campground is closer to the water and has a lot of families with kids and water toys. This section has a busy feeling with a lot of comings and goings as people go to the beach and picnic grounds. Many of the sites are very large and long, but there are boulders in some areas making it difficult to back in to some sites according to campers I spoke with. The camp host has acknowledged that even if the driveway is long, the boulders could be trouble for some. The sites are gravel and mostly level. The sites have one or two picnic tables, water, power and a fire ring. There is a dump station that serves this part of the campground, but there is no sewer at each site.
Of all the space at Ponderosa, the Peninsula Campground is not my favorite, but this is a beautiful and well-maintained campground by most standards. You will have a great experience here.
The RV Campground has two loops. Either of these loops is a safe bet for space, privacy and ease of getting in and out with rigs of any size. This is my favorite part of Ponderosa State Park Camping. This section appears to serve larger RV’s. The roads and sites are paved. A street sweeper keeps the loops clear. There are tenters here, but with sewer on each site, the motor homes and trailers do well here. These sites are very deep, almost all of them, and the companion sites are huge. There are no boulders to get in your way of backing in. There are a number of pull through sites as well. Taller rigs will not swipe the foliage from trees.
The trees are different at this section. They provide a lot of shade and a lot of privacy between the generously spaced sites. There is a group day-use gazebo with a BBQ. The restroom building is extremely clean and has a number of free shower stalls. The camp hosts do a great job of grooming each site after a vacancy. This is normally a mostly-full campground, but if you only stay one or two nights you might be able to find something. If you want to stay longer and have a certain site in mind, book early in the season.
Definitely bring your bikes. There are a number of biking trails as well as walking paths. Dogs are allowed on a leash, but they are not allowed on the main beach. However, I saw dogs off-lease on some of the shoreline away from the beach. McCall is a short drive for ice, supplies, dining, etc. There is so much to do at this state park.
If possible, try not to park directly under a pine tree. The squirrels begin shaking the trees at 7 am to drop the cones to collect later. It is a little unnerving listening to cones hit your car. For sites near the road, it is very quiet at both campgrounds.
Awesome write up/review Michelle! Thank you!