Wild & Scenic since 1976 · Scenic and Recreational classifications

North Fork

Fifty-eight designated miles from the Canadian border down to Blankenship, most of it along a gravel road on the Glacier boundary. Scenic above the Camas Road bridge, Recreational below it. Generally Class II at summer flows.

Live flow · USGS 12355500 · NR COLUMBIA FALLS 1,150 cfs → holding

P10 MEDIAN

119% of the 85-year median for September 20 · near normal

2.30 ft · Water 54°F · Drift 2.0-3.5 mph · Provisional USGS station details · Reading Sep 20, 5:45 AM MDT

Weather · Polebridge 48° Clear
Wind 1 mph NE

MO 79° 51° Mon: high 79 degrees, low 51 degrees, Clear.
TU 76° 47° Tue: high 76 degrees, low 47 degrees, Overcast.
WE 68° 43° Wed: high 68 degrees, low 43 degrees, Overcast.
TH 75° 41° Thu: high 75 degrees, low 41 degrees, Overcast.
FR 73° 49° 31% Fri: high 73 degrees, low 49 degrees, Showers, 31 percent chance of precipitation.

Alerts · Polebridge No active NWS alerts 2 fire incidents within 75 mi NWS api.weather.gov · NIFC WFIGS · August smoke is a real trip factor here

NORTH FORK · 58.3 designated miles

58.3 miles, site by site

872 ft of drop · 14.9 ft per mile

3,973 ft RM 58.2 872 ft of drop · 14.9 ft per mile average 3,102 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.

The Wild and Scenic North Fork of the Flathead is designated for 58.3 river miles, from the Canadian Border to its confluence with the Middle Fork Flathead at Blankenship, but begins 31 miles upstream in Ktunaxa Nation, British Columbia, Canada. The river is designated Scenic from the Canadian Border to the Camas Road entrance to Glacier National Park, and Recreational from the Camas Road bridge to its confluence with the Middle Fork. The North Fork is generally Class II during summer recreational flows, though specific features may present higher risks at certain levels.

Designation language from the Flathead Rivers Alliance

The access picture

9 FRA sheets · 9 reviewed assessments

Choose by surface, slope and room to assist. Access needs vary with your mobility, equipment, companions and the water level. Use the descriptions, measurements and photographs to plan the route that works for you.

Polebridge River Access (Upstream): A crushed-stone path leads to rip-rap steps and a pebble bar. Large step-ups and narrow tread can make assistance or carrying larger watercraft difficult. The pebble bar is unavailable at high water.

Polebridge River Access (Downstream): The packed-dirt launch ramp can be reached by vehicles. Watch for protruding stones in the ramp and the steep descent to the turnaround.

Big Creek: A wide packed-dirt ramp leads to a cobble bar. Embedded stones and large, rounded cobbles can affect footing and wheeled mobility even where there is room to assist.

Coal Creek: A packed-dirt ramp leads to a flat pebble-and-cobble bar on a side channel. Logs can restrict the launch, and water levels may require ferrying, lining or dragging boats. Engineering statistics are not available for this site yet; review its FRA description and imagery.

Glacier Rim: A wide concrete ramp reaches a cobble bar in an eddy. High-water cycles can leave sand or dirt on the ramp and change its cross slope, so check the surface and water level.

Field context from Geoffrey Gill, Flathead Rivers Alliance, and FRA access-site descriptions.

Source coverage

Access sites: 10
Captured in 360: 7
FRA access sheets: 9
Reviewed assessments: 9
Panoramas assigned: 86

Plan your support

Consider the whole route from parking to water. Check footing, grade, cross slope, gaps and the space beside the ramp for anyone assisting. Conditions can change with river levels and use by vehicles and trailers.

Missing measurements mean information is unavailable; they do not establish a barrier or an accessible route.

Measured extremes

Gentlest route to the water: 15.3% max grade · Big Creek
Steepest: 38.2% max grade · Ford
Widest minimum tread: 14.2 ft · Polebridge River Access (Downstream)

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

7 of 10 captured in 360

58.0

Capture coming Canadian Border Border rules apply The first access point for the Wild and Scenic North Fork Flathead River. 5.9 ft min tread 36.0% max grade · 100% hard

44.0

Ford Located at the historic Ford Cabin, this river access is frequently shared with stock users or hunters. Larger stones embedded in bank can make footing uneven. 6.0 ft min tread 38.2% max grade · 100% hard

39.3

Capture coming Schnaus Cabin This undeveloped, unofficial river access is employed by some users who want a primitive camping experience at their launch or takeout site. Sheet, no statistics Undeveloped

33.9

Polebridge River Access (Upstream) This loop upstream of the Polebridge entrance to Glacier National Park hosts a vault toilet and at low water contains an even, step-like trail down the rip-rap to a pebbled bar. 4.5 ft min tread 24.6% max grade · 100% firm

33.8

Capture coming Polebridge River Access (Downstream) This loop downstream of the Polebridge entrance to Glacier National Park features a vehicle-accessible packed-dirt launch ramp and a small, undeveloped tent site tucked into the woods. 14.2 ft min tread 19.8% max grade · 89.9% firm

24.5

Coal Creek Undeveloped river access, with no vault toilet or site improvements. Sheet, no statistics Packed dirt ramp, pebble bar

15.3

Big Creek This is a paid access site managed by a concessionaire, with users required to pay a cash user fee to camp hosts or a deposit box. 6.0 ft min tread 15.3% max grade · 96.4% firm

11.0

Great Northern Flats This access is located at a National Forest camp site and features a vault toilet and designated trailer parking but no vehicle access to the river. 3.0 ft min tread 25.9% max grade · 75.6% hard

3.8

Glacier Rim The last river access prior to the confluence of the North and Middle Forks of the Flathead at Blankenship. 3.0 ft min tread 16.1% max grade · 60.6% hard

Wurtz A North Fork launch upstream of Ford, on the North Fork Road. Captured in 360; no measured survey published yet. No sheet published

The road up

North Fork Road · July 2026

The North Fork Road is gravel for most of its length and slower than the mileage suggests. Budget more time than the map tells you, especially with a trailer.

The Polebridge Mercantile at the end of the North Fork Road, the red building the palette borrows from.

The turn for Schnaus Cabin. This access has no 360 capture yet, so the sign is the landmark to watch for.

A ranch gateway on the North Fork Road. Most of the drive up the fork looks like this: gravel, and slower than the mileage suggests.

Burned timber regrowing along the North Fork corridor.

Terrain360, July 2026

Float the North Fork

7 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.

1,150 cfs · near normal 119% of the 85-year median for September 20 (965 cfs, 1940-2024)

Reaches on the North Fork, with distance, estimated float time, elevation drop, gradient and character
Reach	Miles	Time	Drop	Ft/mi	Class
Canadian Border to Ford	14.0	4-7 hr	261 ft	18.6	Class II
Ford to Schnaus Cabin	4.7	1¼-2¼ hr	91 ft	19.3	Class II
Schnaus Cabin to Polebridge, upstream	5.4	1½-2¾ hr	77 ft	14.2	Class II
Polebridge, downstream to Coal Creek	9.3	2¾-4¾ hr	123 ft	13.3	Class II
Coal Creek to Big Creek	9.2	2¾-4½ hr	106 ft	11.5	Class II
Big Creek to Great Northern Flats	4.3	1¼-2¼ hr	49 ft	11.3	Class II
Great Northern Flats to Glacier Rim	7.2	2-3½ hr	112 ft	15.6	Class II

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.

Plan a float

Homelands

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 FRA's own acknowledgment language appears here verbatim.