June 26-July 3, 2025. With Miryam, Karen, Stephen and Louise
We made our way to Twin Bridges, Montana and met at the Madison County
Fairgrounds on the evening of June 26. Louise and Miryam carpooled together, taking a drive through Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks along the way and Stephen and Karen carpooled as well. For our first evening in Twin Bridges, we camped at the Madison County Fairgrounds across from Jessen Park.
Because overnight camping was not available at Jessen Park and vehicles cannot be left parked overnight at the put-in for the Beaverhead/Jefferson Rivers, after unloading our gear, on the morning on June 27 our two drivers shuttled our vehicles to the Three Forks KOA campground, where we parked our two vehicles for four days. We used the Montana Tour Shuttle service and transported Louise and Karen back to the put-in, located in Twin Bridges.
Stephen and Miryam stayed at the put-in and packed our canoes. The Madison County Fairgrounds Campground is located right along the shore of the Beaverhead River.
When ready, we launched into the Beaverhead by early afternoon. We paddled
approximately 7 miles to the confluence of the Big Hole and Jefferson Rivers. This stretch of river is part of the Jefferson River Canoe Trail and is part of the path used by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. There was a Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail marker along the riverbank near where we stopped for lunch. Where the sign was posted was difficult to access from the river.
There were some diversion dams on the river with a clear path to run the river left. On this first evening on the Jefferson River we camped on a sandbar near Hells Canyon, located near mile 80.
On the morning of June 28, we paddled towards Lost Tomahawk Camp at Parson’s Bridge. We ran the river left at the diversion dam. When we got to Lost Tomahawk Camp, we found the campsite was overgrown and not suitable for camping. We decided to move down river. We took a short break at the U.S. Forest Service-operated Hot Springs Campground, then decided to spend the night down river on a rock bar. Hot Springs Campground is accessible by cars, was very busy and frequented by residents. We camped on a rock bar across the river, near Mile 56 on the map.
One thing we discovered while on the river is that June-July is nesting season for Killdeer. They were not happy to see us along the rock bars. There were also nesting pelicans and ducks with young ducklings. We saw bald eagles, osprey, great blue heron, sandhill cranes, and Mule deer.
We paddled down the river to LaHood Park and stopped for dinner at the local LaHood Restaurant, then returned to our canoes and paddled to the Canyon Corner BLM Campground just below Lewis Clark Caverns State Park on the river right. This camp was also very overgrown, and we spotted a rattlesnake, so we decided to move to a small island across the river.
June 29, we watched an osprey catch a fish just below the island we were camping on. At this point, we decided to arrange with the shuttle driver to pick us up at Sappington Bridge take-out, located at Mile 25. We packed up, boarded the shuttle, and spent two nights at the Three Forks KOA, June 30 where we cleaned the canoes, rested, and explored the local area.
July 1, we took a short afternoon paddle on the Madison River. We put in at
Cobblestone Walk near Mile 11 and took out from the Madison at Black Bird, near Mile 3. The Madison River was lovely, but the water was very low.
Overall, this was a great trip, and it was interesting to explore a new area. The weather was good with daytime temperatures in the 80s or above. The water was running low, and you had to be careful picking your channels.
There are some logistical challenges. A lot of the information available online is out-of-date and the folks running the Jefferson River Canoe Trail website were not available to answer questions when we tried to get more current information. Montana has changed rules for overnight camping and parking near river access points and this information has not been posted on the trip planning web pages we found.
–Many of the access points along the river do not allow for overnight parking or camping.
–Extra time and effort are needed to arrange where you can park overnight and
scheduling shuttles.
–Designated campsites that are listed on maps and other materials posted online were not visible when on the river. None of the designated campsites were clearly marked and access trails were significantly overgrown. We did not find most of the designated campsites that should have been located along the river.
I would recommend this trip if you have time to go up a little early and spend a day or two exploring the area. Beginning in late June was probably a little too late in the season for good water. Earlier in May or June could have been too cold or the water could have been too fast for canoes.