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.
| # | 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. |
Gauge: USGS 12334510 — Rock Creek near Clinton MT. Live flow on the web page.
Species: Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Bull Trout, Mountain Whitefish, Rainbow Trout, Westslope Cutthroat Trout
Regulations: fwp.mt.gov/fish/regulations
Emergency: call 911 and give the number of the nearest point on this map plus its coordinates.
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.
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.