Riverboarding Trips: Half Day

Half-Day Riverboarding Trip on the Alberton Gorge

About four hours round trip. Few experiences rival the sheer fun, intensity, and camaraderie that a group riverboarding adventure creates.

Getting Ready: Your guide will provide an overview of the day and outfit you with the right equipment. We’ll outfit you with a helmet, wetsuit, fins, life jacket, booties and a riverboard. Everyone should be a solid swimmer and be in good physical condition. Guests must read and sign an acknowledgment of risk form before the trip. We’ll remind you that riverboarding is considered an extreme sport and we can’t guarantee your safety. While we have great safety record, you need to recognize that there are inherent dangers in whitewater and that riverboarding involves a certain amount of risk. Having noted that, we start each trip with an orientation, safety talk, and practice the basics before running each section of whitewater as a team.

Group Trips and Special Occasions: Few experiences rival the sheer fun, intensity and comradery that a group riverboarding adventure creates. Whether it’s a bachelor or bachelorette party, a group of co-workers, a team building excursion or just a group of friends looking for a Montana’s best summer adventure, riverboarding is an unforgettable shared adventure that will leave you smiling and looking forward to your next “board meeting”.

Convenience & Comfort

Montana River Guides is the only river outfitter with an office right at the Alberton Gorge. Our retail shop and 40-acre riverside ranch are convenient for guests and give our guides greater flexibility to accommodate last minute adjustments. When guests arrive, our guides will greet them, outfit them with river equipment, and conduct a pre-trip orientation. Then everyone simply walks down to the river to begin the adventure. After the trip, our vehicles will be waiting at the take-out to shuttle the guests and guides back to our office where they can change inside, relax on our deck, look at photos of their trip, and enjoy some refreshments.

The Alberton Gorge

The Gorge is an ideal location for guided riverboard trips. It is a high volume (2,000 to 40,000 CFS), pool and drop river with large recovery pools after each of its Class II, III and IV Rapids. Because of its volume, the Clark Fork is not considered a technical run and is relatively free of obstructions. The rapids are characterized by obvious entry points with large waves caused by a combination of constriction and deep channel drops. Bottom line: the Alberton Gorge Whitewater is one of the world’s best spots to learn how to maneuver and surf while riverboarding. We run trips from June through September. The snowpack looks great this year. Expect huge water and fast runs through early July. As the river level drops through July and August more rocks and features appear along with more potential surf waves.

Montana’s Best Whitewater

Just thirty miles west of Missoula and only a two-hour drive from Couer d’Alene the Clark Fork River picks up speed and tumbles into the Alberton Gorge with rollicking Class II and III rapids and absolutely stunning canyon scenery. With its legendary rapids Fang, Tumbleweed and Boateater, the Alberton Gorge is the premier summer whitewater adventure in Montana.