There, we paddled the Upper North Fork of the Payette River into Payette Lake in McCall. We continued driving to McCall and stopped again for my sister Lynn and me to get out and rent a canoe from Backwoods Adventures. If you do want to take your own kayak, consider our picks for the best inflatable kayaks here. If you don’t want to brave the rapids on your own, you can book a guided half-or full-day rafting tour with Bear Valley Rafting. It was also an inflatable kayak, but I never failed to make sure it was securely inflated before floating. Ironically, this boating experience instilled my love for kayaking, and I purchased my first kayak after this trip. At the end of the rapids, once the waters calmed, I was able to come out of the water and gasp for air. As I bounced downstream hitting rocks, I watched the brilliant sunlight but was unable to come up for air. It was a surreal experience my face just inches from the surface but I couldn’t rise because of the current. The canoe took off down the rapids as my cousin and I were also taken downstream. We might have made it, but someone had forgotten to blow up the bottom section of the canoe, so instead, it folded in half and we both landed underwater. My cousin got out of the boat to examine our options, then replied, “I think we should go over it!” At one point we encountered about a 6-foot drop. He was 19 and experienced on whitewater, and I felt a surge of confidence as we navigated the pool and drop rapids ranging from Class II to Class III. It was my first experience kayaking, and I was in an inflatable canoe with a young cousin. Our cousins who lived nearby brought a variety of inflatable kayaks, rafts, and canoes, and we paired up and hit the water. During our visit, we drove about 100 miles from Boise to McCall and stopped along the way in Banks for whitewater rafting with family on parts of the Payette River. No matter if you prefer a mellow float or a heart-pumping whitewater experience, there are numerous opportunities to get onto the water near McCall. The seasons in McCall are made for sporting activities with skiing, snowmobiles, and other winter activities, then boating, soaking in a hot spring, and hiking in the summer.Ĭhasehunterphotos / Shutterstock 1. Here’s how you, too, can spend a perfect long weekend in scenic McCall, Idaho. While I eventually decided not to move to that charming cabin on the lake after my mom reminded me of the numerous feet of snow they receive each year and how isolated I would be on my own, McCall still holds a dear space in my heart. As she did with her mother, we stopped at a farmer’s stand to purchase deep, luscious cherries to eat in the car on the way. My two sisters, our mother, and I made a side trip to McCall to relive an experience our mother had with her mother years before. Our visit started with a family reunion in Boise. There was a cabin for rent, located right across the street from Payette Lake that had the Payette National Forest in the backyard and the surrounding mountains all around. For someone who loves the vibrancy of the mountains as well as the relaxing aspects of water equally, McCall has it all. destination I’ve considered moving to after my visit: McCall, Idaho.
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