Stay in a beautiful yurt nestled in the forest near the lake’s edge at Winchester Lake State Park. Ask about our package rental of a yurt with the use of a canoe and bikes (or snowshoes in the winter), or plan to fish for rainbow trout on the 103-acre lake and then relax near the lake with a picnic and book under the ponderosa pines.
The Setting
Winchester Lake State Park surrounds a 103-acre lake, nestled in a forested area at the foot of the Craig Mountains. It is located just off US 95 adjoining the town of Winchester.
The Facility
Winchester offers year-round recreation activities and has a modern campground with campsites and 4 yurts near the lake. There are showers flush toilets, group shelters and firewood. The park’s non-hook-up camping loop A and the yurts are accessible year-round. The park yurts are circular, Mongolian-style domed tents 20 feet in diameter with a plywood floor, hardwood lattice sidewalls and a clear Plexiglas skylight. These fully insulated shelters are designed to withstand high winds, snow loads and summer heat. Yurts have framed-in lockable wooden doors, screened windows and storm flaps. Covered entirely by waterproof canvas, the yurt is an aesthetically pleasing and comfortable place to stay in the park, in the middle of winter or summer. The yurts are heated and furnished with beds to sleep as many as six people. Guests should bring their own sleeping bags and cooking gear.
Other Information
The most popular activity at Winchester Lake is fishing for rainbow trout, which are stocked annually by the Idaho department of Fish and Game. Anglers also view for bullhead and small mouth bass. The lake is rich with nutrients and supports large populations of all three species. Small boats are allowed but gasoline engines are not. Visitors come to canoe, picnic or go hiking in the summer and to cross-country ski, ice skate and ice fish during the winter months.
Summers are short with warm days and cool, refreshing evenings. White-tailed deer, Canada geese, muskrats, Steller’s jays, ospreys, and Columbian ground squirrels inhabit the park’s ponderosa pine and Douglas fir forests. The nearby Wolf Education and Research Center is home to the Sawtooth wolf pack and is worth a visit.
The park hosts many year-round activities from an Annual Fishing Derby (free fishing day this year is on June 13) to a Paddlefest where visitors can try out a canoe or kayak for free with instructions, races and interpretive canoe trips. At the end of the summer, there’s an Outdoor BBQ & Dutch Over Cook-off. You can also plan a winter trip for the New Year’s Winterfest with demonstrations of snow shoeing, cross-country skiing, ice skating and ice fishing.
Winchester, Idaho, north central Idaho, 36 miles south of Lewiston
Address
Winchester Lake State Park
610 Business Hwy. 95, PO Box 186, Winchester, ID 83555
(208) 924-7563
Learn
more about this park and book your reservation
online 
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