Anyone been up the North Fork? We'd like to do Ford to Polebridge.
I did Ford to Polebridge on Saturday morning and it was absolutely spectacular. Didn't see another soul the whole 11 miles.
It is high and fast!
The river is flowing!!
Flathead Valley / Glacier National Park
North Fork Flathead
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.
No. 01 · The river
Where the runs sit
↘Every run drawn as its actual river channel, colored by today's runnability. Hover a line for the run; tap to open it.
- Too low
- Low
- Prime
- High
- Too high
No. 02 · Runs
The sections, top to bottom
↘Listed headwaters to confluence. Pick a run for live conditions, rapids beta, and the whole plan.
Canadian Border to Polebridge
PRIMEUpper North Fork wilderness float. Not whitewater — Class I-II with numerous log jams and tight turns through grizzly country. Multi-day put-in for the longer 58-mi North Fork descent, or a 2–3 day standalone trip.
2,950 cfs todayprime 1,500–7,000Polebridge to Big Creek
PRIMELong scenic float, not whitewater. Glacier NP boundary on river-left. Best as part of a multi-day. Wood hazards are the main concern.
2,950 cfs todayprime 1,500–7,000Big Creek to Glacier Rim
PRIMEMost popular North Fork run. Canyon section below the Camas Creek road. Burn-scar landscape from 2001/2003 fires. Several Class III features. Several good surf waves at medium-low flows.
2,950 cfs todayprime 1,500–8,000Glacier Rim to Blankenship Bridge
PRIMEShort, mellow, family-friendly. Ends at the confluence with the Middle Fork.
2,950 cfs todayprime 1,000–10,000
No. 03 · Where to start
Where to start
↘The North Fork is mostly wilderness-corridor scenery — its ladder is short, and its top rung lives on the Middle Fork. New to rivers entirely? The start-here guide walks through the whole first season.
- First float
Short, mellow, family-friendly — ninety minutes down to the Middle Fork confluence. The easiest water on this side of the valley.
- First whitewaterBig Creek to Glacier RimClass II–III
The most popular North Fork run — canyon Class II–III with several real features. The Shelf near the end has a history; read the run page before you go.
- Stepping up
The North Fork tops out at II–III — when you want more, the next rung is the Middle Fork classic, twenty minutes up the highway.
No. 04 · Multi-day trips
Multi-day trips
↘Overnight trips — you camp on the river. Committing wilderness with no road bail-out, or a road corridor you can shorten or break into day-runs. Each rolls up today's runnability across its whole length.
Polebridge to Blankenship Bridge — North Fork multi-day
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.
→Canadian Border to Blankenship Bridge — full North Fork
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).
→
No. 05 · Reference
Gauges & outside resources
↘Where the live readings come from, and the outfits with the deeper river-by-river database.
Gauges & flow
- USGS 12355500 · North Fork Flathead River near Columbia Falls MT
Run databases
No. 06 · From the group
From the group
↘Ranger's note ·Beta pulled from the Flathead Valley Paddling Society on Facebook — organized, attributed, and kept here so it doesn't vanish into the feed. The original conversations are at the bottom.
Safety
Late May 2026, ~12,000 cfs: the Shelf (the "charcoal" rapid — the same drop locals also call the North Fork Ledge) runs as a nice wave train at this level, but a sweeper remains river-left, below the rapid on the corner. Avoid it. Reported as still in place this season.
Big Creek to Glacier Rim: no strainers that aren't super obvious, channels clear.
New wood buildup around Home Bottoms Ranch. It looks river-wide from upstream, but there's a gap on the inside corner to navigate through.
Watch for strainers near Coal Creek. (Same report: everything ran clean at 6,000-7,000 cfs before the early-June rise.)
The North Fork shelf/rapid, river-right below Polebridge, is extremely dangerous — it does not look abnormal from upstream, and parties report it flips boats and strips gear. Scout it; treat it with serious caution.
Where the Ledge is, per consistent local reports: about 1 mile above the Glacier Rim boat ramp, roughly a quarter mile past a large culvert on river-right (the Canyon Creek culvert — right where the road's pavement turns to gravel, so you can scout it from the car). You'll see a shallow line of whitewater reaching from the right shore to about mid-river. Stay LEFT and it's easily avoided; it's deceptive and easy to miss if you drift right.
Coal Creek to Big Creek: if you take the LEFT channel there's a channel-blocking log jam, and the right channel is hard to pick out. One paddler picked wrong with kids aboard and had to unload and portage the whole raft. Choose carefully.
