Hwy 89 Bridge to Sheep Mountain
Yellowstone River · 3.2 river miles · Livingston, Montana
At today's flow of 1,700 cfs, Hwy 89 Bridge to Sheep Mountain is about 1h 13m of continuous drifting over 3.2 river miles.
Conditions right now
Typical float time by month
Typical flow is the median day for the month at the gauge that represents this stretch. Float times are continuous drifting at that flow. Flow by month has the full record.
| Month | Typical flow | Float time |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,200 cfs | 1h 24m |
| February | 1,190 cfs | 1h 24m |
| March | 1,280 cfs | 1h 21m |
| April | 1,730 cfs | 1h 13m |
| May | 6,450 cfs | 44m |
| June | 12,550 cfs | 34m |
| July | 6,830 cfs | 43m |
| August | 3,240 cfs | 57m |
| September | 2,230 cfs | 1h 06m |
| October | 1,920 cfs | 1h 10m |
| November | 1,635 cfs | 1h 14m |
| December | 1,360 cfs | 1h 20m |
How long it takes at different flows
| Flow | Estimated drift time |
|---|---|
| 1,200 cfs | 1h 24m |
| 2,000 cfs | 1h 09m |
| 3,000 cfs | 59m |
| 5,000 cfs | 49m |
| 8,000 cfs | 41m |
| 12,000 cfs | 35m |
On this stretch
- Shields River joins, river mile 69.8
- Flow read from USGS gauge 06192500, Yellowstone River near Livingston, MT
Access
Put-in
Hwy 89 Bridge
5 miles east of Livingston off I-90. Sits just ABOVE the Shields River confluence, which is 0.6 mi downstream -- so the Livingston gage still represents this water.
Take-out
Sheep Mountain
Measured along the NHDPlus flowline, not straight-line distance.
Shuttle
4.1 miles by road, about 15 minutes driving. The drive is 1.29x the river distance.
Gradient
This reach is steeper than typical for this river, which is why its drift time differs from another stretch of the same length.
Hazards and landmarks in this stretch
- Shields River confluence The Shields joins here. Below this point the Livingston gage reads less water than the river actually carries, and there is no downstream gage to correct with.
Connecting stretches
Keep going downstream
- Sheep Mountain to Springdale 12.2 mi
Start further upstream
Other take-outs from Hwy 89 Bridge
- Hwy 89 Bridge to Springdale 15.4 mi
Floated this stretch? Tell us how long it took
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Sources
Flow from USGS stream gauges 06191500 (Corwin Springs) and 06192500 (near Livingston). River miles from USGS NHDPlus; wind from the National Weather Service; access facts from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Every source and how the estimate is made · Terms.