Rosebud Creek, West
Emerald Lake to Pine Grove Campground
| Difficulty | III-IV+(V) |
| Length | 2.8 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 150 fpm |
| Gauge | West Rosebud Creek Near Roscoe Mt |
| Flow Rate as of 46 minutes | 196 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | June 19, 2026 |
River Description
Overview: The West Rosebud is usually divided into two distinct sections by local paddlers. The short but fun Upper run is about two and a half miles long and contains almost continuous whitewater. The longer Lower run is more than 10 miles long, with most of that distance in a wilderness setting. Although this lower stretch begins with the two most difficult rapids on the river and ends with a mile of fun Class IV, it has long sections of scenic flat water. In combination, the West Rosebud offers a unique opportunity for a full range of creeking conditions during warm summer days, especially thanks to scheduled dam releases.
Dam Releases: American Whitewater and Beartooth Paddlers negotiated whitewater releases on West Rosebud Creek in the early 2000's. Releases are now scheduled for the first full weekend in July (Saturday and Sunday), as well as the next two Saturdays. The peak 500 cfs flow of the releases reach Emerald Lake between 11:30am and 12:30pm and last for 2.5 hours before gradually tapering off. Low inflows can lead to cancellation, so keep an eye on gauges and this page. More information on the release protocol and dates can be found here. If you attend a release be sure to register at the put in (this helps justify releases), consider adding a trip report to this AW page, and please consider supporting AW's work on this and other similar projects through membership and donations.
The Run: The put-in for the Upper run is easy and beautiful--just slide into Emerald Lake and enjoy the spectacular view of the still snow-covered peaks of the Beartooth Mountains while the slowest member of the party is still struggling with boating gear. The West Rosebud ramps down quickl
...River Features
Put In
Pine Grove Campground Take-Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportBurgess Norrgard
Jul 26, 2011
I would disagree with this comment... just ran it yesterday at similar flows. Info listed in the river description is accurate. Drops are worth scouting... if you have never seen/run them. Goat Boy has a pin spot on river left that unscouted is not good. If you go with someone that knows the river well, then I could see not having to scout. Boogie though is an under statement. I would give it IV+/V- at flows above 600 cfs... it would be a mistake to go into this run thinking you were getting a simple class IV boogie.
Stephen Strange
Jan 29, 2003
We paddled this in June 2002 at 660cfs. We put in on Emerald Lk. and took out at Pine Grove Campground. The average gradient is near 150fpm with the beginning a little bit steeper. There are no significant individual drops, just 2.something miles of non-stop class III-IV boogie water. The water quality was beautiful when we were there, and the scenery at the put-in was great. It's in the guidebook, 'Montana Surf'.