Moccasin Creek River Access
RM 23 · 48.4805° N, 113.8472° W
360° · Terrain360 · Moccasin Boat Launch
32 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 Cascadilla. Downstream is West Glacier.
Located on the north side of Highway 2, 17.0 miles east from the turn for the Hungry Horse Ranger Station.
The parking area is paved.
There is no designated accessible parking.
The Flathead Rivers Alliance has not published measured survey data for this site yet, so the details that follow come from the site description rather than from field measurements.
The launch itself is vehicle accessible and user accessible ramps cement block ramp, creek beds, undeveloped bank trail.
What to watch for, in the survey crew's own words:
Steep paved road from upper parking area to boat launch.
Drop offs of greater than 10 in at the end of the boat ramps into Moccasin Ck.
At moderate water levels and below, loaded boats may be unable to navigate shallow creek beds without being dragged or requiring passengers to bounce or push the boat.
Uneven footing on heavily sidehilled trail to Deer Lick Ck passenger loading area.
Facilities: Vault toilet.
Conditions on the Three Forks change quickly. Check the gauge the morning you float.
Wind 2 mph NW Tomorrow
86° 63°
The site
Launch-only access at the confluence of Moccasin and Deer Lick Creeks, approx. 0.2 mi upstream of their confluence with the Middle Fork Flathead. This location is put-in only, and it accesses the commercially popular whitewater section of the Middle Fork.
Access concerns
Recorded verbatim by the FRA field crew
-
Steep paved road from upper parking area to boat launch.
-
Drop offs of greater than 10 in at the end of the boat ramps into Moccasin Ck.
-
At moderate water levels and below, loaded boats may be unable to navigate shallow creek beds without being dragged or requiring passengers to bounce or push the boat.
-
Uneven footing on heavily sidehilled trail to Deer Lick Ck passenger loading area.
Access-site lens
Launch profile
- FRA access description
- Vehicle accessible and user accessible ramps Cement block ramp, creek beds, undeveloped bank trail
- Kayaks + canoes
- Good
- Paddleboards
- Marginal
- Carry terrain
- Gentle slope
Safety + condition
- Safety interpretation
- Fair
- Overall condition
- Fair
- Access hazards
- Drop offs · Steep banks · 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
- Steep grades, rough surface
- 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
- Not assessable from the source imagery
- Launch queue evidence
- None
- Designated camping indicated
- Not assessable from the source imagery
- Registration infrastructure
- None identified in the source sheet
Experience indicators
- Setting
- Rural
- Recreation character
- Lightly managed
- Development in view
- Minor
- Social trails
- Isolated
- Informal campsite evidence
- Not observed
- Use-conflict evidence
- None observed in the source
Recreation profile
- Observed recreation
- Paddling, fishing shore
- Water skill interpretation
- Varies by conditions
- Physical ability interpretation
- Moderate
- Wear patterns
- Moderate
- Heavy-use signals
- Bare soil, worn grass
- Privacy
- Semi private
360° sequence evidence
Coverage + route
- Assigned coverage
- 30 panoramas across 1 capture session
- Scene roles
- Approach (1) · Launch area (9) · Parking (8) · Transition path (12)
Visible conditions
- Surfaces by scene
- Dirt path (1) · Gravel lot (2) · Gravel path (2) · Natural (3) · Paved lot (7) · Paved path (12) · Paved ramp (1) · Ramp (2)
- Safety classification
- Caution (4) · No visible hazard (26)
Setting + use
- Crowding by scene
- Light (5) · None visible (25)
- Naturalness by scene
- High (23) · Moderate (7)
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
On the north side of US Highway 2, 17.0 miles east of the turn for the Hungry Horse Ranger Station.
Site statistics currently unavailable FRA adds measurements as staff and volunteers complete them.
View the survey sheet
Bear Creek
RM 53.4 · 3,822 ft
Scene 18 · at the water
Essex
RM 48.7 · 3,704 ft
Scene 26 · at the water
Paola
RM 41.6 · 3,571 ft
Scene 19 · at the water
Cascadilla
RM 30.6 · 3,381 ft
Scene 20 · at the water
Moccasin Creek
RM 23 · 3,281 ft
Scene 29 · at the water
West Glacier
RM 14.9 · 3,150 ft
Scene 22 · at the water
Blankenship River Access (West)
RM 9.5 · 3,101 ft
Blankenship River Access (East)
RM 9.4 · 3,100 ft
Scene 11 · 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