Mystic Falls Hike – Yellowstone National Park

The hike to the beautiful Mystic Falls waterfall is a easy, short hike leading from the Biscuit Basin geothermal area in Yellowstone National Park.

Mystic Falls Hike – At a Glance

There are two ways to do this hike – as a loop to the overlook and then down to the falls (more difficult) or as an out-and-back, just to the falls. The loop hike has much more elevation gain, includes steep switchbacks, and is not as heavily trafficked.

• Type: Out and Back or Loop
• Distance: 2.6 miles round trip
• Difficulty: Easy

Mystic Falls Hike – Trailhead Location

Parking for the Mystic Falls hike is in the Biscuit Basin thermal area of the park. The Biscuit Basin area is only 3 miles north of the Old Faithful area. Parking can be tight, as not only is it a starting point for several hikes, it’s a popular spot to see various thermal features along the boardwalks. However, people are coming and going all the time, and as long as you’re patient and don’t mind circling the lot a few times, you should be able to find a spot within a few minutes.

You’ll want to park in the lot marked above. To get to the Mystic Falls trailhead, start off by following everyone else to the boardwalks leading to the thermal features. You’ll be on the boardwalks for approximately 0.3 miles before starting the actual Mystic Falls trail.

Once you pass the beautiful Sapphire Pool (it’s one of the most beautiful thermal features in the park, so take time to see it!), keep going to your left. As you see on the map below, the boardwalk goes into a loop at this point – so you can go either way, but it’s a little faster going toward your left.

After you pass Avoca Spring, you’ll see a trailhead sign marker, indicating the trail that leads to Mystic Falls. The trail leads off the boardwalks and onto a dirt path into the trees. This is where you’ll being your hike to the falls.

After a short walk through the forest, you’ll come upon a sign. This is where you’ll need to make your executive decision – to the right is the ‘hard’ way – you’ll encounter steep switchbacks that’ll get your heart pumping – and it’s 1.7 miles to the overlook to the falls.

The other way leads you to the falls in only 0.7 miles. This way is relatively flat and hugs the Little Firehole River for much of the way. It’s also the more heavily trafficked way to the falls.

I’ll be honest – I came unprepared and didn’t know that there was two ways to the falls. I like a challenge, so initially, I headed to the right.

I started hiking up the trail, gaining elevation quickly! But I didn’t see another person anywhere along the trail, even though there were plenty of people coming/going on the trail when I started the hike. Because I was hiking solo (yes, I had my bear spray!), I started getting nervous about hiking alone in grizzly bear country. I ended up turning around and made my way back to the junction and ended up doing the easy “out and back” hike.

Back at the junction, taking a right leads towards the river. The trail is well-marked, wide and easy-to-follow. You’ll come across this sign after hiking only 0.1 miles. Continue following the sign to Mystic Falls.

From here, it’s only 0.6 miles to the falls. But first, you’ll get some beautiful views of the Little Firehole River, as the trail follows the river as you make your way to the waterfall.

Closer to the falls, the trail gets a bit more rocky and difficult to navigate. I wanted to get a better view of the falls from the base, so I climbed down some of the rocks. Be careful in this area and make sure you are wearing good hiking boots – it’s very steep as you get closer to the river and I saw some hikers slip on the rocks. I didn’t go all the way down – just far enough where I could get a good photo.

After viewing the falls, you can either continue along the trail to the upper overlook and make it a loop hike or you can turn around and go back the way you came. Again, because I was hiking solo, I turned around, since the trail going to the overlook had much less foot traffic. The trail also gets much more steep going up to the overlook so keep that in mind.

When you hike in grizzly country, you want other hikers around!

Hiking to Mystic Falls in Yellowstone National Park – Final Thoughts

Pros:

• Easy, quick hike to a beautiful waterfall
• You pass by some beautiful thermal features on the way to the trailhead

Cons:

• Parking at Biscuit Basin can be challenging during busy times.
• If you don’t research this hike ahead of time, you might not know which way to take to the falls once you reach the junction.