River Cruises, River Tours & Day Trips

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Here are some 'possibles' Missouri Breaks River Co. can offer you. PLEASE NOTE: You will need to be prepared to get out of the boat to lighten the load should we run aground, always a possibility. In sum, it's not that different from the steamboat days when passengers were needed, expected, and required to help get the vessel up or downstream, usually by off-boarding to lighten the craft. It certainly adds an element of adventure to the trips. If you have any questions about this, please call us at 406-453-3035. In the event we have to cancel due to low water conditions all monies will be refunded.

Also, lots of people ask a very basic and important question, 'Are there any toilet facilities?' and the answer is 'Yes, there are'. There are adequate toilet facilities-standard BLM vault toilets, much nicer than simple 'outhouses'-at Coal Banks Landing, Eagle Creek, Hole-in-the-Wall, Slaughter River and Judith Landing. So they are well placed along the White Cliffs trip route which gets the most river traffic. You may want to bring your own tissues as sometimes tissues are in short supply.

The White Cliffs Day Trip. The premier trip on the river, the one most requested in large part because of the exposure it gets from Stephen Ambrose's book Undaunted Courage. Departing Coal Banks Landing (mile 41) to Judith Landing (mile 88) it is a splendid day trip thru perhaps the most scenic and certainly the most well known part of the river. Pilot Rock, the White Cliffs, LaBarge Rock, Eagle Rock, Citadel Rock of Bodmer fame, Hole-in-the-Wall, Slaughter River and Judith Landing are all encompassed in this journey. We usually stop at Eagle Creek (a Lewis and Clark campsite), continue downstream and hike up and out of the river corridor to Hole-in-the-Wall, lunch on board afterward as those who want to swim do so alongside the floating boat, stop again at Slaughter River (another Lewis and Clark camp) then on to Judith Landing. During summer (and the no wake rule) normal departure time is around 9:30 a.m. (giving you time to get there from Great Falls-70 miles, 8 of it gravel) and we get to the Judith about 4:30 or 5:00. By the time the boat is trailered and we make the 75 mile trip (this time about 40 of it gravel) back to Coal Banks and your waiting auto it's somewhere around 7 p.m.

Our Truly Deluxe White Cliffs Cruise. There are alot of people who would like to stay longer in the area and soak up some of the flavor of the river and the Montana surroundings as well as make a river trip. All this can be tough to arrange when you consider the remote locations-the who, what, when, where. How about this? Spend the first night at the Virgelle Merc, an absolutely first rate bed and breakfast decorated in Montana turn of the century (1900's) antiques. When you arrive that night (check in is prior to 9 p.m.) you will find a refreshment basket of assorted food snacks waiting for you in your room or private cabin. The appointments and attention to detail are superb, your hosts fine examples of Montana hospitality. Next morning you sit down with the other guests to a breakfast of items such as baked and stuffed French toast, juice, fresh fruits, coffee, bacon or sausage. After breakfast your hosts (who also run Missouri River Canoe Co.) will then transport you over the mile or so of gravel roads to Coal Banks Landing where you will link up with Missouri Breaks River Co. and we will set out on our rightfully renowned White Cliffs Day Trip (see description above). An on-board lunch will be provided by the Virgelle Merc folks that is ample, hearty and delicious. We finish the river trip at Judith Landing around 5 p.m. then trailer the boat back to the Merc where wonderful showers in their Ice House (nope, not a description of the water temp, it's an old Ice House converted to a shower room-the towels alone testify to the Merc accommodations-plush & pampering) await you.

After refreshing you enjoy a sumptuous Montana dinner (served outside weather permitting) at the Merc, relax on the porch and spend another night, visiting with your hosts and the other guests, perhaps viewing deer who come to feed in the wheat fields adjacent to the Merc then disappear back into the cottonwoods lining the river, while you relaxe and partake of the spectacular Montana evening and Merc hospitality. After breakfast the next day you'll be on your way to other adventures.

