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The Flathead Rivers Alliance has published an access sheet for this launch, and it says the engineering statistics are not available yet. Read FRA's description and view the site photographs in the linked access sheet below.
Billy Garrett Memorial Bridge Access
A dirt and gravel loop leads to a gradual ramp, with small stones giving way to larger cobbles at the river. FRA recommends four-wheel or all-wheel drive. The site serves as a takeout from upstream and a put-in for the lower South Fork.
FRA access sheet
August 2026Flathead Rivers Alliance's sheet includes three site photographs and its full access description. Engineering statistics are not available yet.
View the access sheet and photographsAccess concerns
From Flathead Rivers Alliance- Loose cobbles can shift underfoot at the water. At low river levels, the bank becomes steep where boats are loaded or unloaded.
Getting there
From the Spotted Bear Ranger Station, drive northwest on East Side Reservoir Rd (#38) for 1.6 mi. Turn left onto West Side Reservoir Rd (#895). Continue 0.5 mi and turn right to the downstream side of the bridge on river right. Forest Road 38 closes between mileposts 37 and 53 from December 1 to May 14 for winter wildlife.
The map point marks the bottom of the ramp where you drive onto the cobble bar, on the downstream side of the bridge.
Upstream and downstream access points
The river flows this way →The river system flows through the traditional homelands of the Ql'ispe (Kalispel or Pend d' Orielle) Ktunaxa/Ksanka (Kootenai), and Séliš (Salish or "Flathead") Nations, who have long cared for this landscape, and the Amskapii Pikuni (Blackfeet) Peoples who often traveled in the river corridor.
About the homelands