Swan River

Class: IV/V

Quality: 4

Location: Bigfork, Montana

Trip Time: < 30 minutes

Level: Online Gauge. I ran it at 6,000cfs this is highwater but it can be run as high as it gets

Put-in: 48.061546, -114.052763

Take-out: 48.059200, -114.072999

The run on the Swan is only one mile long but it’s all one long, action packed, big water rapid. You put in at the dam just upstream from the town of Bigfork. The dam is safe to run but it’s not legal to do so. Just below the dam is the biggest rapid on the run. 100 yards of big water waves brings you to a drop into a big crashing wave hole. The worst pocket is on the far right but the wave is also quite powerful just left of center. Sneak on the far left or thread the needle down the center then ride out the rest of the big waves before the rapid subsides into a 200 yard pool.

After this one pool the rapids pick back up. There aren’t any bad holes but lots of big crashing waves for the rest of the run. Have fun picking your lines and boofing off waves for a few minutes then takeout when you get the town of bigfork and the lake. This run is world class, grade IV big water with little consequence so it’s one you’ll want to check out if you’re in the area. There’s a paddling festival here every year in the Spring with one of the hardest giant slalom courses in the sport.