Yellowstone Waterfalls

I have tried to figure out the best way to talk about our trip to Yellowstone. We did so many things and saw so much, and instead of trying to do a play-by-play of our vacation, I decided to highlight some of our favorite things to see in the park. Today I will tell you about the waterfalls!

By the end of the trip, Dax kept saying, "No animals, just waterfalls!" His favorite part of any trip has to do with bodies of water, or in this case cascading water. There are many waterfalls in the park. The largest are definitely Upper and Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. There are lots of hikes to the brink of the falls and for better views of the falls. This year we kept it pretty simple and used the overlooks. You can find these waterfalls right next to Canyon (makes sense right?).

Lower Falls

Dax at Artist Point looking back at the Lower Falls.

On the way into Yellowstone, we drove past Gibbon Falls. Here you can stop and walk a few 100 yards to see this waterfall. This year it was running really fast with the heavy rainfall. This waterfall is between Madison and Norris.

Mark by Gibbon Falls

This year we didn't stop at Undine Falls because Dax fell asleep, but you can almost see this falls from the parking lot. You pull up, walk a few steps so you can see around the trees and there is an amazing waterfall. Here is Mark, age 3, in front of Undine Falls near Mammoth.

A popular waterfall to see in Yellowstone is Tower Falls. You drive past it between Canyon and Roosevelt. You hike a short 200 yard walk and see a beautiful waterfall. Usually you can walk further down and see it right from the base, but the path was washed out. Dax didn't mind. He wanted to stay at this waterfall for a long time.

Tower Falls. I am proud of this picture because I caught the rainbow.

Dax loving the waterfall!

We love to hike and our two favorite waterfalls this year were seen on hikes that we did. We always do Wraith Falls--it is on the way to Mammoth from Roosevelt. It is an easy 1 mile hike where we always see some kind of wildlife (this year it was lots of ground squirrels, but the highlight was the babies!). The boys love to do this hike and at the end we are rewarded with a small waterfall.

Mark and Dax in front of Wraith Falls.

The last hike we did was a new hike for us called Fairy Falls, 5 miles north of Old Faithful. We read about it in our Yellowstone Hiking book and it said it was a flat, 3.5 mile hike with a 200 foot waterfall at the end. We thought that sounded great, so on the last day before heading back to Grandma's house, we set out for Fairy Falls. While the hike was definitely the flattest hike I have ever been on, it was actually 5.2 miles round trip. The book had the mileage listed incorrectly. Mark complained for a little bit, but luckily he has an amazing dad who told him 3 fairy tales that entertained him the entire time. He was so engrossed in the stories, he didn't know he hiked 5 miles. And the waterfall was worth it. It was amazing!

The boys by Fairy Falls.

Fairy Falls landed in a beautiful pool that is perfect for throwing rocks into which happens to be our boys favorite pastime.

I almost forgot about Little Gibbons Falls. It was a hike we did on our last trip to Yellowstone (2009). We took this hike with my sister, brother in-law and there almost 1 year old. It was a fun hike through a meadow and then up into the hills to see the waterfall. This hike is between Norris and Canyon. Here are some old pictures! It's hard to remember Dax that small.

I am sure there are many other waterfalls in Yellowstone, but these are the ones we have experienced.