Riverbeta
Blackfoot River · Missoula / Bonner

Whitaker Bridge to Johnsrud Park

The short lower-corridor run, Whitaker Bridge to Johnsrud Park — about six miles that Adventure Missoula runs as their half-day, roughly three hours on the water. Whitaker Bridge sits halfway down the rutted, rocky Johnsrud Park Road. Thibodeau Rapid arrives a mile and a half in: watch the large rock right-center as the river drops, safest route on the right. From there it is read-and-run water to The Ledge, the surf wave a quarter mile above the Johnsrud take-out that works when spring water is up. Expect company — this is the stretch the summer crowd floats.

Class
II-III
Length
5.9 mi
Gradient
—
On-water
≈ 3 hrs
NO
Very low at 858 CFS — boney and likely unrunnable.
Updated 24 min ago · USGS 12340000 Blackfoot River near Bonner MT
≈44th percentile — about normal for the date
Air Quality AlertAir Quality Alert issued August 2 at 9:12AM MDT by NWS Great Falls MTNOAA ↗
1 thing 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.

  • 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

858
cu ft / sec
steady · -34 over 24 h· gauge 2.44 ft
≈44th percentile for the date — about normal for the date · median ~902 cfs
9,5406,5673,594621MONSATFRIWEDFORECAST →NOW · 858
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

Areas Of Smoke · Monday · NOAA forecast ↗
Water
65°F
Air high
73°F
Precip
6%
Wind
3to 7 mph WSW
Sunrise
6:17AM
Sunset
9:07PM
No. 02 · Honest read

Is today the day?

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

Too low to recommend

Well under the best-at range. Long boney drags between pools — more portaging than paddling.

At 858 CFS this is below a fun float. You can drag a boat down it, but most parties will wish they had waited. Give the snowpack a warm week and come back.
  • ✦Reconsider the day. A different run or a wait of a few days will pay off.
  • ✦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

↘
The half-day whitewater sampler — American Whitewater calls Whitaker Bridge the put-in for 'the most bang for your buck.' Thibodeau Rapid and The Ledge inside six miles, on the busiest stretch of the river. American Whitewater ↗In this section: ⚑ 1 claim awaiting local confirmation · ⓘ 1 rating our sources disagree on — the marks next to rapid names open the details.

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

mi 1.5Thibodeau Rapid

Thibodeau RapidII-III

About two miles below Whitaker Bridge by American Whitewater's prose (their POI math says closer to a mile and a half). Large rock right-center as the river drops; safest route on the right (Big Sky Fishing). FWP's float map grades it Class II. Flow-dependent. AW ↗
mi 5.7The 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

Whitaker Bridge

46.9428, -113.5998Directions ↗
Notes
Concrete ramp and toilet halfway down Johnsrud Park Road (rutted and rocky — give it time). Day use. American Whitewater calls it 'a common put in for whitewater paddlers seeking the most bang for their buck.'
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

5.9 mi self-shuttle

≈ 22 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. Recreation Corridor rules apply through the take-out: no riverside camping, fires in a fire pan only, no glass, portable toilet required. Enforcement on this stretch is strict — FWP, BLM, and the county sheriff announced a zero-warning posture on violations here in 2014. Non-motorized watercraft only.
Season
May through September. Whitewater character at May-June flows; by mid-summer this is the river's most popular splash-and-float water, and the heaviest-used stretch on a hot weekend.
No. 05 · Hazards on this run

What to watch for

↘
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. Woodmoves and channels shift; scout anything you can't read from upstream.

No. 06 · Before you head up the highway

Today's gear call

↘
Tailored to today's water temperature and this run's difficulty. The full always-bring list is on the disclaimer & safety page.
Today-specific · 65°F water · class II-III

At 65°F, this gear is non-optional.

Synthetic layers and a change of dry clothes.
Water is 65°F — still chilly on a long 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

↘
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
Related runs