Fishes Rock Creek
Creek · Granite and Missoula counties, Montana, the Sapphire and John Long mountain country southeast of Missoula · Montana
Rock Creek Fishing Guides
A blue ribbon freestone creek running fifty miles down a roadless-feeling canyon to the Clark Fork, famous for its salmonfly hatch and for holding four trout species in one drainage.
Map of the Rock Creek
21 numbered points: 10 access points, 7 campsites, 2 bridges, 1 park or conservation area, 1 USGS gauge. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 23, 2026.
- Access / boat ramp (10)
- Campsite (7)
- Bridge crossing (2)
- Park / conservation area (1)
- USGS gauge (1)
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Points are curated from OpenStreetMap and state agency sources; confirm access and hours before you go.
Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
Open the printable mapAll 21 points on this map
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skalkaho Road (MT 38) bridge MT 38 · Granite County | Bridge crossing | 46.22402, -113.52210 | Top of the mapped creek, where the Middle and West forks come together above the Skalkaho Highway crossing. The chained centreline starts here. |
| 2 | Gillies Bridge Fishing Access at the S-348 Gillies Bridge | Access / boat ramp | 46.33015, -113.53654 | First named access downstream of the forks. The access node and the Gillies Bridge way sit 40 m apart and ship as one point. |
| 3 | Stony Creek Campground Lolo National Forest | Campsite | 46.34898, -113.60766 | Creekside USFS campground on Rock Creek Road, 220 m from the water. |
| 4 | Windlass Bridge slipway at the CR 102 bridge | Access / boat ramp | 46.35690, -113.62659 | Mapped slipway 18 m from the Windlass Bridge way; the bridge is what names it. Placed on the slipway, not the bridge. |
| 5 | Big Horn Campground Lolo National Forest | Campsite | 46.38970, -113.65814 | USFS campground on the east bank, 130 m from the creek. |
| 6 | Eudailey Bridge Rock Creek Road | Bridge crossing | 46.39102, -113.66908 | Named crossing with no mapped launch beside it - a landmark for describing a reach rather than an access. |
| 7 | Siria Campground Lolo National Forest | Campsite | 46.42284, -113.71866 | USFS campground, 180 m from the water on Rock Creek Road. |
| 8 | Microburst Fishing Access | Access / boat ramp | 46.44402, -113.76145 | Named fishing access 90 m from the centreline; no mapped ramp, so treat it as a bank access. |
| 9 | Bitterroot Flat Campground Lolo National Forest | Campsite | 46.46878, -113.77732 | USFS campground on the west bank, 110 m from the creek. |
| 10 | Red Bridge slipway at the Red Bridge crossing | Access / boat ramp | 46.47785, -113.77818 | Mapped slipway 27 m from the Red Bridge way. Placed on the slipway. |
| 11 | White Bridge slipway at the White Bridge crossing | Access / boat ramp | 46.50773, -113.77419 | Mapped slipway 53 m from the White Bridge way. Placed on the slipway. |
| 12 | Harry's Flat Campground Lolo National Forest | Campsite | 46.53732, -113.75053 | USFS campground; OSM spells it Harrys Flat, corrected here. |
| 13 | Dalles Campground Lolo National Forest | Campsite | 46.55735, -113.70965 | USFS campground 100 m from the creek on Rock Creek Road. |
| 14 | Norton Campground Lolo National Forest | Campsite | 46.58816, -113.66891 | USFS campground; the Norton fishing access is the next point, about 190 m downstream. |
| 15 | Norton Fishing Access beside Norton Campground | Access / boat ramp | 46.58863, -113.67106 | Named access at the Norton site. Shipped separately from the campground because they are 190 m apart and are different facilities. |
| 16 | Sawmill Fishing Access | Access / boat ramp | 46.62121, -113.65200 | Named fishing access 70 m from the centreline. |
| 17 | Solomon Fishing Access | Access / boat ramp | 46.65001, -113.65402 | Named fishing access found on the name sweep rather than the tag sweep; 330 m from the water. |
| 18 | Tamarack Creek Fishing Access at the Tamarack Creek mouth | Access / boat ramp | 46.67272, -113.67163 | Named access on the lower creek, 40 m from the centreline. |
| 19 | Valley of the Moon Fishing Access Valley of the Moon Road | Access / boat ramp | 46.69737, -113.66964 | Lowest named access above the mouth. The access node and the Valley of the Moon Road bridge are one site and ship as one point. |
| 20 | Rock Creek Confluence nature reserve at the mouth | Park / conservation area | 46.72086, -113.66546 | Reserve at the Clark Fork confluence, 810 m from the mapped centreline. |
| 21 | USGS 12334510 - Rock Creek near Clinton USGS streamgauge | USGS gauge | 46.72234, -113.68306 | The roster coordinate lands exactly on the OSM monitoring-station node for this gauge (0 m). It sits 126 m from the Stage Station Road bridge, which is not shipped separately. |
Guides on the Rock Creek
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
Order on this page: premium and outfitter plans first (labelled Premium placement), then claimed free profiles, then unclaimed — one published price, no bidding for position. How placement works
About the Rock Creek
Rock Creek runs roughly fifty miles north out of the Sapphire and John Long ranges to meet the Clark Fork east of Missoula, and despite the modest name it is one of the best known trout streams in Montana. The state classifies it as a blue ribbon fishery, and the designation is earned rather than promotional. It is a true freestone creek, cold and fast, with a bottom of cobble and boulder and a gradient that keeps the water broken and oxygenated nearly the whole way down.
