Mallard's Rest to Carter's Bridge

Yellowstone River · 10.4 river miles · Paradise Valley

At today's flow of 1,700 cfs, Mallard's Rest to Carter's Bridge is about 3h 42m of continuous drifting over 10.4 river miles.

Conditions right now

Flow now1,700 cfs · 21st percentile for this date
Estimated float time3h 42m
Range2h 47m to 4h 38m
Wind9 mph NW
Sunset today7:09 PM

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.

MonthTypical flowFloat time
January1,200 cfs4h 14m
February1,190 cfs4h 15m
March1,280 cfs4h 08m
April1,730 cfs3h 41m
May6,450 cfs2h 14m
June12,550 cfs1h 44m
July6,830 cfs2h 11m
August3,240 cfs2h 54m
September2,230 cfs3h 20m
October1,920 cfs3h 32m
November1,635 cfs3h 46m
December1,360 cfs4h 02m

How long it takes at different flows

FlowEstimated drift time
1,200 cfs4h 14m
2,000 cfs3h 29m
3,000 cfs2h 59m
5,000 cfs2h 27m
8,000 cfs2h 03m
12,000 cfs1h 46m

On this stretch

Access

Put-in

Mallard's Rest

13 miles south of Livingston on Hwy 89 at milepost 42. Camping.

FacilityRamp (Concrete)
LaunchBoat ramp
FWP activitiesBoating, Camping, Fishing, Hunting
FWP river marker511
River mile46.77
Coordinates45.48482, -110.62163

Take-out

Carter's Bridge

Gravel ramp, toilet. Limited parking. USGS gage 06192500 sits here.

FacilityRamp (Gravel)
LaunchBoat ramp
FWP activitiesBoating, Fishing
FWP river marker501
River mile57.17
Coordinates45.59700, -110.56503

Measured along the NHDPlus flowline, not straight-line distance.

Shuttle

8.9 miles by road, about 12 minutes driving. The drive is 0.86x the river distance. Short shuttle relative to the float. Easy logistics.

Gradient

This reach is steeper than typical for this river, which is why its drift time differs from another stretch of the same length.

Connecting stretches

Keep going downstream

Start further upstream

Other take-outs from Mallard's Rest

Plan this float
Float times are estimates from river flow, not a judgement that conditions are safe for you or your craft. They assume continuous drifting; anglers working the banks often take two to three times as long. Check current Montana FWP regulations before you go. What the estimate leaves out.

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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.