Clark Fork

I paddled Alberton July 19,05 with a level of about 3,900 cfs in my open boat. It is a classic western run with 2 or 3 class III rapids. The first 5 miles are very mild and there is an access point on river left. Most of the whitewater occurs in the next few miles starting at Triple Bridges. There is a river left access at the end of the whitewater so one could get 80% of the rapids in a 2-3 mile reach. I floated down to the standard takeout at Tarkio.

I want to stress that water levels and time of year are very important here. At higher levels with cold water this could be a much mlore challenging run. Low levels and warm water make it a lovely summertime intermediate whitewater reach. Access is easy. Follow the directings on this page.

Alberton makes a great place to take a break and paddle while driving on I-90. The run could easily be paddled in 2 hours. Chris Kelly