Live conditions, honest reports, and trip-planning beta for Montana whitewater — the Flathead forks, the Blackfoot, and more on the way. Friday-night go/no-go, Saturday day trips, multi-day windows — all in one place. No ads, no fluff.
The river of A River Runs Through It, flowing west from the Continental Divide near Lincoln to its confluence with the Clark Fork at Bonner. Mostly Class I-II float water with a few Class III rapids that firm up during spring runoff, then a relaxed float and tubing river as flows drop through summer. The lower ~27 miles, Russell Gates to Johnsrud, run through the cooperative Blackfoot River Recreation Corridor managed by FWP, BLM, and private landowners.
Formed at the confluence of the North and Middle Forks at Blankenship Bridge. Wide, braided, scenic. Float-fishing and family-float water all the way to Flathead Lake.
The whitewater fork. Wild and Scenic from headwaters in the Bob Marshall Wilderness to confluence with the North Fork. Forms the southern boundary of Glacier National Park. Free-flowing, snowmelt-driven, no upstream dams. Filmed in The River Wild.
The quieter fork. Originates in British Columbia, forms the western boundary of Glacier National Park. Wild and Scenic. Mostly Class I-II with a few Class III features in the lower canyon. Less traffic than the Middle Fork.
The wilderness fork. Wild and Scenic from headwaters in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex to Hungry Horse Reservoir — 37 miles of Class II+ with no road access. Hike-in or stock-pack only. Below Hungry Horse Dam the river is dam-regulated and out of scope for this guide.
Locals' overnight (or long day) immediately below the Great Bear Wilderness. 24 mi of Class II-III canyon water with the Walton Goat Lick, Brown's Hole, and Nyack Flats. Cascadilla is the practical takeout.
→The classic North Fork family multi-day — 34 mi of mostly Class I-II through Glacier-bordering country with one canyon section that brings the only Class III water on the trip.
→The full 58-mile Wild & Scenic North Fork — Canadian border to the Middle Fork confluence. A 3–4 day wilderness-corridor expedition that strings together every named sub-segment in the drainage. AW publishes this whole reach as a single page (1004).
→The hypothetical full Middle Fork — wilderness fly-in at Schafer all the way to the Middle/North Fork confluence at Blankenship. ~72 miles of Class III-IV wilderness, road-accessible Class II-III canyon, and easier mainstem-feeder Class II below West Glacier. Rarely done as one trip end-to-end; more often locals string two or three of the stages together.
→Wilderness multi-day. Great Bear Wilderness corridor. Fly-in or hike-in access only. Several significant rapid series. True wilderness — no road, no cell, no rescue.
→The wilderness multi-day. 37 miles of Class II+ through the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. No road access — hike in, paddle out, hike out. Wild and Scenic the entire way.
→Glacier Rim to Blankenship Bridge
We floated in pack rafts a few years back on June 1-3 from the border to Blankenship Bridge. Was excellent. Going from border to Polebridge is great - easy. We winged the campsites, would pull out and look around; just make sure it's not private land. Have a map. - Kathryn, via a Flathead-area paddling group