Forks of the Sun River

A delightful horseback trip through the stunning South & North Fork Sun valleys

A very special trip to kick off summer. Gorgeous coloration; lush green, brilliant snow capped peaks, and vibrant wildflowers on a progressive travel trip through the lower Sun River Valley. Superb day rides, fantastic fishing.

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North & South Fork Excursion

This is a most perfect mixt of riding and scenery. Of our annual packtrips, this usually yields our most incredible photography. The skies are clear, the color contrast is amazing, the the daily views in the wide open meadows is unmatched. Travel to both the South Fork and North Fork Sun Rivers. Each campsite we visit gives you disinctly different vibe. Excellent fly fishing at each campsite. The riding is superb and every opening into a new meadow presents even better photography.

Ready for your Montana Adventure?

7 days – 6 Available

July 1 to July 7, 2026

World-Class Fly Fishing

The Sun River is an outstanding fishery. On par with the best in the world. The lower South Fork and North Fork Sun River are wild rivers, with a wide range of water types as these streams flow through varied terrain. This trip gets you some incredible variety of remote, beautiful, lightly visited Western water.

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Riding, Hiking, Photography

For riders, hikers, and overall explorers this trip has it all. The horse riding is exceptional. There is so much open terrain that you see and ride through on this trip that we cannot cover it all. For hikers there is an infinite amount of opportunity to explore. For photographers you will find opportunity at every turn in the trail, every ridge, every meadow. The air is clear, the nights are crisp, and the days sunny.

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Your Pack Trip Adventure

This is an easy progressive trip where we move to successive campsites. We spend 2 nights at each location to give you the opportunity to pursue your interests and explore this amazing country right from camp. We provide the meals, stock, tack, common camping gear including tents, as well as pretty much everything you’d need on a rugged trip like this. You will need to bring your personal effects and a bed roll.

Day 1 - Benchmark Beginning

South Fork Sun to Pretty Prairie

We begin at the Benchmark trailhead near the South Fork and pack up for the ride into the wilderness. This is our shortest travel day, so we are usually in camp slightly after lunch and have the afternoon to explore Pretty Prairie – which is aptly named.

The ride into Pretty Prairie is a combination of old growth timber, new growth timber, and large meadows. The ride above the South Fork is rich with big sky vistas.

We set up camp at Pretty Prairie for 2 nights.

Riding distance: 7 miles

Day 2 - Exploring Pretty Prairie

Excellent Riding/Fishing

For fishermen, the river calls early. After breakfast, anglers head straight to the water as trout become active around mid-morning. Expect outstanding dry-fly fishing and constant action. It is common for anglers to report catches of 60 or more fish in a single day.

For Riders and Explorers, there is an abundance of adventure. Horseback riders often head up to a ridge high above the confluence of the South and West forks of the Sun River, where you can see deep into the converging valleys as well as Pretty Prairie below. There is outstanding hiking upriver or downriver right from camp with well work trails or open ridges for off-roading.

Day 3 - Moving to Glenn Creek

Stunning meadows, aspen groves, river view

We break down camp and pack up for our ride to the mouth of Glenn Creek on the North Fork Sun river. This is a beautiful day as we ride through lodgepole pine forests, aspen groves, and vast interconnected meadows. We often see wildlife on this ride including big horn sheep, elk, and the occassional moose.

Ride Distance: 10 miles.

Day 4 - A day on the North Fork

Glenn Creek exploration

It’s as easy to explore here as it was at Pretty Prairie. The trail connects large meadows as it winds along the North Fork, which is close to camp.

Fishermen have an easy walk to the North Fork for another greaet day on the river. New water, but consistent excellence.

Riders and Explorers have great options. Our day rides take you out to Elk Hill where you ride through vast open hillsides interspersed with aspen groves. The views are infinite. The ridges we ascend all you to soak in the vastness of the North Sun valley. There is excellent hiking both upriver and down river from camp, and superb photography at every turn.

Day 5 - Upriver to Gates Park

Open Country & Photography

We break down camp early and pack up again to move to our main summer camp at Gates Park. This day features wide open valley and meadow riding as we move up the North Fork. Random lodgepole pine and aspen groves break up the views. Our destination tonight is camp already set up, with many ammenities we don’t enjoy on the other campsites. A great way to cap off a very fun day.

The ride concludes at the South Fork Teton trailhead in the early afternoon.

Riding distance: 10 miles

Day 6 - Gates Park Exploration

Adventure Central

This day the world is your outdoors extravaganza. Fantastic day rides to Biggs Creek Flats, or possibly to a fire lookout. Excellent fishing in the most remote sections of the North Fork, or limitless hiking options along the river or the vast open meadows of Gates Park.

Everyone convenes for dinner and campfire to share stories of a great day.

