The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

There are plenty of rules if a person wants to go boating in the mighty Missouri from Fort Benton to the Fred Robinson Bridge.

There is also a wide array of pamphlets to describe how to play by the rules when on the Missouri.

Most of the material is available in Fort Benton at the Interpretive Center.

There are sheets of suggestions. There are frequently asked questions. There are even sheets for portable toilet options. There are sheets of river and camping fees. There are pamphlets of authorized outfitting and vender services in case a person wants a guide for the river. There is an explanation to keep mussels out of the Missouri River.

And, most important, and the only guides that are charged for are two Boater’s Guides, one from Fort Benton to Judith Landing, the other from Judith Landing to the Kipp Recreation area. Those guides cost four dollars each and are available at the Missouri Breaks Interpretive Center.

Not only do these guides have most all the information found in all the other pamphlets but they have the all important river maps that can easily tell the person on the river where they might be.

River Trip and Campground Fees starting in 2016 are as follows:

A single day per boat of any size is five dollars. Multiple days are adults, 16 years and older four dollars a day, children from 7 to 15 years of age are two dollars and children under 7 are allowed on the river free.

Campground use fees are figured per night and are ten dollars at Coal Banks Landing, five dollars at Judith Landing and twelve dollars a night at the James Kipp Recreation Area.

There are plenty of frequently asked questions.

Are boater guides available?

Is drinking water available?

Can the water be filtered?

Is a permit required?

Do you restrict group size?

When is a trip considered commercial?

Is registration mandatory?

What kind of weather can be expected?

Are shelters available?

Are portable toilets mandatory?

Are campfires allowed?

Are there trash dumpsters?

Will I see cattle on public lands?

Are motorized craft allowed?

Is fishing permitted and what species can be expected?

What type of wildlife will I see along the river?

What is the best method for extinguishing a campfire?

Is emergency assistance available?

Do Campsites have to be reserved?

Is camping allowed on the islands?

Is camping allowed on private lands below the high-water mark?

Are there rapids?

How fast is the river running?

What type of watercraft is best suited for the river?

What is the average number of miles paddled per day?

Is a personal flotation device required?

Can cell phones be used on the river?

Those questions and many more are answered in free literature available at the Interpretive Center in Fort Benton. It would be almost impossible to travel the Missouri these days without finding the river rules.

There is a whole section about hazards such as sudden and violent thunderstorms, Swallow holes, cotton wood tree limbs., strong winds and rapidly changing weather conditions, heat exhaustion, submerged rocks and free snags and dangerous undertows, rattlesnakes, crumbly and fragile sandstone cliffs, two ferry crossings contain low hanging cables, hypothermia, old homesteads containing rusty nails, barbed wire and rattlesnakes and cactus, poison ivy and hemlock.

There is a pamphlet about noxious weeks along the Missouri as well as a pamphlet called four lines of defense against hypothermia.

Best of all, though are the Boater’s Guides. For example, if you have heard of the Gist homestead and want to see it, you will find it clearly marked in the guide. Even the Kipp homestead at the mouth of Cow Creek is clearly marked on the maps. Mrs. Kipp, Tavie, has been featured again and again in “The Mountaineer”. Go down the river and you can see exactly where she lived. Actually the Boater’s Guides can be considered historical documents and are coated with a substance to keep them dry should one of those violent thunder storms comes along.

Before taking off down the mighty Missouri, arm yourself with all the literature you can find and especially those Boater’s Guides. Remember that knowledge is power!