Cruising in Montana

Montana boating starts with Flathead Lake. The state's biggest freshwater body sits below the Mission Mountains, and on a July afternoon its sailing fleet works a breeze that funnels down the valley while marinas and launch ramps around Polson and Lakeside handle everything else: pontoons, ski boats, anglers headed out for lake trout water. Southeast of there, Canyon Ferry Lake backs up the Missouri River near Helena. It's the workhorse: powerboats, wakeboarders, weekend fishing tournaments, several full-service marinas keeping the fuel and slips flowing.

Then there's Fort Peck. Way out in eastern Montana, the Fort Peck Dam holds back one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, and the scale changes what boating means. Open water runs to the horizon; the shoreline is prairie and rough breaks rather than timber and peaks. Serious anglers make pilgrimages here, and cruisers can go days without repeating themselves. Marinas and services sit far apart, though, so a Fort Peck trip gets planned like an expedition. Smaller lakes and stretches of the Missouri and Yellowstone fill in the map, some good for a quiet paddle, some allowing limited motorboat use.