Flathead, Middle Fork

3. Paola Access to Moccasin Creek

Difficulty	II-III
Length	18 mi
Avg Gradient	n/a
Gauge	M F Flathead River Near West Glacier Mt
Flow Rate as of 55 minutes	2550 cfsmedium runnable
Reach Info Last Updated	August 23, 2025

River Description

This section of the Middle Fork Flathead combines two distinct reaches that together, or in combination with upstream or downstream sections, make for a rewarding overnight trip. Boaters should be aware that this reach has some private land and a few homes along river left. A current land ownership map is helpful to ensure you camp only on public land. Dispersed camping is permitted on Forest Service land on river left. Glacier National Park on river right does not issue camping permits for river floaters but there are some gravel bars on river right that are within the active channel.

The first distinct reach is 11.6 miles from Paola to Cascadilla where the river flows through a scenic corridor of forested slopes and gravel bars. Some good camping options are available between Muir Creek and Coal Creek. Brown’s Hole Rapid provides the most notable whitewater in this section, though it is not a significant factor at low summer flows. Overall this stretch is mellower compared to the more sustained rapids found upstream or farther downstream, making it a pleasant run for those looking to soak in the scenery without committing to continuous technical paddling.

Below Cascadilla, the river continues another 6.4 miles to Mocassin Creek. About 1.5 miles downstream of Cascadilla, the river leaves the highway and enters the Nyack Flats, a broad valley of braided channels and wide gravel bars. Here paddlers find open vistas, shifting channels, and at times logjams to navigate. The views across the valley into Glacier National Park are especially striking. Large cobble bars provide excellent opportunities for riverside camping.

Take-out logistics are important to consider. Cascadilla is the standard and most straightforward access point, and it works well as the end of a day trip or short overnight from Paola and is a suitable access for larger rafts. While this segment continues 6.4 miles farther to Mocassin Creek, that access is far from ideal—it require

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River Features

Paola Access Area

Access PointDistance: 0 mi

Located on river left where Paola Creek meets the Middle Fork, this access is simple and functional, with basic amenities and a forested shoreline along Highway 2. It is a popular spot for both paddlers and anglers, and both the creek and access were named for a Burlington Northern conductor.

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Brown's Hole Rapid

RapidClass: IIIDistance: 3.21 mi

The most notable rapid on the Paola-to-Cascadilla stretch, though it is minimal at low summer flows. It provides a brief whitewater challenge at higher flows within an otherwise scenic and mellow stretch of river.

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Lower Burn Camp

CampsiteDistance: 9.04 mi

A popular camp for overnight trips often utilized by outfitters.

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Cascadilla Access Area

Access PointDistance: 11.62 mi

A practical mid-section access and take-out point, suitable for day trips or overnight trips from Paola. Larger rafts will find this the most convenient endpoint for this section.

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Moccasin Creek Access Area

Access PointDistance: 18.02 mi

This access primarily serves as a put-in for the downstream reach. It is not a practical take-out for this section, as reaching it requires paddling or lining boats upstream on Deerlick Creek—a short distance but challenging for larger rafts. If used as a take-out, it is best suited for kayaks or small hand-carry craft at low water. Larger boats will want to take out upstream at Cascadilla or plan to continue on through the next segment downstream of this one.

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Trip Reports

Low Water Packraft Trip - Thomas O'Keefe

Aug 18, 2025

We paddled this section of the Middle Fork Flathead on days three and four of a five-day packrafting trip from Granite Creek to Blankenship Bridge. Our itinerary included one night camped just downstream of Muir Creek and another near the end of the Nyack Flats. Although flows were low at 750 cfs, the river remained fully navigable. We encountered a few other groups on overnight trips, including an outfitted party on their last run of the season. At this level, float time for the reach was approximately six hours.

Roughly a mile downstream of Paola, the river leaves the road corridor. We camped near Muir Creek, where we were able to locate public land on river left just above Brown’s Hole. The next morning we floated past the rapid, but at this flow there was no sign of it—only a couple of class II gravel-bar riffles broke up the mellow current.

The big bend downstream of Brown’s Hole, where the river swings farthest from the road, held a nice camp that was in use by an outfitter. For the next couple of miles downstream, river left was entirely private land. After this we passed a well-used site at Lower Burn Camp just upstream of Coal Creek, where several groups were camped before taking out at Cascadilla.

From Coal Creek, the river parallels the road for about four miles as you pass the Cascadilla Access before entering the Nyack Flats. As we approached the braided section, we followed the advice of a local river guide and stayed left at the first major split, keeping to the channel nearest the railroad tracks. Route-finding was relatively straightforward, though we scraped bottom a few times in the shallow gravel bar sections. We saw wood in several places but encountered no significant logjam hazards.

Near the end of this section the channel divided again. The right braid carried the flow, while the left channel—clearly the primary course in recent years based on satellite imagery—went subsurface shortly after the split. We camped nearby, just upstream of where the river bends back toward the road near the Moccasin Creek Access.

The next morning we pushed off and continued downstream, floating through the canyon whitewater and on to our take-out at Blankenship Bridge.