Plan a float

Pick a put-in and a take-out

Distances come from the river miles FRA recorded at each access, so they are exact. Times are not: they move with flow, wind, and what you are paddling. Everything below reads live off the gauges and is set against the long-term normal for today's date.

North Fork 1,690 cfs → holding 82% of normal 85-year median for July 30: 2,050 cfs Water 60°F · USGS 12355500 Middle Fork 1,740 cfs → holding 90% of normal 85-year median for July 30: 1,930 cfs Water 58°F · USGS 12358500 South Fork 3,530 cfs → holding 192% of normal 105-year median for July 30: 1,840 cfs Water 58°F · USGS 12362500

See the water right now

National Park Service · refreshed through the day
National Park Service camera looking at the Middle Fork of the Flathead River from the Highway 2 bridge at West Glacier. The bridge, the cobble bank and the river surface are all in frame, so the water level can be judged by eye.
Middle Fork · West Glacier bridge
Why this one

The camera looks at the same water as the West Glacier access at RM 14.9, just downstream of the USGS gauge. The gauge tells you the flow. This tells you what the flow looks like: how much cobble is showing, whether the bank is under, what the light is doing.

There is no USGS camera on the Three Forks. The nearest on that network is 114 miles away in Idaho, so this Park Service view is the only live picture of this river.

West Glacier access All park cameras

Image courtesy National Park Service, Glacier National Park

The next few days

West Glacier · corridor forecast
72° air now · wind 2 mph
Today 83° 58°
Fri 86° 63°
Sat 92° 63°
Sun 72° 51°
Mon 63° 42°
Tue 79° 42°

Air temperature is not water temperature. These forks run off snow and ice, the water sits in the 50s all summer, and cold water is what catches people out on a warm day.

Weather alerts

Fire Weather Watch

Fire within 75 miles

No active incidents reported nearby.

North Fork of the Flathead

Fork detail →
1,690 cfs · near normal Typical summer water for the date.
Elevation profile of the North Fork: 3,102 feet at river mile 0 near the confluence rising to 3,973 feet at river mile 58.2, a drop of 872 feet over 58.4 miles, averaging 14.9 feet 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.

Canadian Border Ford

RM 58 to 44
14.0miles 4-7 hrat today's flow 261 ft18.6 ft per mile
Class II
Put in · Canadian Border
Slide/rails, boulder “stepping stones,” cobble bar ~16° angle, 18-40” tall Not suitable
Take out · Ford
Slide/rails, packed gravel bank and beach ~17° angle, 18-36” tall Not suitable

Ford Schnaus Cabin

RM 44 to 39.3
4.7miles 1¼-2¼ hrat today's flow 91 ft19.3 ft per mile
Class II
Put in · Ford
Slide/rails, packed gravel bank and beach ~17° angle, 18-36” tall Not suitable
Take out · Schnaus Cabin
Undeveloped Not suitable

Schnaus Cabin Polebridge River Access (Upstream)

RM 39.3 to 33.9
5.4miles 1½-2¾ hrat today's flow 77 ft14.2 ft per mile
Class II
Put in · Schnaus Cabin
Undeveloped Not suitable
Take out · Polebridge River Access (Upstream)
Crushed stone path, rip-rap steps, pebble bar Limited

Polebridge River Access (Downstream) Coal Creek

RM 33.8 to 24.5
9.3miles 2¾-4¾ hrat today's flow 123 ft13.3 ft per mile
Class II
Put in · Polebridge River Access (Downstream)
Vehicle accessible ramp Packed dirt ramp Not suitable
Take out · Coal Creek
Vehicle-accessible bar Packed dirt ramp, pebble bar Not suitable

Coal Creek Big Creek

RM 24.5 to 15.3
9.2miles 2¾-4½ hrat today's flow 106 ft11.5 ft per mile
Class II
Put in · Coal Creek
Vehicle-accessible bar Packed dirt ramp, pebble bar Not suitable
Take out · Big Creek
Vehicle accessible ramp Packed dirt ramp, cobble bar Limited

Big Creek Great Northern Flats

RM 15.3 to 11
4.3miles 1¼-2¼ hrat today's flow 49 ft11.3 ft per mile
Class II
Put in · Big Creek
Vehicle accessible ramp Packed dirt ramp, cobble bar Limited
Take out · Great Northern Flats
Unimproved ramp Dirt slope, cobble shore Not suitable

Great Northern Flats Glacier Rim

RM 11 to 3.8
7.2miles 2-3½ hrat today's flow 112 ft15.6 ft per mile
Class II
Put in · Great Northern Flats
Unimproved ramp Dirt slope, cobble shore Not suitable
Take out · Glacier Rim
Vehicle accessible bar Concrete ramp, cobble bar Limited

Launch descriptions are interpreted from FRA's access sheets and their photographs, not measured here. The measured ramp gaps, grades and surfaces are on each site page. Drop is read from the fork's long profile between the two river miles.