So. You get 2 breakfasts, 2 nights lodging, lunch on the boat, a sit down dinner Montana style all at the Virgelle Merc bed and breakfast, plus the entire White Cliffs river cruise with Missouri Breaks River Co. and you don't have to think about any of the arrangements. In fact, you don't have to think about much of anything, just kick back and put it on cruise control. We need four passengers for these trips and if there are less than four in your party it may be possible to find a full complement for this trip package or you may opt to make the trip with a smaller party. Please see our ShareRide page for details on that or call either Missouri Breaks River Co. or the Virgelle Merc (use the hotlink above to get to their web site and phone) if you have any questions whatsoever about this trip. Reservations and a 50% deposit are required.. Virgelle Merc cancellation and refund policy applies to all aspects of this trip including the boat portion provided by MBRC. Please see their web site for details.

The White Cliffs Day Trip "outside" the no wake time frame. From Memorial Day thru the Sunday following Labor Day the no wake time frame is in effect so this trip then is anytime outside that time frame (mid-September thru mid-May). Yes, we think it is complicated too! Call us if you need a more thorough explanation. On this trip we travel downstream at no wake speed past Eagle Creek, Citadel, Hole-in-the-Wall to where the river corridor begins to open up and the rock formations of the White Cliffs taper off then disappear. This area is right above Pablo Island so it means we go 30 miles downstream completely thru the White Cliffs area, then return back upstream again thru the White Cliffs 30 miles to our start point. Because of shortened daylight during the time frame we can do these trips, wherever we are at 3:30 p.m. we turn around and begin back upstream at cruising speed. You get the sweep of the entire White Cliffs coming right at you as we head upstream, and it is nothing short of magnificent! This is a must for real history buffs because this is the way Lewis and Clark saw it! In fact, Clark never saw it from the upstream coming down because he was over on the Yellowstone for the return journey. You get two trips, the leisurely downstream one like everyone else does it, and another coming back up on plane. They are two very different trips, both beautiful and wonderful , both distinctly different.

Decision Point Trip. Ft. Benton to the mouth of the Marias and back.Lewis and Clark spent June 3-11, 1805, at the mouth of the Marias (mile 22) Decision Point, pondering which river was the'right' river to continue up. In low water there are sand bars here which offer a fine spot to spend some time picnicing, sunbathing, swimming or wading and reflecting on the voyage of Discovery (Lewis and Clark's). Or reflecting on your own personal voyage of discovery. An historic overlook of the confluence is a reasonable hike from this point and we can cruise (as long as it's not below mile 52 the beginning of the no wake-downstream only zone) back upstream to Ft. Benton where you can explore 'the birthplace of Montana', and its two fine museums.

Badlands Trip--Judith Landing (mile 88) to Kipp State Park (mile 149). A long trip requiring a long day nevertheless you see a part of the river most people don't since the majority of traffic gets out at the Judith. The country is remote and magnificent. Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce crossed at Cow Island when they were fleeing the US Army in 1877 enroute to Canada. Bighorn Sheep range. Please note: This trip may no longer be possible by motor boat within the no wake time frame as it appears the BLM is going to restrict this section of river to float only/no motor river traffic.

Arrange a special 'birding' trip-white pelicans and blue herons in summer, peregrine falcons, osprey, various hawks, eagles-both golden and bald, common mergansers (one of the water birds that nests in the White Cliffs area), cormorants, migrating waterfowl, flamingoes...no, no flamingoes, just kidding; swallows, nighthawks, gulls, finches to list some. Oh, and mountain bluebirds.

Upstream from Ft. Benton, above the Carter ferry. Very little river traffic here, you might see a few fishermen. You can go to the mouth of Portage Creek (present day Belt Creek) where Lewis and Clark began the portage around the great falls of the Missouri. Last summer's discovery of what is thought 'for sure' to be the actual campsite of Lewis and Clark adds to this trip. This must be done early in the year during high water, it's not possible when the water drops.

From Broadwater Bay in Great Falls, upstream past White Bear islands, then up to the Lewis and Clark canoe camp. A simple, short trip and a way to get out on the river.

Below the Robinson bridge. You travel downstream and then back up (the no wake, downstream only zone ends above the bridge) enveloped on both sides by the C.M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. About as remote as the lower 48 gets. See the land in its native dress. Sometimes lots of elk. At all times a wonder to behold.

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