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Blackfoot River · Missoula / Bonner

Scotty Brown Bridge to Johnsrud Park

American Whitewater's reach 984: 31.6 miles at about 15 feet per mile from Scotty Brown Bridge to Johnsrud Park, rated II-III. Access points sit roughly every three miles and AW calls the shuttle 'an easy bike ride or hitch,' so the reach breaks into day-sized pieces — most paddlers pick a segment by the time they have. Run whole, it is a natural overnight using the corridor's float-in campsites (Bear Creek Flats, Clearwater, Ninemile Prairie, Corrick's River Bend, Ponderosa Flats, Goose Rock, Clark's Cliff). The named rapids: Bear Creek Rapids eight miles in, Roundup Rapid at the Highway 200 bridge mid-reach, Thibodeau in the lower canyon, and The Ledge surf wave just above Johnsrud. A fall trip report ran the whole reach in packrafts over three days at 348 cfs — 'fun II+' with lines through everything, though not raft water that low. Watch for wood every spring.

Class
II-III
Length
31.6 mi
Gradient
15 ft/mi
On-water
≈ 10 hrs
GO
Running well at 2,680 CFS.
Updated 1 hr ago · USGS 12340000 Blackfoot River near Bonner MT
Going-to-the-Sun Road Spring StatusGoing-to-the-Sun Road is open to Avalanche Creek on the west side of the park. On the east side, the road is open to Jackson Glacier Overlook. Travel on open sections of the road may change due to spring weather conditions. Visitors should check road conditions before their arrival.NPS · Park Closure ↗
5 things on this page we haven't confirmed locally — know this river? Open to weigh in.

Everything below traces to a published source, but no local paddler has confirmed these yet. The same items carry a ⚑ flag where they appear on the page; a confirmation or correction from you clears them.

  • ≈ 10 hrs is an estimate

    Built from Montana River Guides' 26-mile full-day; nobody publishes a time on the water for the full 31.6 miles. Montana River Guides ↗

    Run the full reach? How long did it actually take, and at what flow?

  • Float-in campsite fee

    FWP reserves the corridor's boat camps by phone; no nightly fee is published anywhere we found. FWP Blackfoot corridor ↗

    Booked one? What did it cost? (FWP reservations: 406-542-5564.)

  • Spring wood reputation

    Trail Head River Sports says wood on the Blackfoot accounts for more fatalities than other rivers west of the Divide. We couldn't find a second source, so the page carries it as a softened caution. Trail Head River Sports ↗

    Does the spring-wood reputation match what you see out there? Any current strainers worth flagging?

  • Pin rock in Roundup RapidRoundup Rapid

    NRS's Missoula guide describes a large rock at the base of the main wave train with real pin potential. No other source mentions it. NRS Duct Tape Diaries ↗

    Run it recently? Is the rock a genuine hazard, and at what flows does it matter?

  • When The Ledge is inThe Ledge

    American Whitewater says the surf wave shows up at moderate spring flows; nobody publishes a cfs range for when it forms. American Whitewater 984 ↗

    Know the flow window when The Ledge forms? Even a rough cfs range helps.

No. 01 · Today

What the river is doing today

↘
Live flow and weather, straight off the gauge — updated every fifteen minutes.

FLOW USGS 12340000 ↗ Blackfoot River near Bonner, MT

2,680
cu ft / sec
falling · -100 over 24 h· gauge 4.02 ft
≈27th percentile for the date — a bit below normal for the date · median ~3,920 cfs
9,5406,6753,810945FRIWEDTUESUNFORECAST →NOW · 2,680
Too low <1,050Low 1,050–1,500Prime 1,500–6,000High 6,000–9,000Too high >9,000

Zones are a community estimate — no agency publishes a flow window for this run. Today's flow sits in the band of the same color. Dashed forward lines: the NOAA NWPS short-range forecast ↗ on 7-day & 30-day, and the NWRFC ensemble outlook ↗ on Season.

ON THE WATER

Mostly Sunny · Juneteenth · NOAA forecast ↗
Water
58°F
Air high
78°F
Precip
0%
Wind
2to 8 mph ENE
Sunrise
5:41AM
Sunset
9:34PM
No. 02 · Honest read

Is today the day?

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A read for what's actually running — not a generic class description. Updated with every gauge tick.

Good day to go

Flow is sitting in the meaty middle of the best-at range — the band we call fat enough to float, lean enough to read.