Spring high water on the North Fork is no joke: strong current, big waves, and lethal wood. Tree roots are the worst hazard — a trained packrafter drowned pinned at a tree root in shallow water when the bow folded around her legs. Novices should wait until late June/July; one paddler aborted Ford → Polebridge less than a mile in last spring. Stop at the Polebridge Mercantile for current river updates.
The North Fork Ledge is a real boat-eater and can be highly retentive. If you're floating all the way to Blankenship, avoid it — stay far river-left.
The run
The Kintla rapids are the only real "technical" water up high — at lower flows just dodgy boulder gardens. Also a few very avoidable log jams.
Fool Hen is really a Class II+ at most levels — easy point-and-shoot, mostly standing waves and maybe one hole. Straightforward for an experienced oarsman, especially in a 12–14 ft boat; it can get trickier at high flows.
At ~15,000 cfs the Shelf washes out into a big wave train — no hydraulic except a small hole far river-right.
There's one small rapid on the border-to-Polebridge run: watch for a large culvert on river-right — the rapid is just past it. Stay river-left and the current carries you past with no issue.
Per-segment read from a paddler who ran the whole river: Ford → Polebridge is the safest stretch; Polebridge → Big Creek has wood piles and strainer hazards to dodge; Border → Ford can be low on water but is very pretty, with one splashy wave train at Kintla Creek.
Conditions
Late May 2026: a paddler floated the whole North Fork from the border at 6,000–7,000 cfs with no major obstructions — a little new wood piled up but easy to see and avoid; a raft company reported border → Polebridge clear.
Late May 2026, 13,200 cfs: Polebridge → Camas ran fast (2:10), fun Class II wave trains and high water. Several log pileups and strainers, but nothing difficult to avoid.
At 13,200 cfs: fast water (Polebridge to Camas Creek in 2:10), a couple of fun Class II wave trains, several log pileups and strainers but nothing difficult to avoid.
Border to Polebridge around 2,200 cfs: no hazards encountered.
Don't run the upper North Fork much under 400 CFS — you'll be dragging. Watch the USGS gauge.
The border-to-Ford section is often too shallow to enjoy in July, especially a low-snow year — many parties put in at Ford instead and take out lower (e.g. Coal Creek).
American Whitewater lists below 1,000 cfs as 'not recommended' on the North Fork. (Distinct from the ~400 cfs point where you're simply dragging.)
Around 14,500 cfs it gets a bit sticky and wavy about a mile above Glacier Rim.
Camping
Bears have been weird this year on the North Fork - carry spray and keep food and anything scented in scent-proof storage.
Camping is good river-right the length of the upper North Fork. A popular spot is where Red Meadow Creek meets the North Fork. Scout your first campsite ahead and camp there the night before launching.
Camp only on river-right. River-left is Glacier National Park and requires a permit — camping there is illegal and ticketed.
The Big Creek campground is reserved out from June on and its boat launch gets packed in season — Northern Flats is a better camp choice.
Coal Creek access realities: no ramp, just a (usually muddy) road to the river and a small launch area - rig before you drag down. Roughly 8 informal campsites, no vault toilet, and private property both on the second road in and along the first corner downstream. Bears work this area constantly (berries + coolers): no food in tents. Mosquitos are fierce back in the trees.
Logistics & rules
Float time scales with flow: about 7 hours at 7,000 cfs in a dory (6-7 at a fishing pace), and about 4-5 hours paddling steadily at 2,000 cfs (~5 mph on the water).
North Fork regulations: release bull trout (no black-tipped fin — put it back), and you are legally required to carry a portable toilet for solid waste.
For North Fork multi-days, leave the hard-sided drift boats — bring rafts. 10–15-mile days are very doable; in June daylight runs from before 6am to around 10pm.
Early season, the raft companies run training and guided floats before private boaters are out — calling their front desk is a good way to get current conditions. Wild River Adventures, Glacier Raft Co, and Glacier Guides & Montana Raft cover the Middle Fork; all the companies except Great Northern run the North Fork.
Shuttle
Shuttle help on the upper North Fork: Cameron Trey runs shuttles, and Jonathan Munroe runs shuttles out of Home Bottom Ranch. A Polebridge-based shuttle service has also been operating in recent summers.
Is it for you
A favorite early-season family overnight — it gets too low later in the season. Finish with a treat at the Polebridge bakery.
The upper North Fork float is Class III at most and can be done in about 3 days (extendable). The rapids can get tricky at certain flows but ease off as the season progresses.