What sets it apart is the species mix. Rainbow and brown trout are the fish most anglers catch, westslope cutthroat hold in the upper drainage and the tributaries, and the creek supports bull trout, a threatened native char that requires genuinely cold, clean, connected water to persist. Mountain whitefish are abundant throughout and are a reliable indicator of the creek’s health. Few streams this size hold that range.
The salmonfly hatch is what the creek is famous for. In late spring these very large stoneflies emerge in numbers, and for a week or two the biggest trout in the drainage feed on the surface in a way they do not for the rest of the year. The timing moves with runoff and temperature and it draws a crowd, but the hatch is genuine and the fishing during it can be exceptional.
A gravel road follows the creek for most of its length through the canyon, and the corridor is largely Lolo National Forest, so access is unusually good for water of this quality. There are campgrounds, fishing accesses and long stretches of public bank. Floating is allowed with seasonal restrictions intended to protect wading anglers and spawning fish, and those rules change, so checking the current regulations before launching matters.
Runoff dominates the calendar. The creek is high, cold and off colour through the melt, drops into shape in early summer and then fishes well into the fall as flows settle and water clears. Late summer can run low and warm enough that ethical anglers quit in the afternoon heat. Fall brings brown trout movement and the quietest conditions of the year.
This water needs a real photo
The photo at the top of this page is not Rock Creek.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
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Access
Rock Creek Road - the gravel road following the creek up the canyon from the interstate.
Clinton - the small town at the mouth of the canyon and the reference point for the gauge.
Missoula - the nearest city, with guides, fly shops and full services to the northwest.
Lolo National Forest - the public land covering most of the creek corridor.
Clark Fork - the larger river the creek enters at the canyon mouth.
Philipsburg - the town near the upper drainage to the south.
Forest Service campgrounds along the canyon - the developed public camping and access points.
Seasons
Spring: high cold runoff, clearing late in the season into the salmonfly hatch.
Summer: prime dry fly conditions early, with low warm afternoons calling for restraint in late summer.
Fall: settled flows, cooling water, moving brown trout and the fewest anglers.
Winter: cold and largely iced in the upper canyon, with limited fishing on the lower creek.
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Questions
What is the current flow on the Rock Creek?
As of Nov 2, 7:45 am, the USGS gauge Rock Creek near Clinton MT reads 314 cfs, with water temperature 42.3 F. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Rock Creek?
Anglers target Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Bull Trout, Mountain Whitefish, Rainbow Trout, Westslope Cutthroat Trout on the Rock Creek in Montana.
Are there fishing guides on the Rock Creek?
GuidedFloats lists 3 guides and outfitters on the Rock Creek. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.
Where can you access the Rock Creek?
Rock Creek Road - the gravel road following the creek up the canyon from the interstate. Clinton - the small town at the mouth of the canyon and the reference point for the gauge. Missoula - the nearest city, with guides, fly shops and full services to the northwest. Lolo National Forest - the public land covering most of the creek corridor. Clark Fork - the larger river the creek enters at the canyon mouth. Philipsburg - the town near the upper drainage to the south. Forest Service campgrounds along the canyon - the developed public camping and access points.
When is the best time to fish the Rock Creek?
Spring: high cold runoff, clearing late in the season into the salmonfly hatch. Summer: prime dry fly conditions early, with low warm afternoons calling for restraint in late summer. Fall: settled flows, cooling water, moving brown trout and the fewest anglers. Winter: cold and largely iced in the upper canyon, with limited fishing on the lower creek.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Rock Creek?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Montana agency site: https://fwp.mt.gov/fish/regulations