Rivers
Abundant fish, raging rapids, scenic canyons, and towering peaks. The rivers and streams of southwest Montana are home to some of the most recreational opportunities and resources in the area.
The true force behind ice fishing is that it is better than no fishing at all. –Jim Harrison, “Ice Fishing, the Moronic Sport”
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Even though nearly four million people swarm Yellowstone each year seeking to experience its magic and majesty, a relatively small number leave the roads or boardwalks. Even fewer make it to the remote and fabled Cascade Corner. Read more >>
You awake before the sun, eager and excited to float the crystalline waters of the Five Rivers region in Southwest Montana. You imagine the trout slipping, hiding, and spinning beneath the foam of the Big Hole, the Jefferson, the Beaverhead, the Wise, and the Ruby rivers. Read more >>
Do you yearn for a break from the hum-drum, are you aching for adventure? Then come to the river. There�s nothing wrong with acknowledging your need for the danger of rapids, or the constant pull of the current. Read more >>
Yellowstone
Come fall, local rivers empty and everyone heads for the hills. You’ll surely see your share of hunter’s orange and camo—but what you won’t see are crowded boat ramps and lines of anglers along the banks. Read more >>
Montana is graced with jaw-dropping mountains aplenty. But you can’t have mountains without valleys—and Montana’s valleys are as stunning as they come. The Big Hole, the Ruby, the Flathead, the Centennial… but only one is called Paradise. Read more >>
A float trip down the Yellowstone River had been tumbling through my mind for eight or ten years. Finally, in 2009 when I had just about given up on the possibility, the perfect group came together. Read more >>
This early in the day, the road is home only to the deer, the antelope, and me. In the dim, dewy calm, they graze along the cutbanks and sandbars of the Yellowstone River under the attentive eyes of red-tailed hawks perched on fenceposts along the road. Read more >>Madison
The shadows stretched long as my wife, daughter, and I drove to our friends’ ranch to catch a few fish on the Madison. Getting out of the car we noticed a commotion above us. Three ospreys flew around erratically; then we saw an eagle, and then another, talons outstretched and beaks open. Read more >>
From the Tobacco Roots to the Gallatin Range, the mountains around Bozeman hold stunning alpine lakes perfect for an overnight camping trip—but sometimes, you want to get outdoors without trying too hard. Maybe you got a late start, or you need a stationary base camp for your clan of young kids. Read more >>
Paddling and peddling are a great combination—not only can you and your friends drive to and from the river in a single vehicle, but you’ll get some exercise to counterbalance all that beer-drinking on the water. Read more >>
The last time I floated down the Madison, I was waist-deep in water, scuffing along the bottom in an underinflated, sinking kiddy pool. I had on far too little clothing given the circumstances and with both hands full of beer; navigation of such a vessel was simply out of the question. Read more >>East Gallatin
On a high bank above the East Gallatin River, my father and I sat on the hood of my beat-up ’64 Catalina, sharing a beer. The early-afternoon sunlight filtered through the trees, warming our upturned faces. After the last swig we hopped down and got our fishing gear together. Read more >>For fly-fishers, spring is a godsend: no more frozen fingers, lethargic fish, or streamside shiver-fits. But before you get all giddy about warm days and feisty, ravenous trout, think about what comes with it: the removal of winter’s cosmetic blanket. Read more >>Gallatin
The boat slices through the last standing wave and carves smoothly into the placid eddy on my right. The thrill of the upstream rapids courses through my veins while I slowly spin in the calm water. Read more >>
Half a mile below Axtell Bridge, as I stalked the wily fall foliage with my Nikon, a fisherman burst out of the brush. Big-eyed and breathless, his creel flopping and waders swishing, he hustled over to me shouting, “Did you see it?” Read more >>From the Tobacco Roots to the Gallatin Range, the mountains around Bozeman hold stunning alpine lakes perfect for an overnight camping trip—but sometimes, you want to get outdoors without trying too hard. Maybe you got a late start, or you need a stationary base camp for your clan of young kids. Read more >>
The rugged backcountry around Bozeman compels folks to partake of the fresh air and challenging terrain. Read more >>Jefferson
Come fall, local rivers empty and everyone heads for the hills. You’ll surely see your share of hunter’s orange and camo—but what you won’t see are crowded boat ramps and lines of anglers along the banks. Read more >>Paddling and peddling are a great combination—not only can you and your friends drive to and from the river in a single vehicle, but you’ll get some exercise to counterbalance all that beer-drinking on the water. Read more >>
Looking for a quiet fall float and some great scenery? Try the Jefferson River, starting from the Cardwell Fishing Access Site (FAS), 60 miles west of Bozeman just off of I-90 at exit 256. Read more >>Missouri
“In the beginning of this record I tried to explore the nature of journeys, how they are things in themselves, each one an individual and no two alike. Read more >>West of the rising moon and east of the Great Divide flows a still-wild stretch of the great Missouri River. Read more >>"Rivers are highways that move on," observed Blaise Pascal, "and bear us whither we wish to go." If you wish to float back in time this summer, to a place little changed from the days of Lewis and Clark, where the watery landscape resonates with the histories of American Indians, fur trappers, an Read more >>
Visit Montana
Montana is a headwater state. Pristine waters grow from unnamed trickles and springs to celebrated rivers like the Missouri, Madison, Gallatin, Yellowstone, Clark Fork, Flathead and Big Hole. From these legendary rivers Montana offers some of the most exciting whitewater rafting and scenic river trips in the nation.
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