5 Fun Facts about the Flathead River

Have you ever wondered, how long is Flathead River? Or, where does Flathead River Start? At the Flathead Conservation District, we work with private landowners and partner organizations to protect and restore this special river. We know how easy it is to take the Flathead River for granted as part of our daily lives, so let’s take a step back and consider the numbers.

1. There are 3,771.1 total miles of river in the larger Flathead drainage, (excluding Glacier Park waters).
2. The Flathead River begins with three branches, known as the North Fork, Middle Fork, and South Fork of the Flathead River. The three branches join together between Glacier National Park and Columbia Falls, MT, to form the larger Flathead River.
3. Flathead River is over 158 miles long, from it’s northern most point to where it meets the Clark Fork River northwest of Missoula, MT.
4. The Flathead River flows through Flathead Lake which is over 28 miles long.
5. The Middle Fork of the Flathead River inspired the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Currently all three forks of the Flathead River have designation under this act with 97.9 miles of designated Wild river, 40.7 Scenic, and 80.4 Recreational.