Ford to Polebridge is about 11 miles — spectacular and quiet; you can have it to yourself.
Locals routinely run this stretch with young kids (around age 4) if there's an experienced oarsman — the trick is to put a second adult up front to hold the child through the wave trains. With a small child aboard, some take out at Big Creek to skip the Ledge entirely.
The North Fork sees far fewer people than the Middle Fork. Anything above Big Creek is quiet; Big Creek and Glacier Rim are busier. Even putting in at Glacier Rim, traffic is much lighter than the Middle Fork.
Good to know
The Flathead Rivers Alliance publishes a North Fork trip-planning reference — camping (Glacier NP vs Forest Service), river access, and food storage — at flatheadrivers.org.
The Flathead Rivers Alliance posts current North Fork condition videos to their Facebook during the season — a quick way to read color and level before you drive up.
The original conversations
Shelf / charcoal rapid, North Fork Flathead, ~12,000 cfs. Nice wave train. There's a sweeper that's still there — river-left, below it on the corner. Hopefully this is the year it gets washed away.
Montanan looking for local advice for a June North Fork float, Ford to Glacier Rim, 10 people with various experience and boats. Can we bring drift boats or should we stick to rafts? What's the magic CFS for that float? Is averaging 10–15 miles per day realistic? Any must-see stops or suggested campsites?
Rafts! No drift boats.
Don't bring hard-sided boats. 10–15-mile days are very easy to do — the sun is up before 6am and sets around 10pm.
How's the color of the North Fork above Polebridge? Looks pretty huge online!
Here's a North Fork video from this week.
Varying shades of brown, with a chance of tree.
Planning to take my 4-year-old daughter on the North Fork in mid-June. There's a section called Fool Hen rated Class III — are these typically easy in mid-June? Also, is The Ledge easy to spot and avoid? I'm an experienced rafter, but having my daughter makes me wonder if we should take out at Big Creek this trip.
Depends on level, but the Fool Hen rapids are fairly straightforward if you have some experience on the oars. As for the Ledge, it's easily avoidable — once you pass the river-right culvert you'll see it downstream on the right. Stay left of it and you'll be good.
The Ledge is one mile upstream from the Glacier Rim boat ramp.
Fool Hen is really a 2+ at most levels — easy point-and-shoot. The Ledge is pretty easy to avoid, just watch for it and stay left.
An experienced person at the oars with other experienced people should have no problem on that stretch. Fool Hen is just standing waves and maybe one hole. The Ledge is easily seen from a ways away — pay attention and stay left.
If you have experience, Fool Hen is not much to worry about, especially in a 12–14 ft boat. The Ledge can be deceiving — it's about a quarter mile past a large culvert on river-right. You'll see a shallow line of whitewater from the right shore to about halfway across the river. Just stay left. You can scout it from the road; the culvert is right before the pavement turns to gravel.
June is typically high water — it may be lower than normal but it's still rushing. My personal opinion would be no, with a 4-year-old. Yesterday another raft flipped near Kokanee Bend — second one this week due to logs in the water.
Stay away from Coal Creek to Big Creek — if you take the left channel there's a channel-blocking log jam, and it's hard to pick the right channel. I picked wrong once with my little kids and we had to unload and portage the whole raft. The rest of the river is straightforward for an experienced oarsman.
My daughter turns 4 this summer and this will be her third year on this trip. If you're an experienced oarsman, go for it — but have another adult sit up front to hold the kiddo through the waves.
Any recent beta on new log jams or strainers? Planning a float soon and wanted to check for any major obstructions from the border down. Thanks!
The raft companies have been running training floats and guided trips for a week or so — a great resource for early-season conditions when there aren't many private floaters out. Calling their front desk usually gets you updates: Wild River Adventures, Glacier Raft Co, Glacier Guides & Montana Raft, and Great Northern for the Middle Fork; all the companies except Great Northern for the North Fork.
Just spoke to a local raft company who ran border down to Polebridge this past weekend — they said it was clear.
We floated the whole river from the border with no difficulties at 7000–6000 cfs. Watch out for wood — a few trees dangling from the banks and a few up side channels that you want to stay away from — but the main channel is generally obvious and clear. Little bit of new wood piled up in a few places, easy to see and avoid.
Ford to Polebridge is probably the safest stretch. Polebridge to Big Creek has some wood piles to avoid and strainer hazards. The border to Ford may lack water but it's very pretty and has one wave train at Kintla Creek that's splashy.
