Jackfish,
Yeah I live in Helena, Montana.

Yes and no on being a good paddle, depending on what you consider a good paddle.

Around Livingston, through the Paradise Valley to the Park is a very popular tourist area and is heavily used. Lots of guided drift boat traffic. It is however very pretty and called the ’Paradise Valley’ for good reason. My favorite time to be on this section is at the crack of dawn. The tourists are not early risers. This section is not on the interstate, but there are roads on both sides and a fair amount of houses. Never the less, I think it’s a nice paddle with some great scenery.

Below Livingston is on the interstate but feels more remote due to less guide traffic and houses. The river meanders more in this bigger valley and is more varied in structure. You get a lot of gravel/rock being pushed around. The scenery here is more immediate rather then the spectacular distance views in the Paradise Valley. This would be the more challenging section of the two for about 20 miles below Livingston. After that it gradually flattens out.

I always enjoy paddling the Yellowstone. I don’t think that it is a destination float where you would travel thousands of miles just to do it (unless you were fishing), but if you were in the neighborhood, it would be worth the effort.