PacifiCorp's sale of the Bigfork Hydroelectric Project tends to get framed around the dam: what would happen to the Wild Mile, to Bigfork Bay, and to the village that named its main street after the power lines. The reporting since June points the other way. The concrete structure across the Swan River is the piece the river depends on least. The places that could change are Sliter Park, the Swan River Trail, and the 277 acres around them, and right now the park stays open on a lease that runs one year at a time.
What PacifiCorp Is Actually Selling
PacifiCorp announced in June that it planned to sell the dam. It has owned the dam since 1954 and has held the federal license since 1976. The company pointed to stricter federal dam-safety criteria for extreme floods. Its Bigfork project FAQ says the upgrades would cost more than it can justify to customers, and it also says the project is safe today.
The sale covers more than the dam. As the Flathead Beacon reported in July, it includes 277 acres of PacifiCorp land that is open to the public. Sliter Park and parts of the Swan River Nature Trail are inside that acreage. None of the coverage so far shows exactly which trail parcels are included.
Offers closed Sept. 4, and PacifiCorp says it received more than one proposal. It has not said how many or who sent them. Spokesperson Drew Marine told the Bigfork Eagle that "the final outcome may not be known until early 2027." The company treats this stage as a private business decision, so there is no public comment period.
The River Would Keep Its Whitewater
When the sale was announced, the biggest worry was that losing the dam meant losing the Wild Mile. A fluvial geomorphologist explained in the Beacon why that probably isn't so. The Bigfork Dam is a run-of-river project. It diverts water through a flume and returns it to the Swan above the powerhouse, so it changes the river along that one stretch and nowhere else.
"The only place where hydrology is changed is in the Wild Mile itself. So concerns about the removal of the dam impacting the bay area — there's not really a mechanism for that." Ryan Richardson, Whitefish-based fluvial geomorphologist, in the Flathead Beacon
Richardson says the bay's water level is set entirely by Flathead Lake. The Wild Mile is fast because of how steeply the river drops below the dam, and removing the dam wouldn't change that drop. He has paddled the run for more than a decade, and he expects that without a dam, boatable flows would last well into July instead of being limited to scheduled evening releases. Under the current license, PacifiCorp releases whitewater flows on Wednesdays from 5 to 9 p.m. in July and August, as long as the river reaches 800 cubic feet per second at 8 a.m.
The Bigfork Whitewater Festival doesn't depend on those releases either. The 51st festival ran May 23–24, 2026, during Memorial Day peak runoff. David Meyers organizes the festival and runs Montana Kayak Academy. He said the event renews its permit every five years and that insurance would probably be the only issue if the property changed hands. "I just don't see the Whitewater Festival going away," he said.
That leaves a narrower question than the one people started with. If the water is fine either way, what matters is who owns the ground beside it.
Where Each Piece Stands This October
| Place | What decides its future | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Bigfork Bay water level | Flathead Lake elevation | Unaffected by the dam, per Richardson |
| Wild Mile rapids | The river's natural drop below the dam | Stays with or without the dam; release schedule set by license |
| Swan River Trail | Federal license terms, then the land's next owner | Open, managed by PacifiCorp |
| Sliter Park | PacifiCorp ownership plus an annual lease | Open under Community Foundation lease since Aug. 1 |
| Kearney Rapids, Powerhouse and Pacific parks | Federal license terms | Open; access required under current license |
The license is what currently protects public access. PacifiCorp says that if a buyer takes over the existing license, the new operator inherits the obligation to provide access to the river and to manage the recreation sites. The Beacon noted that this covers the 2.5-mile Swan River Trail, Powerhouse, Pacific and Sliter parks, and the Kearney Rapids Boat Launch. It also reported that no one has said what would happen to that access if the dam were decommissioned and the land sold to someone else.
PacifiCorp has said it would rather find a buyer who keeps the license and runs the project "as it does today." If nobody takes the license, it would pursue decommissioning and possibly removal. That path goes through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, includes public input, and would take at least five years.
Sliter Park Now Runs on a One-Year Lease
Sliter Park shows how thin the arrangement already is. Flathead County Parks and Recreation leased and maintained the park for 45 years. County commissioners voted in April to drop it. At the April 30 meeting, Parks and Weeds Director Chris Maestas said the money mattered less than the staffing. The park cost the county about $4,000 a year, but it took 200 to 250 staff hours every summer.
No other organization stepped in, so the Community Foundation for a Better Bigfork took on a lease with PacifiCorp starting Aug. 1. The lease runs one year and renews annually. The foundation had already spent about $10,000 on park maintenance in 2025 while sharing costs with the county. Running the park alone nearly doubles its financial commitment, and the Daily Inter Lake reported that it took months to find insurance. Foundation President Megan Shoultz confirmed that the Riverbend Concert Series and the Whitewater Festival, which both use the park stage, will continue.
Bigfork is unincorporated and has no city government to take over a downtown green space. Nonprofit fundraising covers costs that a municipality would normally carry. The lease also doesn't settle anything past the sale. PacifiCorp has said a new owner would decide what happens to the park property.
A few groups have started looking at the land itself. In August the Beacon reported that the community-led Bigfork Outdoor Recreation Alliance had been brainstorming with American Rivers and the Flathead Land Trust. The reporting describes early-stage brainstorming.
Walking the Trail While the Sale Plays Out
The trail is open this fall under the same rules as last fall. Here is what PacifiCorp lists:
- Length: about 2.5 miles. The Beacon gives 4.2 miles out and back, which measures a round trip rather than the full trail.
- Trailheads: the west end at Grand Avenue and the east end on Swan River Road, just north of the bridge.
- Who can use it: walkers, cyclists, and riders on horseback. Dogs are allowed on leash.
- Facilities: a vault restroom at the midpoint. The trail meets ADA trail guidelines and is open for day use only.
- Parking: at the east entrance, plus overflow parking at Kearney Rapids. The overflow lot has room for 10 vehicles with trailers, and ADA parking is at the boat launch.
PacifiCorp's recreation page carries a "Pardon Our Dust" notice about possible restrictions during improvements, and maintenance vehicles sometimes use the trail. Check PacifiCorp's Montana recreation page before heading out. A local account in the Beacon describes the trail as running along an old county road above the rapids.
The project's own history runs nearby. Lafayette Tinkel built the hydroelectric project in 1900. He and his crew dug a canal by hand that carried water to a wooden flume and ditch, then more than a mile to a powerhouse. By 1902 it was generating electricity, one year after Bigfork was founded. Electric Avenue takes its name from the dam and the power lines that once ran above it. The dam is older than the village, and it hasn't supplied electricity to the community for years. We wrote about another downtown landmark that is still in transition in Why the Prettiest Building on Electric Avenue Is Still Empty.
The Dates That Matter Now
A final answer on the sale may not come until early 2027. The Sliter Park lease comes up for renewal next summer, one year after it started Aug. 1. If the project fails to sell and goes to decommissioning, a public FERC process of at least five years would follow. The current federal license runs until July 2053, so a buyer who takes it on would be taking on decades of operating rules, including public access. As of early October, no update on the sale has been published since late September.
Alida Tinch serves as president of the Bigfork Water & Sewer District and watches what happens to Bigfork's riverfront and shoreline closely. If you have questions about how the sale could affect property near the Swan River or the bay, Alida Tinch is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
