Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will begin work to improve the boat ramp at Sportsman's Bridge Fishing Access Site on the Flathead River near Bigfork in mid-March as water levels recede.
Improvements will include steepening and lengthening the concrete ramp and removing rocks near the ramp that made launching boats difficult. The boat ramp will be closed during the construction from March 16 to mid-April. Boaters and anglers can still access Flathead Lake and the river using alternative FWP, county or tribal launch sites.
In 2025, FWP and the Montana Department of Transportation relocated Sportsman's Bridge FAS from the east side of the Flathead River to the west side to accommodate the replacement of the Flathead River Bridge (Sportsman's Bridge) on Montana Highway 82.
The boat ramp at the new site was installed last spring and with rising water only a short section of the planned ramp was completed. As of March 1, water levels have dropped beyond the end of the ramp and launching anything other than small boats is very difficult. As the water continues to drop in March and April, crews will be extending the ramp as far as possible.
For more information, please call the FWP Region 1 office in Kalispell at 406-751-5423.