Payette River Scenic Byway
Payette River Scenic Byway is a State Scenic Byway in Idaho. Within Idaho it covers roughly 100 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Payette River Scenic Byway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
State Route 55 follows the Payette River north from the Boise area toward the mountain resort town of McCall on Payette Lake. The river is a popular whitewater run, dropping over rapids and falls within sight of the road, and the route climbs from high desert into pine forest. Cascade Reservoir and the surrounding ranchland round out the drive.
- Payette River whitewater
- McCall & Payette Lake
- Cascade Reservoir
- high desert to forest
- SR-55
Plan a drive on Payette River Scenic Byway →
What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.