Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 2 2 48 Montana is home to nearly a 170,000 miles of spectacular rivers teeming with an incredible variety of wildlife above and below its great rushing waters. From the Yellowstone watershed in southwest Montana to the endless riverways near Missoula, and to the Flathead Valley and the rivers sur- rounding Glacier National Park, Montana has enough rivers for a lifetime of floating and fishing! Montana is home to a crucial and fascinating point where water runs to three dif- ferent oceans: north to Canada and the Hudson Bay, west through the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, and south via the Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico. Glacier Park's bordering waterways, the North and Middle Fork of the Flathead, offer some of the finest and most scenic rafting in the state. Rafting in Montana has a truly wild feel to it where goats roam the deep canyons while wild bull trout come up and eat your catch if you aren't careful. The North Fork is home to six sections of mellow floating starting at the Canadian border and extending through the town of Columbia Falls. Though slower than its neighbor, the Middle Fork, the North Fork has earned a reputation and even distinction for being a Wild and Scenic Riverway and quality fishery. The cold and clean water provides the healthy environment needed for bull trout and west slope cutthroat trout to thrive and continue to keep balance in the North Fork's fragile ecosystem. Two North Fork staples, the Polebridge Mercantile Store and the Northern Lights Saloon, have been around since the early 1900s. Bill Adair moved these stores of his from the east side of the park to the west where they now stand as a staple for baked goods and local flair.

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