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Let’s explore the Payette River Mountains Region by taking a quick trip to the key communities that comprise the heart and soul of the area.

Banks

Located north of Horseshoe Bend, Banks is a popular spot for whitewater enthusiast. This is the confluence of the North fork and the South Fork of the Payette River. Great Breakfast and lunches are served year round in Banks!

Big Creek

Big Creek is a remote community near Yellow Pine and the Gateway to the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. This is the largest wilderness in the lower 48 states. The area has a vast history of ranching and mining and plenty of wildlife to view.

Burgdorf

Burgdorf is located near Warren, Idaho and was founded in the 1870's by Frederick Burgdorf who came to the area in search of gold. Unsuccessful in his search he discovered a hot springs and built a pool with hotels, cabins and barns. Many of these buildings still stand and cabin rentals are available.
www.secesh.net/Burgdorf.htm

Cascade

Located 75 miles north of Boise, the city of Cascade is a favorite jumping-off point for summer and winter recreation. Cascade is situated immediately adjacent to Lake Cascade, the largest recreation lake in the region. Boaters of all kinds recreate on the lake, and anglers flock there to catch rainbow trout, perch and small-mouth bass. Van Wyck Park offers swimming and beachfront recreation less than 5 minutes from downtown. A 9-hole golf course borders the lake. In the wintertime, snowmobile riders launch from Cascade to explore literally hundreds of miles of groomed trails on West Mountain. The Ashley Inn, the largest hotel in town, has convention and meeting facilities, and it’s a favorite location for weddings.
www.cascade-chamber.com

Council

Council is centered between Council mountain and the Seven Devil mountain range. It is a beautiful small community full of history and legends of days gone by. The first inhabitants in the Council area were the Northern Mountain Shoshoni Indians in the late 1700s. The name Council came about because of the Indians gathering in this area for their Pow Wows, rodeos, trading and friendship events.

Railroading, mining, logging, fishing, hunting and year round recreation both past and present is what attracts everyone to this part of Idaho. It is a beautiful fun place to visit and get back to the nature part of life.

Every July 4th Porcupine Races are held in Council and draws people from all over the northwest. It is a fun special event.

Donnelly

The community of Donnelly lies on the northern end of Lake Cascade, with boat docks and a public swimming area located at the Donnelly City Boat Ramp. Donnelly is growing fast, being located at the turnoff for Tamarack Resort on Idaho Highway 55, as new businesses and hotels sprout in the downtown area and several major residential developments get under way. The historic community of Roseberry and the Roseberry Museum are located directly east of Donnelly. Cattle ranching is still an important industry surrounding Donnelly. Visitors will enjoy the beautiful green open spaces created by acres upon acres of belly-high pasture lands.
www.donnellychamber.org

Garden Valley

Located an hour north of Boise, Garden Valley is a wonderful outdoor getaway surrounded by the Boise National Forest. Whitewater boating is a popular pursuit on the Payette River in the summer, not to mention hiking, biking, camping, fishing and ATV riding on trails nearby. Families flock to Silver Creek Plunge for a weekend of fun, after an evening of entertainment at the Starlight Mountain Theater. Terrace Lakes Resort offers a nifty hot springs swimming pool, an 18-hole golf course and fine dining. In the winter, snowmobiling on groomed trails north of Crouch provide a gateway to many more groomed trails that connect Smith’s Ferry and beyond. Folks also can pick a spot off-the-beaten-path and go cross-country skiing. You’re likely to see no people and lots of wildlife.
www.gvchamber.org

Horseshoe Bend

Horseshoe Bend, named for the giant sweeping bend that the Payette River makes in the southern end of the watershed, is fast becoming a bedroom community to Boise, and an early stop for tourists following the Payette River Scenic Byway. The railhead for the Thunder Mountain Line, a tourist train with wine-tasting and Wild West trips, is located in the middle of town. The Bend also has one of the most popular kayak play waves in the West at “the Gutter,” next to a hydroelectric project. Local restaurants draw many a hunger boater or camper as they travel through town on their way into the woods or back home.
www.horseshoebendchamber.com

McCall

The city of McCall, the largest community in the region with 2,500 full-time residents, is a favorite destination in the winter and summer because of its lovely location next to glacial-carved Payette Lake and a wide variety of things to see and do throughout the year. McCall serves as the portal to Brundage Mountain Resort, a popular ski and snowboard area in the winter, and a favorite place to go lift-served hiking and mountain biking in the summer. Brundage also hosts a summer concert series each year. The Whitetail Club, a luxury hotel and golf resort, occupies a premium location on the southern shore of Payette Lake. Its restaurant and golf course consistently receive rave reviews. Ponderosa State Park, a beautiful peninsula that bisects the lake, is such a popular place to camp that people make reservations more than a year in advance. There’s never a shortage of things to do in McCall, but it’s so pretty, that on some days, it’s nice to just hang out and watch the scenery from a white-sandy beach with a favorite beverage close at hand.
www.mccallchamber.org

New Meadows

New Meadows, located at the junction of Idaho 55 and U.S. 95, 15 miles northwest of McCall, is a ranching town hovering on the edge of a transition to more of a tourism-based area. Giant succulent green meadows, provided by many cattle ranches in the valley, create a serene feeling for visitors and motorists who ply the valley on U.S. 95. Some tourist services, like the Meadow Creek Golf Resort, are changing the complexion of the valley and diversifying the economy. Just over the hill from New Meadows to the west, folks can jump onto the 80-mile Weiser River Trail, a downhill rail-trail well-suited for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding.

Riggins

The town of Riggins is a sportsmen’s paradise and the most popular whitewater rafting destination in the Payette River Mountains Region. If you want to catch fish – really, really big fish – then you’ve got to fish the Little Salmon River or Main Salmon River for steelhead and Chinook salmon. In the late fall and early spring, ocean-going rainbow trout, known as steelhead, draw anglers from throughout the Intermountain West. People line up shoulder-to-shoulder for the chance to catch a big one. In the early summer, anglers line up to catch Chinook salmon. In the heat of the summer, Riggins is the happening place for whitewater rafting. Jet boats can take guests on the Salmon River or into the heart of Hells Canyon, the deepest gorge in North America. And don’t forget the Riggins Rodeo in May.
www.rigginsidaho.com

Tamarack

As the first full time residents move to Tamarack Resort in 2004 a community was born. Tamarack offers a rich array of winter and summertime recreation activities. In the winter, alpine skiers come to Tamarack to schuss the longest runs in the region, with 2,800 vertical feet of drop to make the quads burn. Cross-country skiers and snowshoers can sample 30K of trails in the Tamarack meadows. Dogs are allowed to run alongside as you go Nordic skiing. In the summer, lift-served hiking and mountain biking, children’s day camps, Zipline tours, sailing, wake-boarding, water-skiing and whitewater river trips on the Payette River take center stage at Tamarack. The resort also has an outdoor concert series in the summer. Year-round, Tamarack has meeting and convention facilities, fine dining at Morels and frequent entertainment programs.
www.tamarackidaho.com

Yellow Pine

Yellow Pine is located high in the Payette River Mountains, 50 miles east of McCall. The community has dirt streets, a "little red schoolhouse (fondly known as The University of Yellow Pine), a wooded RV park, rustic cabins, country store, hotel, gas pumps, three tavern/cafes, and the Community Hall and Fire Hall. Yellow Pine is home to the annual Harmonica Festival, which is held the first weekend in August of each year.