Wild Mile kayak races this weekend

Whitewater kayakers and rafters will compete for nearly $5,000 in cash at this year’s Bigfork Whitewater Festival.

The 39th annual Bigfork Whitewater Festival on Saturday and Sunday, May 24-25, offers cash prizes for kayakers and rafters on the Wild Mile of the Swan River.

Events include slalom, boatercross and down-river races for the kayakers, and a downriver race for rafts. There’s also a triathlon and new this year is a race for standup paddleboards in Bigfork Bay. The triathlon involves biking, running and canoeing or kayaking on flat water.

The Bigfork Whitewater Festival was started by a group of local kayakers who began running the “Wild Mile” in the 1970s, and the event continues every year as one of the top racing draws in the Northwest.

The whitewater section of the Swan River is one of the most challenging runs in western Montana. The races are accessible for spectators on the Swan River Nature Trail, making it easy for families to watch the whitewater action.

In the slalom race, kayakers navigate about 20 gates hung over the churning rapids. The downriver race pits kayakers on the entire length of the Wild Mile, starting at the dam above Bigfork and running all the way to Sliter Park in downtown. A novice slalom race for kayakers is on the lower portion of the Swan River in downtown Bigfork. Rafters race the entire length of the Wild Mile, from the dam to downtown Bigfork.

Registration for the kayak and raft races begins at the Garden Bar in Bigfork on May 24 at 8:30 a.m. Festivities will start May 23 with whitewater films at the Village Roost in Bigfork at 8 p.m. The town will be hopping all weekend, with live music and other events throughout the town. Headquarters for the races is at the Garden Bar in Bigfork.

For more information, visit online at www.bigforkwhitewaterfestival.com.