Day 7 - Headquarters Pass

Headed out over the Mountain

We break camp early and head back over Headquarters Pass, starting before the heat and dust of the day. Lunch is enjoyed in the basin below the pass, where mountain goats and bighorn sheep are often seen on the surrounding slopes.

The ride concludes at the South Fork Teton trailhead in the early afternoon.

Riding distance: 14 miles

Activities & Experience

Ideal for Mixed Groups of Riders and Anglers

This trip is exceptionally well-suited for groups that include both fishermen and non-fishermen. Anglers can easily access multiple stretches of the Sun River from camp, either on foot or via short horseback rides, allowing us to target the best fishing conditions each day.

Non-fishermen enjoy outstanding riding as we move to different camps. On non moving days, we have outstanding day rides to destinations like Pretty Prairie overlook, Elk Hill, Biggs Flats, Beartop Lookout , and other scenic points of interest. Hiking opportunities are plentiful, from meadow walks at any of the campsites to side-trail explorations. The open ridges near camp are easy to navigate and frequently reward guests with wildlife sightings.

Weather

Clear skies, sun, cold nights

Early July has generally quite stable weather but higher chances of thunderstorms in the evening. Days can be warm, in the high 70’s. Nights and early mornings quite crisp. You will see temps dip into the 30’s at night. We have a LOT of sun during the day, so be prepared with hats and sunscreen. The days will be exceptionally clear blue skies. The rivers are becoming clear but the water will be very cold.

Landscape & Elevation

Follow the River

This follows the route of the South Fork and North Fork of the Sun River. It begins in the South Fork, with modest elevations at 4,300 ft. We’ll start downriver through a beautiful valley and camp just below the confluence of the South Fork and West Fork of the Sun. From here, we go down a narrowing gorge until we pop over a ridge into the North Fork. This is a broad valley with sublime vistas of the surrounding mountains as we pass through limitless valley meadows. This valley is around 5,000ft and the surrounding mountains are over 8,000 ft. Once we leave our Gates Park camp on the North Fork we’ll climb up an intermittently timbered valley to Headquarters Pass at 8,000ft. Then dropping back down to the South Fork Teton trailhead at 6,000ft.

This trip covers some incredible country each day with beautiful vistas of the Sun Valley in early summer. You will find great opportunity for riders, photographers, hikers, fishermen, and explorers.

Recommended Camping Gear

Recommended Fishing Gear

What to Bring

Packing for Mid-Summer Comfort

As this is a 7 day travel trip, with modest travel days. Our recommended camping gear list is downloadable from the link below. As a summary however, you’ll want to keep in mind the following specifics about this trip. There are 4 travel days and 3 lay over days (non-traveling).

This trip covers some incredible country ranging from the beautiful vistas of the Sun Valley in early summer. The average riding day is 11 miles and we travel every other day. This trip has great opportunity for riders, photographers, hikers, fishermen, and explorers.

The things that are important and make your trip most comfortable are layered clothing appropriate for early summer. It can get hot during the day, but the nights will be surprising cool.

We can also get a thunderstorm on any given day, so you’ll need good rain gear that you can wear riding or hiking. Comforable hiking/riding shoes are a must, and a good assortment of hiking socks varying from light to medium weight. Also, you may consider chaps for riding, or silk under your jeans as we do have some ground to cover on horseback. This will mitigate chafing.

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Your Forks of the Sun Fly Fishing Trip

Unparalleled Dry Fly Fishing

Outstanding Water & Great Fish

The kick-off trip to a fabulous fishing season! The water has clear, cold and fast. The riffles are good, but the holes are consistently the best fishing where the trout don’t have to work as hard. They will feed voraciously during the warmth of the day.

You will get to ply several distinct sections of the Sun River, and each has it’s own special characteristics. The South Fork is fast, narrow, and big. There are big fish here and when you get them they go downstream fast. The lower North Fork is more winding with magnificent holes and wide open vistas of distant mountains – very distracting. The upper North Fork is narrower, with lots of bends and breaks in the channel. Unmatched streambed variety.

It’s rare to see other anglers on the river and you will enjoy some highlight days with dry flies.

Day 1 - Beginning at Benchmark

We set off from the Benchmark trailhead near the South Fork Sun River. We ride into Pretty Prairie for our first camp.

This is a pretty short ride – about 7 miles – so we get into camp around 1pm. Plenty of time to get your gear organized and head down to the South Fork for some afternoon fishing before dinner.

Day 2 - South Fork Fishing

Our fishermen will want to take the short walk down to the river to get started. Take a lunch – you’ll be there all day. The South Fork is an excellent fishery. It moves fast in this stretch but there are some amazing holes in the river bends.

The river is a 15 minute walk from camp and you can go either upstream or down with good success.