At 2,680 CFS this is real whitewater and a confident intermediate day. Strong paddlers with a roll or a reliable wet-exit; helmets and full thermal protection. Scout the big features and keep two boats.
  • ✦Scout the crux. Eddy out above the marked rapid and look before you commit.
  • ✦Two boats, minimum. Long runs with no road. You are your own rescue.
  • ✦Helmet, throw bag, whistle on every paddler. Pin kit split between boats.
  • ✦Dress for the swim, not the float — dry layers waiting at the take-out.
  • ✦Tell someone your plan and the time you expect to be off the water.
No. 03 · The run

Mile by mile

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The full American Whitewater reach — a long ribbon of Class I-II canyon water with a handful of real rapids, friendly at moderate spring flows and mellow by late summer. Most paddlers run it in segments; the corridor's float-in campsites make it an easy overnight. American Whitewater ↗

Read-and-run at most flows — but rivers change. Scout anything you can't read from upstream, and treat a flaggedportage / scout note below as the minimum, not the whole story.

mi 8.1Bear Creek Rapids

Bear Creek RapidsII

Class II on the FWP float map, just upstream of the Bear Creek Flats float-in campsite.
mi 15.11Roundup Rapid

Roundup RapidIII

At the Highway 200 bridge by the Roundup access — 'a fun rapid that ranges from a bit technical to rowdy wave trains depending on flow' (American Whitewater). Easily scouted from Highway 200. AW ↗
mi 27.06Thibodeau Rapid

Thibodeau RapidII-III

About two miles below Whitaker Bridge — watch for the large rock right-center as the river drops (American Whitewater). Big Sky Fishing calls it the Blackfoot's best-known piece of whitewater with the safest route on the right; FWP's float map grades it Class II. Flow-dependent. AW ↗
mi 31.31The Ledge

The LedgeII

A surf wave a quarter mile above Johnsrud that comes in when spring water is up — parking directly above and across the road, popular for park-and-play laps (American Whitewater). AW ↗
No. 04 · Getting there & back

How to get there. How to get back.

↘
Put-in, take-out, and the shuttle between them. Confirm road conditions before a remote launch.
Put-in

Scotty Brown Bridge

47.0184, -113.2402Directions ↗
Notes
FWP hand-launch access at the county-road bridge, the upstream end of the American Whitewater reach. Small site: parking is limited to 4 vehicles and prohibited on the county road within 300 yards of the bridge; no toilet. Day use.
Take-out

Johnsrud Park

46.9164, -113.6785Directions ↗
Notes
The largest site on the river and the downstream end of the Recreation Corridor — concrete ramp, drinking water, toilets, and a reservable group picnic shelter (406-542-5500). Day use; closed in winter. On hot summer days it is a full-on beach scene, and the take-out gets very busy.
Shuttle

28.9 mi self-shuttle

≈ 33 min driveShuttle route ↗
Route
Spot a vehicle at the take-out, drive boats to the put-in, retrieve at the end of the day.
Source
Driving distance via the Mapbox Directions API; matches a standard road shuttle, not a back-road shortcut.
Permits
None to float for private boaters; a Montana Conservation License is required to use FWP fishing access sites. Below Russell Gates the Recreation Corridor bans riverside camping except at the 8 designated float-in campsites — a permit is required year-round (reservations by phone via ReserveAmerica, max 10 people per site), with fire pans, bear-resistant food storage, portable toilets, and no glass. Non-motorized watercraft only.
Season
May through September. Spring snowmelt brings the whitewater; by late summer it is a fishing and tubing float — American Whitewater says 'there really is no flow that is too low to paddle the Blackfoot.'
No. 05 · Hazards on this run

What to watch for

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Hazards we have on record for this run specifically. Universal river-safety practice — gear, group, emergencies — is on the disclaimer & safety page.

No standout hazards are flagged for this run — which is not the same as none. Wood moves and channels shift; scout anything you can't read from upstream.

No. 06 · Before you head up the highway

Today's gear call

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Tailored to today's water temperature and this run's difficulty. The full always-bring list is on the disclaimer & safety page.
Today-specific · 58°F water · class II-III

At 58°F, this gear is non-optional.

Splash jacket and synthetic insulating layers.
Water is 58°F — cold if you swim.
Helmet rated for whitewater.
Class II-III — boulders and shallow hits.
Throw bag per paddler; pin kit split between boats.
Self-rescue is the only rescue out here.
Dry clothes and a warm hat in a dry bag.
Hypothermia prevention after a swim.
No. 07 · From the boats that ran it

What the last few boats said

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Sorted by similarity to today's flow. Reports are the best signal we have for what a run feels like — leave one when you get home.
No trip reports on this run yet — be the first.The rapids you ran, the flow at the gauge, the line you took — that is the best signal there is.
Gauges & flow
Land managers
Community
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