yaak rver

The Yaak River is another reason to love NW Montana. Everything Yaak, is great... the river, the falls, the surrounding scenery, lots of wildlife, no cell phone service. The bars... Yaak River Tavern & Mercantile, The Dirty Shame are both "real".The Yaak River Road ( Hwy 508) is an excellent motorcycle road... if the upper portion of the Pipe Creek Road (Hwy 567) to Libby ever gets repaired, it would be a world class motorcycle loop! Even as it is, it's highly recommended... the road north of Yaak continues paved, all the way to the upper end of Lake Koocanusa... another highly recommended, scenic tour route.Enjoy!!

It is worth going out of your way to see the Yaak River and the town of Yaak. A trip to the Kootenai Falls on the Kootenai River is never complete unless you drive on through Troy, Montana and go up the Yaak River to Yaak. It is the most isolated spot in Northwestern Montana but stunning in it's pristine beauty. Drive slow up the Yaak River Road so as to not miss the Yaak Falls. Once in Yaak, you can drive across to Libby to visit the Libby Dam and further north the Koocanusa Bridge. Just don't miss the Yaak - you won't regret it.

The Yaak is an excellent spot for fly fishing - remote yet not that far off the beaten path. There is a great campground and tons of places to pull off the road and explore.

It was just perfect timing the weather was good, while a bit foggy and cool for locals, being from TX it was a great break, love the mountains, rivers and lakes - loads of places for fishing, caught nothing but loved it. Great visit with friends and just getting away. Everyone was friendly and just comfortable.

I live on the Yaak, so I am prejudiced in favor of it, but it is a beautiful little river with excellent trout fishing for those who fly fish. Many scenic views, Moose, Elk and Deer abound. I have seen bobcats, cougars, badgers, mink and lots of bald and golden eagles, not to mention black bears in season. I have never seen a Grizzley or a wolverine but we have them in the Yaak! Leave big city ways at the foot of the Yaak River Road, and come on up and enjoy the hospitality of the Dirty Shame Saloon (miners came up to have some beverages back in the day, but they were out of beer. It was a dirty shame, and has been ever since!) or the Yaak Mercantile at the 29 mile marker. Worth the drive.

We really enjoyed the Yaak River Lodge and the Dirty Shame Saloon. The owners and employees are awesome!! Beautiful sight seeing-especially the waterfalls and the swinging bridge. The locals are really wonderful too-very welcoming. We would love to return for another visit-best vacation ever!

Some people say take this drive if you happen to be going that way. We made this our destination and thought it was well worth it, but we love anyplace that has water and the Montana sky. We went into Yaak and saw all three! businesses. We made the circle complete and returned intoLibby.

We MT along and then across the reservoir (behind Libby Dam) called Lake Koocanusa. From there to the village of Yaak was almost 40 miles w/o powerlines, population or businesses. Lovely, lonely country. We camped a bit west of Yaak village at the pleasant, good value Whitetail campground, righ along the Yaak River.

Montana is such a beautiful state and a little piece of heaven is located in western part of the state. The highway along the Yaak River is so scenic and beautiful! From the Yaak Falls to the serene stretches of the river to the wildlife that wanders along the hillsides and meadows......well it's simply beautiful! Along the way there are many things to see, such as old mining sites, old homesteads, the famous "Dirty Shame Saloon" & the Yaak River Merchantile. If you are a fisherman......Out of state person.......don't forget to get a two day fishing permit and fish your way up the Yaak River!!!!! It's a sportmans paradise!!!!! So whether you are a tourist,sportsman, visitor, local folk, bike rider, or out for a nice scenic drive.......the Yaak River Highway is your place!!!!!

Limited camp grounds but, not a lot of pressure to land a camping spot. Fishing is great at the beginning of the summer however, as the summer progresses and the river dropps so does the fishing possibilities. Beautiful country, if you get a chance to get off the pavement and take the FS roads to Libby, the 17 mile loop etc do it. The upper Yaak Falls trail is a short beautiful walk to a platform view of the falls. Very,very laid back area locals are friendly and available. There are Moose, and Bears in the area be prepaid to practice leave no trace. Developed campgrounds charge about 7.00 per day.