Ford River Access
RM 44 · 48.8745° N, 114.3740° W
360° · Terrain360 · Ford Boat Launch
13 scenes
Drag to look · click to move
A narrated walk-through of this site: the ramp, the gaps, the surfaces, and the hazards, read from the survey.
Read the transcript
Upstream from here is Canadian Border. Downstream is Schnaus Cabin.
Drive 36.4 miles north from the intersection of the Blankenship and North Fork Roads outside of Columbia Falls.
The parking area is packed dirt.
There is no designated accessible parking.
The route from the parking area to the river averages 5.7 percent grade, steepening to 38.2 percent at its steepest point.
Cross slope, the sideways tilt that matters most in a wheelchair, averages 1.6 percent, with a maximum of 4.9 percent.
The path averages 6 feet wide, narrowing to 6 feet at its tightest.
Underfoot it is 100 percent hard.
You drop about 12.4 feet on the way down to the water.
The launch itself is slide and rails, packed gravel bank and beach ~17° angle, 18-36” tall.
What to watch for, in the survey crew's own words:
Larger stones embedded in bank can make footing uneven.
At low water, the ramp ends considerably shy of the water’s edge, requiring a short carry or drag.
Facilities: Vault toilet, USFS rental cabin near site.
Conditions on the Three Forks change quickly. Check the gauge the morning you float.
Wind 2 mph SSW Tomorrow
91° 60°
The site
Located at the historic Ford Cabin, this river access is frequently shared with stock users or hunters. The site features a rail system for launches and a small beach below to stage boats.
Access concerns
Recorded verbatim by the FRA field crew
-
Larger stones embedded in bank can make footing uneven.
-
At low water, the ramp ends considerably shy of the water’s edge, requiring a short carry or drag.
Access-site lens
Launch profile
- FRA access description
- Slide/rails, packed gravel bank and beach ~17° angle, 18-36” tall
- Kayaks + canoes
- Good
- Paddleboards
- Marginal
- Carry terrain
- Flat unpaved
Safety + condition
- Safety interpretation
- Fair
- Overall condition
- Fair
- Access hazards
- Unstable footing · Submerged hazards likely
- Water obstacles
- Rocks
- Deferred maintenance signal
- Not observed
Accessibility observations
- Designated accessible parking
- None
- Route shown in sheet
- Not observed
- Route obstacles
- Rough surface, steep grades
- Observed barriers
- Steep grades, rough surfaces, no curb cuts
- Accessible water feature
- Not observed
Visitor management
- Parking estimate
- Not assessable from the source imagery
- Simultaneous launch capacity
- Single
- Launch queue evidence
- None
- Designated camping indicated
- Not observed
- Registration infrastructure
- None identified in the source sheet
Experience indicators
- Setting
- Semi primitive
- Recreation character
- Lightly managed
- Development in view
- Minor
- Social trails
- Not observed
- Informal campsite evidence
- Not observed
- Use-conflict evidence
- None observed in the source
Recreation profile
- Observed recreation
- Paddling, fishing shore, wildlife viewing
- Water skill interpretation
- Beginner
- Physical ability interpretation
- Moderate
- Wear patterns
- Light
- Heavy-use signals
- None observed in the source
- Privacy
- Secluded
360° sequence evidence
Coverage + route
- Assigned coverage
- 13 panoramas across 1 capture session
- Scene roles
- Approach (2) · Launch area (7) · Transition path (4)
Visible conditions
- Surfaces by scene
- Gravel lot (3) · Gravel path (9) · Natural (1)
- Safety classification
- Caution (1) · No visible hazard (12)
Setting + use
- Crowding by scene
- Light (1) · None visible (12)
- Naturalness by scene
- High (13)
Curated RAPG fields are interpreted from the FRA access sheet and its photographs; sequence evidence summarizes only the assigned panoramas. Conditions may extend beyond every photographed view. FRA’s field measurements in the Measured access card remain the authority for access type, grades, widths, surfaces, gaps, and accessible parking.
Photos
Field photography Terrain360, July 2026 · site photos courtesy Flathead Rivers Alliance
Getting there
Drive 36.4 miles north on the North Fork Road from its intersection with Blankenship Road outside Columbia Falls.
Ford
RM 44 · 3,712 ft
Scene 12 · at the water
Polebridge River Access (Upstream)
RM 33.9 · 3,544 ft
Scene 11 · at the water
Coal Creek
RM 24.5 · 3,419 ft
Scene 10 · at the water
Big Creek
RM 15.3 · 3,313 ft
Scene 9 · at the water
Great Northern Flats
RM 11 · 3,264 ft
Scene 11 · at the water
Glacier Rim
RM 3.8 · 3,152 ft
Scene 16 · at the water
Elevation sampled from USGS 10m along the Wild & Scenic centerline. Hover or focus a site to see the panorama closest to the water.
The Three Forks flow through the homelands of the Séliš, Ql̓ispé, and Ktunaxa peoples, frequented by the Amskapi Piikani. About the homelands