
The Craig, MT to Mountain Palace Boat Launch is a full-day float that will introduce you to the best of the Missouri River Canyon. It is a beautiful float with lots of wildlife - eagles, deer, bears, raccoons, river otters, beavers, rainbow trout, turtles, bighorn sheep, crawdads, etc. There are no rapids in this section of the river, making it a perfectly relaxing and safe (if common sense is utilized) float. This is best done in the months of June, July and August. Any earlier and the current will be a bit too strong and the river too cold. There is parking and a pit toilet at the Craig boat launch as well as a last-chance opportunity to buy snacks or sunscreen in the small town. You will need to leave one vehicle at your put-out site on your way up Recreation Road so you can retrieve your launch vehicle. To cut this trip down by a couple hours to a half-day float, you can launch at the Dearborn Boat Launch which will make the float 3-4 hours long. Camping is available at many of the boat launches along Recreation Road.
You can't go wrong with this float! It is almost guaranteed you will see a ton of wildlife and you can vary the length of your float depending which put-ins you choose. For a little bit of extra fun, you can stop at the railroad bridge where the Dearborn River joins the Missouri. There is a rope swing on that bridge and the water in the Dearborn tends to be a little bit warmer to swim in.
Duration: 6 hours
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This is a free, self-guided adventure. Just show up and enjoy!
I’ve done this float or at least portions of it a variety of times. Overall, gorgeous scenery and incredibly clear water! If you’ve done this once, you’ll want to do it again.
Clean and calm water, beautiful scenery... we love taking our paddleboards or oversized family floating islands on this float. The full Craig to Mountain Palace fishing access float is several hours long; we bring a picnic and pull out to eat. The water gets difficult to get out of past Mountain Palace so if you've hit the bridge, you missed it.
Duration: 6 hours