Questions, whitewater rafting, canoeing, hiking trips in Montana and Idaho

We ready to help you plan your vacation on the rivers & trails of Montana and Idaho, whether it’s whitewater rafting, canoeing, hiking and / or just general questions about travel, weather, lodging, dining, family friendly trips and special places in our area.

Below are our recommended gear lists and other recommendations.

Gratuity – how much do we trip our guides?

Price does not include guide gratuity, 10-15% of regular trip is greatly appreciated but not required. Feel free to discuss prior to your trip or with the lead guide on your trip.

Here are some guidelines:

For day trips, you can tip your guide directly, 10-15% of your regular trip fee (before discounts) being the baseline and can go up from there, if your trip included lunch or more elaborate dinner or your guide went above and beyond to make your trip special.

For multi-day trips the gratuity is usually pooled together and split equitably. You can give the gratuity to a lead guide, the owners Wayne & Gia, leave in an envelope at our office in Missoula or mail a check and we will make sure it is given to your guides. If you have a particular guide that made your trip special or went above and beyond, feel free to give them extra gratuity directly or indicate that to us. Again, 10-15% is the baseline and if your trip included extra amenities like tents & cots set up in advance, sit-down dinner, etc… additional gratuity is certainly appreciated.

Thank you so much for your participation and showing your appreciation for the crew!

Where can we leave our luggage we are on a trip?

Day trips – we recommend bringing only the minimum to our office. You can lock items in your car or leave them behind.

Multi-Day trips – first choice would be locking items in your car. If you do not have a private vehicle, second choice would be to leave with your hotel or lodging location that you will be returning to, third option is we can store your unneeded luggage with us. NOTE: be cautious with what you are bringing on your trip to be left behind while you are on the river. Irreplaceable Valuables and sensitive work electronics, etc… are probably best left at home.

Where can we leave our vehicle we are on a trip?

Alberton Gorge – Cars can be left at our office in Missoula or if you have a large group staying at one location, we can sometimes arrange a private pick up location. Our parking is very limited however, so carpooling is recommended.

Lochsa – Cars are left at the Lochsa Lodge

Salmon River guest private vehicles can be left at your lodging location or at our office. If you do not have a car, we can arrange a pick up at your hotel the morning of the trip, just let us know in advance. If you would like your car shuttle to the take-out, the rate is around $500, we recommend River Shuttles based in Salmon, ID. Let us know if this is a service you are looking for and we can help facilitate. We will need to know if you are having your car shuttled for our transportation needs.

Missouri River guest private vehicles can be left at the BLM boat ramp parking lot in Fort Benton. It is a couple blocks from any of the lodging locations in Fort Benton.

Lolo Trail guest private vehicles can be left at the Lochsa Lodge. Please inquire with them the best location for your long term parking.

What are the bathroom facilities on the river?

Definition of bathroom = a government installed concrete vault toilet with ventilation and a locking door, usually supplied with toilet paper, but good to always carry a small roll.

Wilderness Groover = a molded plastic toilet box system with a lid/seat. The inner tank is sealed each day with air tight gasket and cleaned at an RV dump at the end of the trip. They are set up in a private location, usually with a great view. Clean and comfortable.

Alberton Gorge – bathrooms at the put-in, take-out and a primitive bathroom at Fish Creek lunch stop.

Lochsa – full bathrooms and changing rooms at the Lochsa Lodge, put-in, take-out and the lunch stop.

Town float – bathroom facilities at some put-ins and take-outs, somewhat limited on the river, OK to pick a discreet location preferably “number 1” in the river.

Salmon River – bathrooms at the put-in, take-out and Groovers on the river at each camp. We follow the USFS protocol of “number 1” in the river not on shore and “number 2” in the toilet. Our guides will give a camp talk in more detail at the first nights camp. Female products cannot go in the toilet systems. Best to bring a few zip loc bags that can be used to store used products and then sealed up until the end of the trip and thrown away with the garbage. ANY questions, please give us a call. Lots of female guides navigating this for years!

Missouri River – bathrooms at the put-in, lunch spots and camps on the 3-day trip. Continuing on the 6-day, we use Groovers for the second section of the river.

What about mosquitos?

Mosquitos are generally an issue in late spring or early summer after a rain or in areas with heavy irrigation on lawns and fields. Once you are out on the river and it has been dry with no rain, mosquito habitat has dried up and they are not an issue. Always good to carry repellent and after bite remedies if you react to insect bites.

Raft-IK-Tube-SUP Rentals

Ace Hardware in Eastgate for Tube & Floaty purchase – you can take the public bus to the put in at Sha-Ron in East Missoula and float back to town.

Shuttle Service for all rivers around Missoula

Big Sky Shuttle Service – 406-822-0123

Trip Cancellation Policy and Guest Responsibility

Travel, Trip and Cancellation Insurance

Why is travel insurance so important?

In today’s changing travel environment, it’s important to protect your travel investment so you can relax and enjoy your trip. Unforeseen events such as flight delays, baggage loss or even a sudden sickness or injury could impact your travel plans. LCTA recommends that you purchase a travel protection plan to help protect you and your travel investment against the unexpected. For your convenience, we offer travel protection through Travelex Insurance Services.

Travelex Insurance Services at 800-228-9792 and reference location number 26-0048.

Travelex Insurance Services, Inc. CA Agency License #0D10209. Insurance coverages underwritten by Zurich American Insurance Company (NAIC #16535, state of domicile: New York), 1299 Zurich Way, Schaumburg, IL 60196. Certain coverages not available in all states.