South Fork Flathead · Bob Marshall Wilderness / Hungry Horse
Youngs Creek to Mid Creek — South Fork wilderness
American Whitewater's reach (AW 1005). The South Fork begins at the Youngs Creek–Danaher Creek confluence, deep in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, and runs 37 miles of mostly read-and-run Class II+ to the Mid Creek take-out just above the Meadow Creek Gorge. Approach is on foot or by stock pack: Owl Creek Trailhead (29 mi from Hwy 83) or the shorter Lodgepole Trailhead (22 mi from Hwy 200) are the standard put-ins; Big Prairie Pack Bridge at mile 6.62 is an alternative for those hiking in from Holland Lake. Increasingly popular with lightweight packraft expeditions; historically a stock-pack and outfitter river. ⚠️ Major hazards: wood throughout (channel-spanning log jams possible from the very first miles), limited campsites below Black Bear Creek, and Meadow Creek Gorge (Class IV/V) immediately below the Mid Creek take-out — do NOT miss it. Take-out hike is ~3.5 mi to Meadow Creek Trailhead for shuttle pickup; the trailhead is 67 miles and at least 2 hours from Hungry Horse.
OK
Flowing at 1,860 CFS — no best-at range on record yet.
Updated 2 hr ago · USGS 12359800 S F Flathead R ab Twin C nr Hungry Horse MT
≈47th percentile — about normal for the date
No. 01 · Today
What the river is doing today
↘Live flow and weather, straight off the gauge — updated every fifteen minutes.
FLOW USGS 12359800 ↗ South Fork Flathead River above Twin Creek near Hungry Horse MT
1,860
falling · -150 over 24 h· gauge 6.60 ft
≈47th percentile for the date — about normal for the date · median ~1,960 cfs
No runnability range published. Riverbeta doesn't yet have a CFS-based good-day window for this run — the chart shows the live flow without zone colors. If you know what flow is right here, please tell us (see contact).
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.
ON THE WATER
Chance Showers And Thunderstorms · This Afternoon · NOAA forecast ↗
Water
60°F
Air high
89°F
Precip
25%
Wind
3mph ESE
Sunrise
5:52AM
Sunset
9:30PM
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.
Check the gauge first
We don't have a current flow reading for this run, so we can't give you an honest read on the day.
Pull the USGS gauge yourself before you commit. Without a live number, treat Class II+ as unknown and plan conservatively.
- ✦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 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. American Whitewater ↗
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 34.51Lower wilderness rapid (unnamed)
Lower wilderness rapid (unnamed)II
AW publishes one named (well — unnamed but documented) Class II rapid at mile 34.51, near the end of the wilderness reach. Most of the 37-mile run is read-and-run Class II+ with no individually named features.
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
Youngs/Danaher Confluence
47.4456, -113.1836Directions ↗
Notes
Wilderness put-in deep in the Bob Marshall Wilderness — the South Fork begins here, at the confluence of Youngs Creek and Danaher Creek. NO ROAD ACCESS. Reach it on foot or by stock pack via one of two trailheads off Hwy 83: Owl Creek Trailhead (~29 mi hike, 15 mi south of Condon) or Lodgepole Trailhead (~22 mi hike, 12 mi north of Ovando — the shorter approach). Big Prairie Pack Bridge at river mile 6.62 is an alternative put-in for those hiking in from Holland Lake Trailhead. ⚠️ Channel-spanning log jams at the start may require a portage. Wilderness regulations apply throughout: 16-day stay limit, group size limits, no motorized travel, LNT critical. Coordinates here are the river-side confluence (Wikipedia); driving directions will not work — you have to hike in.
Take-out
Mid Creek
47.7900, -113.4200Directions ↗
Notes
Wilderness take-out marked by a small sign on river-right, just above the Meadow Creek Gorge canyon entrance. From the take-out, hike ~3.5 miles down the trail to the Meadow Creek Trailhead (USFS Spotted Bear RD, lat 47.83236, lng -113.42009) for vehicle access — 67 miles south of Hungry Horse via East Side Reservoir Road #38 → West Side Reservoir Road #895 → Meadow Creek Road #2826. The trailhead has 28 parking spots (stock + foot use), is open May 15 – Nov 30, no cell service; closest public phone is 15 mi north at Spotted Bear Ranger Station. ⚠️ Meadow Creek Gorge immediately below the take-out is Class IV/V — do NOT miss the take-out. Coordinates here are approximate (river-side); use the trailhead lat/lng above for driving.
Shuttle
270.5 mi self-shuttle
≈ 428 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
No permit required to float. 16-day stay limit. Bob Marshall Wilderness regulations apply throughout (group size limits, no motorized travel, IGBC-approved bear-resistant food storage, LNT). Wild & Scenic Corridor regulations apply (PFDs, solid human waste containment, fire pan/blanket). Limited campsites below Black Bear Creek — plan campsite selection in advance.
Season
Mid-June through late August. AW: 'class II at moderate flows.' Earlier-season Youngs Creek starts possible at higher water.
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.
Help is far
Read this part the way you'd read the rapids — it's the same kind of information.
Getting in
On foot or by stock: 29 miles from Owl Creek Trailhead, 22 from Lodgepole. There is no easy version of this approach.
Cell coverage
None for the entire reach. A satellite communicator per group is the floor, not a luxury.
If something goes wrong
The nearest trailhead is a multi-day walk for most of the run, and the Meadow Creek Trailhead at the end is still 67 road miles — at least 2 hours — from Hungry Horse. Rescue here is slow even after word gets out.
Camps
Campsites are limited below Black Bear Creek — pick your nights in advance rather than paddling until tired.
Wood
Channel-spanning log jams are possible from the very first miles. On Class II water, wood — not rapids — is the hazard that matters here.
⚠ The one that matters
Meadow Creek Gorge — do not miss the Mid Creek take-out
Class IV/V water begins immediately below the Mid Creek take-out. This is not a rapid you scout and decide on — missing the take-out puts you into a gorge that does not forgive casual entry. Know what the take-out looks like from the water, identify it early, and be on shore well above it. From there it's a ~3.5-mile trail to the Meadow Creek Trailhead.
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 · 60°F water · class II+
At 60°F, this gear is non-optional.
Synthetic layers and a change of dry clothes.
Water is 60°F — still chilly on a long swim.
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
- USGS 12359800 · South Fork Flathead River above Twin Creek near Hungry Horse MTUpdates every 15 min