Wild & Scenic since 1976 · Wild and Recreational classifications

Middle Fork

The whitewater artery of the system. Born in the Great Bear Wilderness, it meets Highway 2 at Bear Creek and runs the canyon along the southern boundary of Glacier National Park to its confluence with the South Fork. Class IV water runs Moccasin Creek to West Glacier.

Live flow · USGS 12358500 · NR WEST GLACIER 812 cfs ↓ dropping
P10 MEDIAN
98% of the 85-year median for September 5 · near normal
2.05 ft · Drift 2.0-3.5 mph · Provisional
Weather · Essex 58° Partly cloudy
Wind 2 mph NW
  • SU 65° 49° 39% Sun: high 65 degrees, low 49 degrees, Rain, 39 percent chance of precipitation.
  • MO 69° 51° 76% Mon: high 69 degrees, low 51 degrees, Showers, 76 percent chance of precipitation.
  • TU 67° 49° 91% Tue: high 67 degrees, low 49 degrees, Showers, 91 percent chance of precipitation.
  • WE 66° 44° 89% Wed: high 66 degrees, low 44 degrees, Drizzle, 89 percent chance of precipitation.
  • TH 73° 46° Thu: high 73 degrees, low 46 degrees, Overcast.
Alerts · Essex No active NWS alerts 6 fire incidents within 75 mi NWS api.weather.gov · NIFC WFIGS · August smoke is a real trip factor here
MIDDLE FORK · 100.6 designated miles

To-scale diagram of the Middle Fork: 100.6 designated river miles with 8 access sites at their true river-mile positions, upstream first. The whitewater section runs from river mile 23 to 14.9.

100.6 miles, site by site

2,295 ft of drop · 23.5 ft per mile
5,324 ft RM 97.4 · headwaters 2,295 ft of drop · 23.5 ft per mile average · whitewater reach · hatched: no access site 3,029 ft confluence

Elevation sampled from USGS 10m along the Wild & Scenic centerline. Hover or focus a site to see the panorama closest to the water.

Wild and Scenic designation

The Wild and Scenic Middle Fork of the Flathead is designated for 100.6 river miles, from its origin at the confluence of Strawberry and Bowl Creeks in the Great Bear Wilderness to its confluence with the South Fork Flathead, where the two combine to form the main stem Flathead River. The Middle Fork Wild designated segment originates in the Great Bear and flows until it reaches MT Highway 2 at Bear Creek, after which the river is Recreational designated. The Middle Fork contains whitewater up to class IV in the Wild section above Bear Creek and in the "whitewater section" from Moccasin Creek to West Glacier.

Designation language from the Flathead Rivers Alliance

The access picture

8 FRA sheets · 8 reviewed assessments

1 of 8 assessed launches shows an accessible route

Paola — the sheet shows an accessible route to the water there. At the other 7 assessed launches, it does not.

Source coverage

Access sites
8
Captured in 360
8
FRA access sheets
8
Reviewed assessments
8
Panoramas assigned
285

Mobility interpretation

Not suitable
4 launches
Limited
4 launches

An interpretation from the sheet and its photographs, not a field measurement.

Measured extremes

Gentlest route to the water
10.8% max grade · Essex
Steepest
37.0% max grade · Bear Creek
Widest minimum tread
25 ft · Essex

FRA field measurements, from the access survey sheets.

Coverage counts and interpretations summarize FRA's access sheets and the reviewed Terrain360 imagery assessment. Measured figures are FRA's field measurements; where the two disagree, the measurements are correct.

Access sites, upstream to down

All 8 captured in 360

Float the Middle Fork

6 floatable reaches

Pick a put-in and a take-out. Conditions change rapidly on this water; check the gauge the morning you float, not the night before.

812 cfs · near normal 98% of the 85-year median for September 5 (830 cfs, 1940-2024)
Reaches on the Middle Fork, with distance, estimated float time, elevation drop, gradient and character
ReachMilesTimeDropFt/miClass
Bear Creek to Essex 4.7 1¼-2¼ hr 118 ft 25.1 Class II-IV
Essex to Paola 7.1 2-3½ hr 133 ft 18.7 Class II-IV
Paola to Cascadilla 11.0 3¼-5½ hr 190 ft 17.3 Class II-IV
Cascadilla to Moccasin Creek 7.6 2¼-3¾ hr 100 ft 13.1 Class II-IV
Moccasin Creek to West Glacier 8.1 2¼-4 hr 132 ft 16.2 Class III-IV · the whitewater section
West Glacier to Blankenship, west 5.4 1½-2¾ hr 49 ft 9.0 Class II-IV

Distances are from FRA's recorded river miles; times are an estimate at today's flow, and drop and ft/mi are derived from the elevation profile, not a field survey. The Moccasin to West Glacier reach is committing canyon water; scout, wear a PFD, and know your group's limits.

Plan a float
Homelands

The Three Forks flow through the homelands of the Séliš, Ql̓ispé, and Ktunaxa peoples, frequented by the Amskapi Piikani.

About the homelands FRA's own acknowledgment language appears here verbatim.