Winchester Lake State Park: May 7, 2014

Camp: During our visit, two loops were closed and only the loop with no services was open. I suspect they open the other two loops around Memorial Day weekend. We did walk through all the loops: the serviced sites are nice and fairly spread apart. There are no concrete pads, but they've attempted to level them. That said, many will need some help from you to level your RV. Tenting is available at all sites, but again, finding the perfect flat spot for some of them might be difficult. All the sites have many mature trees and this camp is very welcome on a hot summer day.

We did not get to see the showers/restrooms other than the pit toilets in the non-serviced loop. The RV dump facility was in town... and closed when we went by, which is interesting as if the camp is open, where do they want us to dump our 'stuff'? They also have yurts available, as many parks do. You get a canoe and bikes with the yurt as well. Gotta try this sometime... but they're fairly expensive.

Visitor center: Closed, but looks nice and fairly new from outside.

Day use areas: very nice and well kept. Lot's of places to fish, picnic, and play.

Cell coverage: excellent (I was surprised)

Lake: This is a very peaceful lake (at this time of year) with numerous waterfowl and my favorite to see was wood ducks. Fishing provides awesome bluegill, perch, and crappie fishing (this from the older man cleaning up sites). You can also find numerous trout stocked by IDFG -- which, by the way, are only good for sturgeon bait (as expressed by the man). No gas motors allowed on the lake. This is one of two state parks that advertises they have ice skating! Anyone having experience in that and maybe has a picture, please comment below and if you'd like, I'll post your picture. I assume ice fishing is available. Haven't done it, but I guess the perch are fun to catch in the winter.

There's a very nice and easy hiking trail around the lake with offshoots cutting up the hills. You could also ride your mountain bike on these. One noticeable artifact when you get to the lake is a number of what looks like sunken sheds with just the roof showing. These are what's left over from some wild idea to aerate the water to keep the algal blooms in check. What I hear (from the man above) is that this was and expensive and massive failure. The structures are still in the water and do provide excellent fish cover.

Getting there our way: This is definitely one of my favorite drives in Idaho as it always brings back great memories from college days and is a beautiful drive. If you want to take your time and enjoy this highway, I suggest you do it outside of the summer crunch season from Memorial Day to Labor Day. This road can be wicked with big trucks, RV's, boaters, and the crush of people wanting to get to their summer cabins. I've seen crazy things happen in the dangerous sections, so if you are one of the slower rigs, be kind and pull off often. Idaho has a law that if you are delaying 5 or more vehicles, you need to let them pass.

Once during late summer, there was a guy pulling a big camp trailer, who was delaying 25 or more vehicles. On one of the windier sections, where it was very difficult to pass, his brakes locked up and guess what? Sparks started flying -- setting fires along the roadside. People behind noticed this, honked and tried to pass. BUT, the jerk would not let anyone pass by pulling into the center of the road when there was a small opening. Additionally, I guess he didn't look out his rear view mirror anymore, so as so not see the irate drivers behind, and of course, not seeing his smoke, sparks, etc. After more than 20 miles of setting fires, some people got past and informed him of such. Please don't be like this guy!

We headed to Winchester Lake SP from Cascade Lake SP, so it was a fairly short drive. The weather was unsettled, so guess what? We bucked a wicked headwind and in the Little Salmon River canyon, it was the worst. But, we had plenty of time, there was little traffic, and we took it easy.

We started with Highway 55 heading north to McCall and stopped for lunch (after only 30 minutes driving) and a quick visit to Ponderosa State Park, but it was still closed for the season as they open just before Memorial Day. There were still piles of snow at the edge of the parking lot. From McCall, you head up a small pass and on to New Meadows, and you pass Brundage Mountain Ski Area and the Little Hill (I think) ski area. The road leads you into a tight, small canyon, providing beautiful and varied scenery. On the way, you pass a Forest Service camp called Last Chance. There used to be a nice, but small, hot springs just before you crossed the bridge across the creek here. I haven't been there for years, but it was a great place to stop on the way through this area. I even took my sister's dance company there one winter, but that's another story. Just as you get down the mountain graded from McCall and open into the New Meadows area (you'll see why this is called New Meadows), you pass Trapper John's Cabin. It's a small diversion if you need a break from driving. The town of New Meadows is an interesting mix of old and new, and you can see the influx of money and development. You meet Highway 95 north at this point.

Highway 95 from New Meadows to Lewiston is particularly awesome! It very scenic, starting with open grasslands and the very sinuous, lazy headwaters of the Little Salmon River surrounded by mountains just south of New Meadows. Zims Hot Springs is in this section and is a large commercial facility. There is also a very nice golf course, which I forgot to write the name down. The meadow ends about 20 miles south of New Meadows and sharply drops, starting with a small waterfall, into a canyon. The road becomes fun, in my opinion, with curves of 35 mph and a wild river just off the shoulder. As you reach Riggins, the Little Salmon River joins the Main Fork of the Salmon River (which drains the River of No Return Wilderness Area). If you turn east here, you get back into some of the most rugged and beautiful parts of Idaho.

Riggins is the terminus of incredible float trips through central Idaho. It's a permitted river and the permits are cherished by the few who get them. Riggins (or close by) is also the origin of the lower section of the Salmon River float trips. During the summer, this is a crazy area, with hundreds of rafts and other vessels on the river. You can easily get a day trip from Riggins to White Bird, if you want to experience a more mellow section of the river.

From Riggins to Whitebird is also quite varied from more a more open canyon with lazy waters, to narrow, steep-walled canyon. You may see mountain goats along this section, or, as we saw on this trip, and escaped band of domestic sheep running along the road.

Nearby activities: The Wolf Education & Research Center, St. Gertrude's Monastery and Museum (near Cottonwood), Dog Bark Park, Nez-Perce National Historical Park (on the way to Lewiston).