Planning to kayak from Polebridge to Camas, solo. It's flowing 13,200 right now. Did it three years ago with no drama at lower flow. Anything new at this cfs?
It was a fast run today — 2:10 from Polebridge to Camas Creek. A couple of fun Class II wave trains and high water. Several log pileups and strainers, but nothing difficult to avoid.
New to the area and looking at trying out a pack raft, thinking Ford to Polebridge on a Saturday morning. I've kayaked a bit but consider myself a river novice. Did this stretch years ago and don't recall it being difficult. Anyone want to join with a second vehicle?
The river changes every year and every day, and there can be some bad spots. Tree roots in the water are to be avoided at all costs. One well-trained gal with a pack kayak drowned in 3 inches of water a few years ago — the front end folded around her legs in the swirling water around the tree root. Stop at the Polebridge Mercantile and ask about the latest river updates; someone there usually knows the river scene. Life jackets are mandatory.
I'd be very careful on the river this time of year. Last May I set out to kayak Ford to Polebridge and had to abort less than a mile in because the current was so strong and the waves so big — it was just dangerous and I knew it. You might want to wait until late June or July.
Curious about details of floating the North Fork this summer? Camping? We have heard many different things. Thanks!
This Facebook group is a great source of info. For camping (Glacier NP vs Forest Service side), river-access stats, food storage, etc., the Flathead Rivers Alliance has a quick trip-planning reference: flatheadrivers.org.
The float is a good one. Lots of camping — but make sure you camp only on the right. The left is Glacier National Park and requires a permit. This float can be done in 3 days but can also be extended if you want to chill, fish, whatever. Max Class III rapids, but at certain flows they can be tricky. Shouldn't be a problem as the season progresses. How far down do you plan to go? If you're going all the way to Blankenship, please avoid the North Fork Ledge — it can be a real boat eater and can be highly retentive. Let us know if you have other questions!
Need some honest advice from those of you familiar with the Flathead Canadian-border-to-Polebridge section. We'll be two 14' rafts, 2 adults and 1 kid per raft, loaded with overnight gear for a 4-day/3-night trip launching July 28. What are typical flows that time of year? Any technical sections we should know about? With the lack of snow this year, are we going too late? Suggestions for a great 2nd/3rd-night camp spot? Any leads on someone to shuttle trucks?
Might be a little boney up towards the border end of July, but probably still doable with some dragging here and there. The only "technical" spots would be the Kintla rapids, which would just be dodgy boulder gardens at those flows, plus a few very avoidable log jams. Lots of great camping everywhere river-right, and there's a shuttle guy working out of Polebridge this summer. Watch flows carefully as you get closer — if it gets too low, I'd recommend putting in a little lower.
Cameron Trey is your shuttle. Watch out for the North Fork shelf/rapid — river-right below Polebridge. It leaves no survivors. No joke, you will be flipped, and it doesn't look abnormal from upstream, so once you hit it… goodbye gear and friends. Never camp river-left — that's Glacier Park, illegal, and you'll be ticketed. Release only bull trout — no black-tipped fin, put it back. You must, by law, carry a portable toilet for solid waste.
We floated in pack rafts a few years back, June 1-3, from the border to Blankenship bridge. It was excellent. Border to Polebridge is great and easy. We winged the campsites — pull out and look around, just make sure it's not private land. Have a map.
Border to Polebridge is easily done in a couple days, so consider going further. With this snowpack and early runoff it may be boney closer to the border — still doable but you may wade a little. Check USGS flows for averages. I recommend scouting your first campsite ahead, camping there the night before you launch, then floating in. I typically float border-to-Ford, then Ford-to-Sondreson for a shorter day, then Sondreson-to-Polebridge, then Polebridge-to-Coal Creek — easily four days of floating.
Jonathan Munroe runs shuttles from Home Bottom Ranch.
It can be really shallow between the border and Ford in July. I'd plan to put in at Ford and get out at Coal Creek instead.
I'm happy to run your shuttle.
We did it last year — put in at the border on June 29. There's a side channel that was very thin; otherwise you'd drag boat and gear over the rock bar to the main channel. The Ford put-in looked very doable at those flows. I'd take out further down — 10-to-12-mile days are perfect. There is one small rapid on river-right: you'll see a large culvert on river-right, and just past it is the rapid. Stay river-left and the natural current takes you right past it with no issue. Expect a few strainers from the winter.
My suggestion for a family trip that time of year: skip the upper section and do Polebridge down. There's a lot more water, lots of great camping, and you can make a two- or three-day trip. We're likely to have low water this year — not much snow.
