Floating in the Gallatin Valley: Madison or Jefferson

During my first two summers in Montana, I spent five days a week floating the Madison River. It's relatively close to town, traveled enough that you can get away with hitch-hiking in the summer, and it's a mecca for young people in Bozeman. But then I had a revelation: I floated the Jefferson at the end of the second summer. It was new, it was exciting, and it had a bridge to jump off of. Since that second summer, I've floated the Madison less than five times. The Jefferson made me a floating snob, a maximizer in regard to lazy rivers. I now happily wait to float the Jefferson, even though I float less, rather than float the Madison. Plus, there's the allure of the Sac Bar, the Three Forks rodeo, and bridge jumping, of course.