Tower Falls Trail [CLOSED] is a 0.9 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming that features a waterfall and is good for all skill levels. The trail is primarily used for hiking and is best used from May until October.
Yellowstone closes trails annually to reduce encounters between bears and humans during certain times of the year. See here for bear closure info: https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/management/bearclosures.htm Additionally, roads in Yellowstone are closed annually during winter. Before you head out, see Park road closures here: https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/parkroads.htm Yellowstone National Park charges a fee to enter. Fees are $35 per vehicle or $30 per motorcycle. If you are entering on foot, horse, or bike the fee is $20 per person. You can also purchase a park specific annual pass for $70. SEASONAL CLOSURE: Tower Fall, the Tower General Store, Tower Fall Campground, and Calcite Springs will be open and accessible from Tower-Roosevelt between June 5-September 6, 2020 and June 4-September 26, 2021. In the winters, Tower Fall and trails in the vicinity will be open for skis and snowshoes, snow-permitting, from early November through March. Between the following dates, traffic and pedestrians from Tower-Roosevelt will be turned around at Calcite Springs: September 6-November 7, 2020; April 1-June 4, 2021; and September 26-November 6, 2021. There will be no access to the trails for Mount Washburn from the Tower-Roosevelt side of the closure. See here for info: https://www.yellowstonepark.com/news/grand-loop-road-construction Tower Fall is a 132-foot waterfall in the Tower-Roosevelt region of Yellowstone National Park. This popular waterfall on Tower Creek was named by members of the 1870 Washburn expedition. It first was called "Minaret Creek," but one member objected, stating that the name violated their agreement to naming objects for their friends. He claimed the name was in reference to "Minnie Rhett," a sweetheart of one of the other members. By unanimous vote, the name was reconsidered and the names "Tower Creek" and "Tower Falls" were applied. The 132-foot waterfall plunges as a near-perfect water column until it crashes onto the rocks at its base. Until 1986, a precarious boulder was perched on the lip of the falls, and in the spring of that year, without witnesses, it plunged to the bottom. Tower Creek has cut through the basalt formation, which make up the walls of the gorge. At the brink of the falls are eerie-shaped minarets or towers sculpted from rhyolitic basalt.
Yellowstone National Park PO Box 168 Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190-0168 307-344-7381 (recorded information and an option to speak with someone) Additional info: http://www.nps.gov/yell/contacts.htm
Hydrothermal features are fragile rarities of nature. Yellowstone preserves the largest collection of hydrothermal features on the planet. You have an unparalleled opportunity to view hot springs, geysers, mudpots, and fumaroles in a natural setting. Change takes place naturally in a hydrothermal area, but people can disrupt these processes and cause irreparable damage. Rocks, sticks, and other objects thrown into a hydrothermal feature may be permanently cemented in place, choking off water circulation and ending all activity. For the sake of all who follow, never throw objects into any feature. Stay on established walkways for your safety and to protect fragile formations that have formed over thousands of years. It is illegal to collect any natural or cultural objects or to remove, deface, or destroy any plant, animal, or mineral in Yellowstone's hydrothermal areas. Bring drinking water; take out all trash. While viewing or photographing the area, protect your camera, glasses, and binocular lenses from hydrothermal heat and stray. Toxic gases exist in Yellowstone. Dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide have been measured in some hydrothermal areas. If you feel sick, leave the location immediately. Help preserve Yellowstone for the future.
February 11, 2021Great!
January 24, 2021July 6, 2020Easy hike
September 27, 2019Simple walk to the falls view point, with a further section onto the river.
August 31, 2019Just ok, very short walk to the falls overlook and then a downhill hike to the river where the falls aren’t visible, not a bad hike to stretch the legs after a lot of driving in Yellowstone but not the most dramatic scenery I’ve ever seen
August 11, 2019very short hike and VERY crowded! View of tower falls is not the best but refinery a good choicw for those who cannot hike on terrain easily, whole thing is paved!
August 5, 2019Quite a hike to only see the Yellowstone river. Very disappointing.
July 23, 2019Short, easy hike. One of the better roadside waterfalls
July 17, 2019Beautiful short hike!
July 5, 2019Not a huge fan. Path got pretty steep and rocky. The lake view at the end was amazing, but it took a lot more effort than I expected to get there. The falls were also very hard to see from the bottom.
June 27, 2019Nice short hike to the falls. The down to the river is pretty steep. I have bad knees and had no problem making to the falls and down to the end of the maintained trail. If you do have bad knees, I would just do the falls overlook.
June 17, 2019Trail does NOT take you to additional views of Tower Falls after the overlook. It takes you down to the river.
May 30, 2019I went in 2015 and half of the trail had been shut down for matinence. What we could see from the one look out point was nice though! It's entirely downhill, so the way back up was steep, and a struggle because of the elevation (I'm from below sea level so almost 10,000 feet was a bit much for these lungs).
April 17, 2019Great walk and great things to see. You will need to walk about a mile to get to the hike because the trail was closed for the season, we came in mid April. But the walk is totally worth it.
August 10, 2018Actually I don't think this fall is as good as many other falls in Yellowstone, while the trail is very short and won't consume many time.
July 14, 2018Although you don’t see the falls at the bottom of this trail, the river and view are quite beautiful. The trail is an incline with very little flat areas. The maintained path does end short of the river and you can proceed with caution.
July 10, 2018Easy descent down to the falls or down the short trail off to the right to get down near the river. Beautiful views of both the falls and the river. Tends to be a little crowded throughout the day but overall incredible up close sights to see
July 5, 2018Nothing too exciting. Steep switchbacks on the way back up and way too many tourists climbing under the barricades and signs posted stay on trail. Lots of disrespectful families which is disappointing
June 4, 2018Nice Walk
January 25, 2018September 29, 2017Nice trail that leads to a beautiful river
September 11, 2017This is a very easy short walk, but we had to park on the street and walk back since the parking lot was completely full with many cars just waiting
September 7, 2017Extremely heavy traffic. Still couldn't pass up the views.
September 2, 2017Hiked the trail today with our 4 year old. Nice view of the waterfall at the top and an easy hike down. Got our feet wet in the river at the bottom. Very crowded, but it's a holiday weekend. Carried our daughter halfway up from the bottom.
July 28, 2017Not really worth the stop to be honest. The trail further down past the Falls ends in a weird place and just doesn't compare well to so many other options in the area.
July 6, 2017I was very disappointed with this trail. The trail was blocked off. The only view of Tower Falls was from a view point and was mostly blocked from trees.
June 24, 2017Nice views, but doesn't go to the falls. An overlook is available to see the falls, but is extremely crowded with people that don't want to hike but want good pictures. Obstructed views of the waterfall at the overlook. 1/2 mile trek down to the river is nice, but trail is unmaintained after this point. Saw a couple of people attempt the walk down to the river but they struggled.
June 23, 2017The major downfall is that there are so many people. There is also a ton of construction on the alternate paths leading down to the falls. If you do this trail definitely take the path down to the riverside and hang out along the little beach.
April 11, 2017Hiked this short trail back in 88'. Nice waterfall and easy trail. Had the place to ourselves the morning we did it. That makes a difference when visiting a spot like this, as they can get overcrowded.
April 8, 2017Upon seeing a trail closed up ahead sign, I hiked the short trail down to the river to see the reason the trail to the foot of the falls was closed. I put my hand in the river at the bottom [which is a nice view in itself as there is a sandy beach] and went to the trail closure point to discover that the trail to the left had been washed out and suspect this happens quite a bit due to rainfall and makeup of the terrain. Still got a really good shot at the overlook.
