HELENA – Unlucky in the Smith River Permit lottery? Good news – there are still 120 open float permits available. The bad news – all of those remaining permits are valid for dates either in early April or later in summer when conditions for floating are often very poor or impossible.
Another opportunity is to purchase a chance for the Smith River Super Permit. Chances are available through March 15 for $5 each. One Super Permit winner will be allowed to launch on any date of their choosing. Chances may be purchased online at FWP's website. The Super Permit drawing will be held soon after the deadline.
Floaters can also call the Smith River reservation and information line at 406-454-5861 beginning Monday, March 2, to request any remaining launch dates or cancelled permits. The call line will be open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to noon.
The 59-mile stretch of the Smith River has operated under a permit system for more than 30 years, and applications for the highly sought-after permit have steadily increased during that time.
So, what exactly are the odds of drawing one of those coveted permits to float the Smith? A total of 1,115 permits were available to the public during the 2025 float season, April 1 to Aug. 15, with an average of about 8 permits per day. Here are a few facts and statistics from the 2026 drawing results:
- 8,711 residents applied for a Smith River float permit, an increase of 787 over last year.
- 2,860 nonresidents applied for a float permit, a decrease of 287 over last year.
- A total of 995 float permits were issued. Residents received 884 permits, while nonresidents were issued 111 permits.
- A 2023 state law says that the number of permits that can be purchased by nonresidents may not exceed 10 percent of the available permits.
- The oldest successful applicant was 83 years old. The average age of successful applicants was 46 years old for males and 44 years old for females.
- The most sought-after launch date this year was June 15, with a total of 428 applicants for 8 float permits, giving a success rate of 1.87 percent for that date.
- As is often the case, Thursdays were generally the most-applied for day of the week, with Sundays and Mondays receiving the fewest number of applicants.