Clark Fork River
Learn More About Montana’s Clark Fork River!
“The Clark Fork River is our guests’ favorite river for rafting trips, our guides favorite river and the area’s best river… period!!!”
-David Lawrence
Pangaea River Rafting
The Alberton Gorge,
Clark Fork River
The Alberton Gorge is a dramatic river gorge on the Clark Fork River. When people talk about running the famous rapids of the Clark Fork, they are talking about the Alberton Gorge. Pangaea River Rafting offers the most entertaining, informative and fun whitewater rafting trips on the Alberton Gorge.
The famed Alberton Gorge, with its incredible scenery and recreational treasures, makes for a perfect family trip on a hot summer day. Located 35 miles west of Missoula, the Gorge is a canyon section of the Clark Fork River with Class II and Class III whitewater perfect for all abilities, from the complete beginner to the seasoned expert. The Alberton Gorge is a paradise, for visitors and locals alike. This popular stretch of river contains seven major rapids as well as several smaller ones that offer wet and wild memories forever.
Glacial Lake Missoula Today
That ancient signature can not only be seen but also felt on the Clark Fork River and Spokane River with Pangaea River Rafting. The Clark Fork of the Columbia is Montana’s largest river by volume, even greater than the mighty Missouri at the state border.
Clark Fork River drains an extensive portion of the Rocky Mountains in Montana. This Rocky Mountain basin includes 1/3 of Montana’s human population, wilderness areas, national parks and forests, productive river valleys, the country’s largest superfund complex, and such fabled waters as Flathead Lake, the Blackfoot and Bitterroot Rivers, and Rock Creek. The Clark Fork River is approximately 360 mi (579 km) long.
Clark Fork River History…
Discover the Clark Fork River’s beautifully “haunting” waters with Pangaea River Rafting. We offer springtime whitewater and summertime easy, scenic raft floats. Bottomless emerald pools, diamond-strewn riffles, eye-popping scenery beside towering cliffs and sweet smelling ponderosa pines blend to make the Clark Fork River Montana’s most iconic river.
The history of the Clark Fork River is also the geologic history of Missoula. It is a history as dynamic as the river is beautiful. It all started in the icy depths of Glacial Lake Missoula. 12,000 years ago, the Clark Fork River and most of the areas mountain valleys sank beneath an ancient lake called Glacial Lake Missoula.
The flood outran the land, scouring Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon all the way to the Columbia River until finally recollecting itself in the Pacific Ocean. It left behind the story of water, rock and power. Across the Inland Northwest to the shores of Oregon, Glacial Lake Missoula’s signature can be found.
Clark Fork Whitewater Starts in Missoula
Although the Clark Fork River is one of the longest rivers in Montana, the whitewater on the Clark Fork River occurs in a relatively small section of the river. The first few rapids encountered on the river occur in downtown Missoula, on two man made river features called Brennan’s Wave. The play wave, designed for river sufers, kayakers, tubers, rafters, and stand up paddle boarders, is named after Brennan Gooth, world class Missoula kayaker. River runners can enjoy the “town section” of the Clark Fork River in Missoula, Montana by launching from several access points upstream from downtown Missoula.
Whitewater Action Picks Up Near Alberton, Montana
If you continue downstream from Missoula, heading west along Interstate 90, about 25 miles, you arrive at the small, quaint town of Alberton, Montana. Several access sites along the Clark Fork here allows you to launch your boat upriver of the Clark Fork River first major Class 3+ rapid, Rest Stop Rapid. The rapid is easily scouted at the Alberton Rest Stop just off the interstate. Rest Stop Rapid marks the official start of the Alberton Gorge.
Alberton Gorge, Clark Fork River
The next section of the Clark Fork River starts at the Cyr Bridge put-in, accessed either by the Cyr Bridge exit, or the Fish Creek exit. Boaters can choose between two take-outs, either the Trakio boat ramp (10 miles downstream of Cyr) or the Forest Grove boat ramp (16 miles downstream of Cyr). The famous Alberton Gorge hosts 6 major class 3 rapids spaced apart in a beautiful pool and drop sequence.