Jefferson River Canoe Trip

Williams Bridge to Missouri Headwaters

  • Location: Williams Bridge, Williams Bridge Road, Three Forks, Montana, USA (View on Google Maps)
  • Start Date: July 26, 2025
  • End Date: July 27, 2025

The Jefferson River Canoe Trail retraces by water an essential segment of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail along the entire length of the Jefferson River in southwest Montana.

Two canoes paddling down the river.      The Lewis and Clark Expedition towed dugout canoes up the Jefferson River in 1805 in search of a navigable water route to the Pacific. Most present-day travelers prefer to follow the trail in reverse, floating down the Jefferson River in search of fun and fishing. The entire length of the river is Class I water, suitable for beginning paddlers, except during runoff season in spring.

The Canoe Trail includes a network of multipurpose campsites on public lands on the Jefferson River. The public may float into these sites for primitive camping along the river. At each camp there are opportunities for such activities as bird watching, mushrooming, hiking, and fishing.

This year we will pick up where we left off last year, launching from Williams Bridge (mile 20) and paddling the lower Jefferson River to Missouri Headwaters. Along the way on Saturday we will visit Philosophy campsite (mile 17 and stay overnight on Drouillard Island (mile 9). On Sunday we will visit Shoshone Landing (mile 4), then continue downstream to the Jefferson’s confluence with the Madison River, marking the beginning of the Missouri River. We will take out downstream at Missouri Headwaters Fishing Access Site. (We may need to do something entirely different if the lower river is closed for replacement of Old Town Bridge.)

This event is hosted by the Jefferson River Canoe Trail. The campout is open to members of the Jefferson River Canoe Trail, as well as members of the Bozeman Kayaking and Canoeing Meetup Group, Green University alumni, and anyone else who would like to join us.

In lieu of a fee for the campout, we would be grateful for generous donations to the Jefferson River Canoe Trail to support work to secure additional public campsites along this segment of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

More: https://jeffersonriver.org/Chapter_Events.htm#Jefferson_River

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Jefferson River Canoe Trip