UM in Top 25 of ‘Best River and Lake Colleges’ in U.S. Ranking

According to College Consensus, the University of Montana ranks number 23 in the nation for ‘it’s kinship to water’.

UM was only one of six colleges west of the Mississippi to make the top 25, and, of course, the only one in Montana.

One of the reasons why the University of Montana is so widely heralded is the Campus Outdoor Recreation Program, which offers trips for students to a variety of locations in Montana and even out of state.

Senior Assistant Director of the Campus Outdoor Recreation Program, Elizabeth Fricke said students can rent just about any recreational device they can imagine, especially with the Clark Fork River virtually out the back door.

“We offer trips and classes for credit through the Health and Human Performance Department and we have a pretty substantial rental shop, too,” said Fricke. “We teach white water kayaking, we teach rock climbing, intermediate rock climbing, and we even offer an American Mountain Guide Association certification for rock climbing instructors.”

Fricke said river activities are most popular now during the summer season, and not just for UM students. The Campus Recreation Program is available to everyone in Missoula.

“One of our busiest and most popular programs is river activities, with kayaks and stand-up paddleboards for rent, as well as inner tubes for floating the river,” she said. “We try to be a great resource for the UM community as well as the Missoula community.”

The Campus Outdoor Recreation program  caters to adults only and is located in the Fitness and Recreation Center, which is near Washington Grizzly Stadium on the UM Campus,

Oh, and the cost to rent an inner tube for a 100 degree day on the river is only nine dollars.