Payette National Forest

Payette National Forest spans 2.3 million acres in central western Idaho between several major protected areas and is managed from McCall within the U.S. Forest Service’s Intermountain Region. Created in its present form on April 1, 1944, from the merger of the Weiser and Idaho reserves, it traces its origins to the Forest Reserve Act of 1891. Named for François Payette, a French-Canadian fur trapper and former Fort Boise manager, the forest is shaped by the Idaho Batholith and relatively recent glaciation, which formed its granite terrain, basins, and lakes. Its vast backcountry includes major portions of the Frank Church–River of No Return and Hells Canyon wilderness areas and supports diverse mountain ecosystems.

McCall, Idaho · United States