Floating

The Gallatin is popular with white-water enthusiasts; it’s a challenging river to float, with some huge rapids in the lower canyon, the 20-mile stretch between Big Sky and the mouth of Gallatin Canyon, which is the focus of outfitters’ half-day raft trips.

Two rafting outfitters have their headquarters on Highway 191 near Big Sky. Montana Whitewater Raft Company (Hwy. 191, mile marker 64, seven miles north of the Big Sky turnoff, 406/995-4613 or 800/799-4465, www.montanawhitewater.com [1], $49 half day, $81 full day) and Geyser Whitewater Expeditions (Hwy. 191 next to Buck’s T-4 Lodge, 406/995-4989 or 800/914-9031, www.raftmontana.com [2], $51 half day, $88 full day) both run daily white-water trips.