North Beach is the northern unit of Ponderosa State Park, managed by the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, at the head of Payette Lake about six miles north of downtown McCall in Valley County. The park's main unit sits on a peninsula much closer to town, and the two units are not connected. North Beach is where the North Fork of the Payette River finishes a long run of slow bends through a wetland meadow and empties into the lake. The sand runs along the north shore just east of the river mouth, with marsh and conifer forest behind it and the length of the lake opening up to the south.

There are two ways in. The North Beach boat ramp, on the west side of the river mouth, is about 6.5 miles from McCall: take Highway 55 into town, turn onto Warren Wagon Road and follow it up the west shore. The ramp area has a vault toilet and a parking lot. For the sand itself, take the gravel East Side Road up the lake's east shore to the small gravel day-use lots behind the beach. From there the Peter T. Johnson Trail crosses the wet meadow, partly on boardwalk, and comes out on the east end of the beach after a short walk.

The beach is sand along a gently curving shoreline, and the swimming is in open lake water with no buoyed area or lifeguards listed by the park, so you swim at your own risk. Payette Lake is a deep glacial lake (average depth about 121 feet, maximum about 304) and it is fed by mountain snowmelt, so plan on cool water even in July and August. The lake is held at its normal full level of 4,990 feet in July and drawn down about five and a half feet by December for irrigation, so the shoreline is widest late in the season. Paddlers and small boats use the river channel at the west end all summer, so swim clear of it.

North Beach is not free. Every vehicle entering an Idaho state park pays the Motor Vehicle Entrance Fee, which is $7 per day. Ponderosa is not one of the five parks where non-residents pay a doubled rate, so out-of-state cars pay the same $7. Idaho residents can skip the daily fee with the $10 Idaho State Parks Passport bought with their vehicle registration, and anyone can buy an $80 annual entrance pass. Day-use areas in Idaho state parks are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the park manager can change those hours. Dogs must be on a leash no longer than six feet.

In August 2021 a dog became ill after swimming in Payette Lake, and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality sampled three spots, including the western edge of North Beach. The water showed no toxins, but bottom-dwelling cyanobacteria at North Beach carried low levels of cyanotoxins. DEQ issued no health advisory but asked people to use caution here and to keep dogs from eating material off the lake bottom. Check DEQ and Central District Health for newer notices.

Most visitors pair a swim with a paddle up the Meanders, the slow, non-motorized stretch of the North Fork above the lake that winds back and forth through the meadow for miles. Backwoods Adventures rents canoes, kayaks and paddleboards for the North Beach launch in summer, when the launch area can get congested. Short trails wind through the wetland behind the beach, and the park's campgrounds and visitor center are in the main unit near McCall.