Overview  Moonrise over Jughandle Mountain
Jughandle Mountain is the obvious peak to the east of Highway 55 as you approach McCall from Boise. Its shape suggests a jug handle, with a long ridge line with a pronounced rounded hump at the north end.
This is a popular day hike from McCall. At about 3 miles and 2100' gain, it's a good workout without being exhausting. But from the summit, a lot of backcountry area opens up for the intrepid hiker. The views are excellent, because Jughandle stands somewhat by itself with nothing too close that is comparably high.
The normal approach to Jughandle is the Louie Lake trail, marked on topos of the area. A few years back, some of the country traversed by the lower trail was logged, so at times the trail has been hard to follow. However, it seems to be improving.
Jughandle also offers excellent backcountry skiing, a;though some areas around the mountain are over-run by snow machines.
For the hard core, Jughandle also has a host of hard trad routes, some with bolts placed.
Getting ThereAbout 1.5 miles south of the traffic light at the McCall airport/Hwy 55, turn east on Farm to Market Road (paved).  Map with trailheads circled in red
There are parking spaces all over, but sometimes finding an empty space is a challenge because the reservoir is a popular local fishing hole.
The trail is near the western end of all the parking spaces, and immediately crosses the creek. Follow the trail up through a logged are and eventually connect with an ancient jeep road to Louie Lake. From Louie Lake, there are several options: E
Go right and bushwhack up the north ridge. It's fairly open country, and involves some scrambling near the top.
Go left at the lake and find/follow the trail that heads near the north-east ridge. Scramble the boulders to the top.
Note that McCall sits at about 5000' and is definitely in snow country. If you are going sometime other than summer, check the road report (link below).  View of Long Valley from the summit Red Tape  Boulders on the east ridge
CampingThe trailhead is too busy for good camping. Louie Lake offers some nice spots, but don't expect to be alone, as this is another popular fishing spot.
External LinksPayette National Forest
Super Dave's trip report
IdahoSummits.com trip report
Ski trip report (May)
Rockclimbing.com page with technical climbs on Jughandle
McCall Chamber of Commerce
McCall weather
McCall area web cams
Idaho road report
McCall, Idaho wiki
 Skiing the west face in spring
Weather  Images
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