#1 Thing to do in Missoula Montana
Voted Best Day Trip in the Northwest
Adventure Missoula offers exciting day long rafting trips filled with class II and III whitewater rapids, and our guided fishing trips on the Blackfoot, Bitterroot, and Clark Fork Rivers can be enjoyed for a half day or a full day. Our clients typically catch rainbow, cutthroat, and brown trout.
Our shop is located right at the whitewater put in for the Clark Fork, called the Alberton Gorge. We are one of the few outfitters located within walking distance of the launch! We also own River City Brews Rafting Tours, a Lavender Farm in the area, and we also have a sister company called Coeur d’Alene Adventures.
Another plus, we’re locals!!! Montana grown and hometown friendly – look no further for the real deal. Most of our guides are from Mineral or Missoula County.
Adventure Missoula strives to be eco-friendly. Here are some examples of how we are doing so:
1. Solar panels: We are ecstatic about our solar panels and try to operate simply off them at the shop to power our operations and communication with staff and customers.
2. Local fresh garden grown produce: You get to eat some of our staff-made organic delicious home-grown vegetables from our high tunnel at our little farm if you go on a full day fly fishing, canopy brew trip, or white-water rafting trip with us!
3. Paperless: We use online electronic versions of everything to power our operations and reservations.
4. Reusable Kitchenware: We use no paper goods in serving our rafting and fishing on-river lunches.
Our whitewater rafting trips take you down 12 miles of the Clark Fork River through the Alberton Gorge. In addition to the gorge’s awesome fifteen rapids, the river runs past gorgeous scenery and meanders through deep canyons with crystal blue tributaries. There is plenty of history and folk lore to be encountered during your rafting trip down the Clark Fork River of which our staff is fully educated!
TOP 10 REASONS TO GO WITH US…..
1. We are constantly told we have the best lunches on the river. The ingredients, the handmadeness….all within 15 miles of the raft shop and grown right here in the Missoula Valley.
2. When we can, we include fresh garden grown produce, veggies, and raspberries on property to make your delicious river adventure unforgettable.
3. Whitewater rafting Missoula and the Alberton Gorge section of the Clark Fork River couldn’t be better when you are in small boats, (high end sport rafts that hold 6-8ppl) not large ones crowded with tons of people. It is considered the #1 Thing to do in Missoula!
4. Our customers come back because we hire great personalities, local river kids that know the area, and staff that are passionate about what they do. We pay them what they deserve. Some of them have been with us for almost a decade before.
5. Adventure Missoula was the very first rafting company; started in 1976 (then known as Western Waters). We are the second owners. Jared bought Western Waters from Jerry Nichols in 2004.
6. Our company is owned by local teachers: Jared and Sara Forsythe. Jared has been guiding and fishing in the area since he was 22. Sara is local celebrity who started the Art Center in Missoula. It’s a family affair and has been in the Forsythe name since 2004.
7. Our shop is just above the put in for the trip. This means you don’t have to ride in a bus and can park safely for free in our customer parking lot on our private location as well as use our private outhouses and not the one down at the put in.
8. When you call us, you reach us; either the people who are taking you down the river, or the owners.
9. We have changing rooms, a gift shop, water, snacks, and sodas available for purchase with private parking and we offer a free shuttle back from your river trip.
10. We have bbqs and a garden on top of our former bio-diesel bus – Surfer Steve, now retired to cooking and socializing. Enjoy a game of badminton or cornhole before your departure!
So, whitewater raft in Missoula now. With us. Before you get carpal tunnel or lose it sitting in traffic when you could be floating down the river. You won’t regret it.
We are the area’s local ma and pa rafting company. We employ local guides to make your trip authentic.
Providing good times…..with a sense of responsibility which we take to heart. We are safe, fun, well-trained and small.
Contact the staff at Adventure Missoula if you want to spend the day on the river. We will be more than happy to recommend lodging and other activities in the area. Make your Idaho/Montana vacation the best and take an Adventure with us.
Our Story:
Jerry Nichols owned the first professional rafting company in Western Montana; then called Western Waters and began in 1976. Jared purchased Western Waters from him in 2004. Jared and Sara Forsythe rebranded to Adventure Missoula and bought River City Brews in 2024. Jared grew up in West Yellowstone and graduated from the University of Montana in Environmental Science. Sara also received her degree from U of M in Fine Art and History. In 2007, she founded the Zootown Arts Community Center located in downtown Missoula. They own a Lavender Farm just outside of town that hosts summer U-Pick visits and harvesting events. Together they own Adventure Missoula, an outdoor recreation company that has been offering adventures for families and tourists in the area since 1976. It is the oldest outfitter on the legendary Alberton Gorge Whitewater stretch located 30 minutes from Missoula.
The companies and staff are loyal to the rivers and respect their multifaceted ecosystem by leave no trace practices and utilizing reusable dishware. As much as we can, we provide locally sourced lunches and snacks and grow produce in our high tunnel, and pick raspberries for guests at our farm and shop to make your trip authentic and unique.
Using our background as teachers as our starting point, our trips focus on education and recreating responsibly in our wilderness areas. We believe our purpose and cause is larger than ourselves and that small intimate memorable experiences in nature have the potential to inspire change, instill values and beliefs, and should be shared with others.
Our companies acknowledge that we are in the homelands of the Salish and Kalispel people. We offer our respect for their history and culture, for their ancient and continuing presence in this landscape, and for the path they have shown us in caring for this beautiful place for generations to come.
The goal has never changed; we work to deliver beautiful, relaxing, delicious, and educational trips down the river to Missoulians and visitors alike. We believe in community, activism, conservation, joy, and providing good times with a sense of responsibility.
Let’s go rafting!
