There is still time to get in some casting on the Flathead River with the fall fishing season excellent this year. For an easy float or if you’re looking for a place to wander the banks, the Teakettle Fishing Access site in Columbia Falls is a superb place to start a day’s adventure.
Use the well-maintained concrete boat ramp to launch your vessel for a popular half-day fishing outing from Teakettle to the Presentine Fishing Access. The easy float is surrounded by beautiful scenery.
The access site offers tables and ample space for picnics or a quick afternoon getaway. The water is currently low creating an easily navigable beach of rounded river rock to stroll between the trees and crystal clear water of the Flathead River.
Stop and learn a bit of local history by viewing a salvaged steel paddle wheel shaft from the 1892 steamer “Oakes,” a stern-wheeler steamboat that was used to retrieve coal for the railroad from the North Fork of the Flathead River near Coal Creek. Read about the “Tragedy of the North Fork” and the events that led to the capsized steamer.
The site is open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
How to get there: Go east on MT Highway 40 from U.S. Highway 93. Highway 40 intersects with U.S. Highway 2. Continue east on Highway 2 through Columbia Falls. Access is on the southwest side of the bridge near mile marker 7.