Border to Ford is often too low that time of year, unless you really like carrying your boat.
Go all the way to Blankenship bridge. Boney up top, and the Ledge on the last day — stay far river-left on the Ledge.
Border to Big Creek. Camp where Red Meadow Creek connects with the North Fork. Nothing technical.
Watch the USGS flows. If I remember right, I wouldn't run it if it's reading under 400 — you'll be dragging.
Last year the North Fork was so low in May we swore it was July levels. Folks coming in late July need to really check river levels — we were dragging bottom in several places in June, and we draft in 4-5 inches of water.
That's going to be a lot of work in a 14-footer that time of year, especially with overnight gear. If you can go earlier or lighter, I would.
Would be too low for me to enjoy, and three nights of camping from Polebridge is a very slow pace.
Make sure you have the river guide book.
The Shelf is a ways below Polebridge — actually just above the Glacier Rim take-out, just after the Canyon Creek culvert on river-right. It's about 1/4 mile after the culvert and easy to miss if you go river-left. For flows, use the USGS site and select median on the chart; above median should be OK. It just had a major flow way above median.
Below 1000 CFS is considered "not recommended" per American Whitewater.
My family rafts the North Fork a ton. Anything above Big Creek is not very crowded; once you get to Big Creek and Glacier Rim it's a little busier. We stick to the North Fork because there are way fewer people — even putting in at Glacier Rim, the traffic is significantly less than the Middle Fork.
The campground at Big Creek is reserved out since June and the boat launch will be packed around that time. Northern Flats is a better choice.
Who is doing NF shuttles, Border to Blankenship? Any timber or other obstructions? Anybody running it at current flows?
Just drove the North Fork to Big Creek — the river is HIGH. Lots of downed trees from what I could see from the road, and huge long wave trains. The Shelf looks gnarly.
I would 100% expect to see wood at this level. Head on a swivel is mandatory.
The local sheriff departments are asking folks to stay off the rivers right now — if you have to go, go with a guide familiar with this kind of high, log-infested, very cold and fast water.
Ran Great Northern Flats to Glacier Rim on Friday at about 15k and there was no wood. The Shelf just becomes a big wave train at these flows with no hydraulic except a small hole far river right.
Anyone boating the NF Friday, Great Northern to Glacier Rim?
Be safe and look out for wood — worth stopping a few places on the road to peek at the river where you can.
Pole to Blank on 5/26 had one new wood buildup around Home Bottoms Ranch. It appears river-wide, but there is a gap on the inside corner to navigate through.
I was out there last week around 14,500 cfs. You'll be fine. Look for wood. Bit sticky and wavy about a mile above G Rim.
Curious if anyone has navigated the North Fork from the border down to Polebridge this year — headed up in two weeks, any new hazards?
Everything was great about two weeks ago at 6,000–7,000 cfs — not sure how the most recent flooding changes that. Watch out for strainers near Coal Creek and make sure you avoid the ledge after the giant culvert.
We did it two weeks ago, flow around 2,200 cfs. No hazards encountered.
What is the float time from the border to Polebridge?
Took me about 7 hours at 7,000 cfs in a dory.
6–7 hours fishing and enjoying; 4 hours straight through.
I was moving about 5 mph at 2,000 cfs — Polebridge is about 4 hours of float time at that flow.
Anybody ever stayed at the Coal Creek access? Group of 9 trying to car camp and bump down river each day in a couple weeks.
Great spot to camp, easy access by car. The launch is tucked between thick bushes; in low water it's hard to get loaded boats to the main channel.
We've launched from Coal Creek for over 45 years: no ramp, just a normally muddy road to the river. No vault toilet, maybe 8 campsites, and fishing trucks take a lot of the parking. A couple of houses and private property along there — only one road in belongs to the launch. Bears are consistently in the area (berry bushes and unwatched coolers) — no food in tents. Rig your boat before you drag down to the launch; the space is small.
There's a great campsite downstream of the boat ramp tucked in the trees — though some of that is private property; right after the first corner is great.
Canoeing the North Fork border to Blankenship next week — curious about beta to avoid wood, and any camps to avoid due to heavier bear usage?
Just did Big Creek to Glacier Rim and no strainers that aren't super obvious. Channels should be clear. Bears have been weird this year — bring bear spray and keep food and anything scented in something scent-proof.
Never had an issue with bears in camp on the North Fork. Had one cross the river in front of me once though.