Otter Creek to Bratten
Yellowstone River · 19.9 river miles · Reed Point, Montana
At an estimated 1,862 cfs, Otter Creek to Bratten is about 8h 38m of continuous drifting over 19.9 river miles.
Conditions right now
Typical float time by month
Typical flow is estimated by adding the typical flows of the gauges above this stretch, since no gauge measures it directly. Float times are continuous drifting at that flow. Flow by month has the full record.
| Month | Typical flow | Float time |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,428 cfs | 9h 33m |
| February | 1,405 cfs | 9h 37m |
| March | 1,553 cfs | 9h 15m |
| April | 2,221 cfs | 8h 04m |
| May | 8,049 cfs | 4h 57m |
| June | 15,800 cfs | 3h 49m |
| July | 7,867 cfs | 4h 59m |
| August | 3,490 cfs | 6h 48m |
| September | 2,464 cfs | 7h 45m |
| October | 2,261 cfs | 8h 01m |
| November | 1,960 cfs | 8h 28m |
| December | 1,620 cfs | 9h 06m |
How long it takes at different flows
| Flow | Estimated drift time |
|---|---|
| 1,200 cfs | 10h 12m |
| 2,000 cfs | 8h 24m |
| 3,000 cfs | 7h 12m |
| 5,000 cfs | 5h 56m |
| 8,000 cfs | 4h 57m |
| 12,000 cfs | 4h 15m |
Where this flow number comes from
No USGS gauge measures the Yellowstone at this stretch. The nearest mainstem gauges are Livingston, well upstream, and Billings, downstream; the gauges that once covered this water at Springdale and Big Timber are both inactive. So the figure above is not a reading — it is the sum of the gauges upstream of here:
Checked against the Billings gauge, which sits below every tributary in that sum, over 153 days of last season: mean error +2.6%, typical spread 10%, worst case -23% to +22%. Because water speed rises with roughly the cube root of discharge, a 20% flow error moves the float time by about 7% — inside the range already shown above.
On this stretch
- Pelican access, river mile 115.5
Access
Put-in
Otter Creek
First access below the Boulder River confluence. Camping.
Take-out
Bratten
Camping.
Measured along the NHDPlus flowline, not straight-line distance.
Shuttle
21.6 miles by road, about 28 minutes driving. The drive is 1.08x the river distance.
Gradient
This reach is close to typical for this river, which is why its drift time differs from another stretch of the same length.
Connecting stretches
Keep going downstream
- Bratten to Indian Fort 4.6 mi
- Bratten to Holmgren Ranch 17.4 mi
Start further upstream
- Springdale to Otter Creek 19.5 mi
- Grey Bear to Otter Creek 10.1 mi
Other take-outs from Otter Creek
- Otter Creek to Pelican 11.5 mi
- The estimate does not account for irrigation withdrawal, which in this stretch is substantial in midsummer and removes water the tributary gauges have already counted.
- The velocity curve behind this estimate was measured between Corwin Springs and Livingston. Whether it holds on a channel this far downstream is adjusted for by gradient but not yet confirmed by reported float times here.
Floated this stretch? Tell us how long it took
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Sources
Flow from USGS stream gauges 06192500, 06195600, 06200000, summed: Yellowstone River near Livingston; Shields River near Livingston; Boulder River at Big Timber. 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.