Our Mission
The UMRG owners and guides are dedicated to creating a memorable, safe and comfortable Upper Missouri River adventure. Our passion is showing folks from around the country and world our beloved river! We relish the opportunity to share the history of the Upper Missouri River Breaks, point out interesting geologic characteristics of the river corridor and off-river locations, spot wildlife and birds and generally facilitate a good time. We are the leading Missouri River guide service.
As the number of wild places in our world shrinks, we are thrilled and privileged to facilitate the experience of floating the Missouri River in Montana while you disconnect from the constant onslaught of technology, detach from the stressors of everyday life and submerge yourself in nature—completely. We want you to leave the river with a deep sense of peacefulness and rejuvenation.
On every canoe trip, we strive to provide you with unparalleled service (to coin the phrase of a previous guest: ‘royalty in the rough!’) so you can simply enjoy the experience and the company of each other. Furthermore, we find one of the best parts of our job is creating a cohesive, participatory group experience. We are competent and organized, but also light-hearted and subtle, and, mostly, look forward to getting to know everyone.
The Upper Missouri River Guides Difference
Our Experience and Highest Quality Service
Since 1994, our guide service has offered guided canoe trips on the Upper Missouri River. We retain one of the ORIGINAL owners (and Brett is still guiding 20+ years later). Yes, we are the only guide service that can claim the owners still guide trips regularly. Brett, Haley and the entire guide team work closely together to constantly improve our services. We have intentionally kept our business small and intimate. We focus solely on multi-day, guided trips, and our goal is to offer unrivaled service while avoiding burn out and always having fun.
We provide unrivaled service to make your adventure enriching and memorable and create a luxury-style experience. BUT, we strive to create a participatory environment and hope you learn from us as we hope to learn from you.
Our Passion for the Outdoors
We are an eclectic, dynamic group of outdoor enthusiasts with a wide arrays of talents, interests and off-season jobs. BUT, we all share a deep passion for nature and what it offers the soul. When we are not on the river, chances are we are on another river, in the mountains or otherwise spending time outside. We cherish our great state and all its natural wonders. We fully realize our job is hard work but wildly rewarding. We fully realize we have the best job in the world!
Our Top-of-the-Line Equipment & Safety
We distinguish ourselves from our competitors by offering the best river canoes and equipment available, most notably our high-tech, kevlar Wenonah canoes, and ultra-light carbon-fiber paddles. They are the best in use on the Upper Missouri River. Click here to learn more about the canoe equipment we provide.
Our camping equipment is top-notch. We have a range of tent sizes from single tents to large family tents.
We are very highly trained in river safety, first aid and have experience with anything the river and prairie throws our way. Find out more about our safety protocols.
Guide Ratio and Small Trips
We maintain a 4 person to 1 guide ratio. We make sure the guides have ample time to assist you, provide historical interpretation, education and have time to go on random adventures. Over the years, we have determined a sweet spot with trip size. We try to keep our trips between 8-14 people (unless you arrange a private trip with a large group). We think one of the most enriching parts of a trip is getting to know strangers, but we also wish to keep the trip intimate and manageable.
Our Menu and Love of Food
You will hear this again and again: we love cooking for people. We are avid gardeners, and we also hunt, fish and forage. We also source locally when available and are dedicated to creating fresh and nourishing meals. Find out more and get hungry!
Supporting Local Communities and Small Businesses
Fort Benton is the center of our operations, and we support this special community as much as possible. We could not succeed without the dedicated help and friendship of local residents. But, we also support other communities throughout our great state (no man is an island). We support responsible tourism in Montana and believe this industry is our greatest asset. We love to share recommendations for other adventures and direct you to our favorite small business around the state. We source locally and try to support small business whenever we can. From Fort Benton to Livingston, Kalispell to Helena, and all communities in between, we love our state and hope you have plenty of time to explore.
River Community & Stewardship
We are dedicated to supporting and ensuring the preservation of wild places, public land, and, above all else, our beloved Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument and Wild and Scenic River. We can’t express enough how important this area is to our nation’s and state’s histories as well as providing the limitless benefits of immersion in nature. In the powerful words of the revered John Muir, “The rivers flow not past but through us.”