Middle Fork of the Flathead

Fork detail →
1,740 cfs · near normal Typical summer water for the date.
Elevation profile of the Middle Fork: 3,029 feet at river mile 0 near the confluence rising to 5,324 feet at river mile 97.4, a drop of 2,295 feet over 97.5 miles, averaging 23.5 feet per mile.
5,324 ft RM 97.4 · headwaters 2,295 ft of drop · 23.5 ft per mile average · whitewater reach 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.

Bear Creek Essex

RM 53.4 to 48.7
4.7miles 1¼-2¼ hrat today's flow 118 ft25.1 ft per mile
Class II-IV
Put in · Bear Creek
Slide/rails ~18° angle, 24-36” tall Not suitable
Take out · Essex
Vehicle-accessible bank Soft soil and sand Limited

Essex Paola

RM 48.7 to 41.6
7.1miles 2-3½ hrat today's flow 133 ft18.7 ft per mile
Class II-IV
Put in · Essex
Vehicle-accessible bank Soft soil and sand Limited
Take out · Paola
Vehicle accessible bar Cement ramp, cobbled/bouldered bar Limited

Paola Cascadilla

RM 41.6 to 30.6
11.0miles 3¼-5½ hrat today's flow 190 ft17.3 ft per mile
Class II-IV
Put in · Paola
Vehicle accessible bar Cement ramp, cobbled/bouldered bar Limited
Take out · Cascadilla
Vehicle accessible ramp Segmented cement block ramp, cobble bar, embedded boulders Not suitable

Cascadilla Moccasin Creek

RM 30.6 to 23
7.6miles 2¼-3¾ hrat today's flow 100 ft13.1 ft per mile
Class II-IV
Put in · Cascadilla
Vehicle accessible ramp Segmented cement block ramp, cobble bar, embedded boulders Not suitable
Take out · Moccasin Creek
Vehicle accessible and user accessible ramps Cement block ramp, creek beds, undeveloped bank trail Limited

Moccasin Creek West Glacier

RM 23 to 14.9
8.1miles 2¼-4 hrat today's flow 132 ft16.2 ft per mile
Class III-IV · the whitewater section
Put in · Moccasin Creek
Vehicle accessible and user accessible ramps Cement block ramp, creek beds, undeveloped bank trail Limited
Take out · West Glacier
Vehicle accessible bar Cement block ramp, cobble bar Limited

West Glacier Blankenship River Access (West)

RM 14.9 to 9.5
5.4miles 1½-2¾ hrat today's flow 49 ft9 ft per mile
Class II-IV
Put in · West Glacier
Vehicle accessible bar Cement block ramp, cobble bar Limited
Take out · Blankenship River Access (West)
Vehicle accessible bar Packed dirt, cobble bar Not suitable

Launch descriptions are interpreted from FRA's access sheets and their photographs, not measured here. The measured ramp gaps, grades and surfaces are on each site page. Drop is read from the fork's long profile between the two river miles.

South Fork of the Flathead

Fork detail →
3,530 cfs · dam release Below Hungry Horse Dam this figure tracks the release schedule, not the weather. It can change fast and without warning.
Elevation profile of the South Fork: 3,577 feet at river mile 39 near the confluence rising to 4,706 feet at river mile 97.6, a drop of 1,129 feet over 58.6 miles, averaging 19.3 feet per mile.
4,706 ft RM 97.6 1,129 ft of drop · 19.3 ft per mile average 3,577 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.

Cedar Flats South Fork

RM 55.8 to 46.5
9.3miles 2-3¾ hrat today's flow 131 ft14 ft per mile
Class II

Launch descriptions are interpreted from FRA's access sheets and their photographs, not measured here. The measured ramp gaps, grades and surfaces are on each site page. Drop is read from the fork's long profile between the two river miles.

How the time column is figured: distance divided by a travel band that shifts with today's flow against the day-of-year median. It is an estimate, not a schedule, and it does not count the time you spend stopped. A loaded raft is slower than a kayak. Class ratings are each fork's overall rating and change with water level. The distances are exact.

Before you launch

The first two are the safety ones

Conditions change fast

The river environment is dynamic and may change rapidly over the course of the floating season, or even throughout the course of a day. Always recreate within the ability level of everyone in your float party and remain attentive to conditions on the water.

FRA's own guidance

Cold water

These forks are snowmelt and stay cold all summer. Cold shock and loss of grip arrive long before hypothermia does. Dress for the water, not the air.

Water temperature now
  • North Fork 60°F
  • Middle Fork 58°F
  • South Fork 58°F

  1. Shuttles

    Most reaches here need two vehicles or an outfitter. Highway 2 parallels the Middle Fork, so shuttles are short. The North Fork Road is gravel and slow: budget more time than the mileage suggests.

  2. Dam-controlled water

    The South Fork below Hungry Horse Dam runs on releases, not weather. It can change fast, for reasons that have nothing to do with the sky. Read that gauge the morning you go.

  3. Fire and smoke

    This is fire country. August smoke is a real trip factor and closures happen with little notice. Active incidents within 75 miles show above and on each fork page.

More from FRA

The Flathead Rivers Alliance keeps a trip-planning hub with alerts, gear, outfitters, and current conditions.

FRA trip planning hub

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