Sight · Yellowstone National Park
A 200-foot waterfall rewards a longer walk beyond Midway.
Overview
Fairy Falls is a 200-foot waterfall in Yellowstone’s Midway Geyser Basin area. It drops down a high rock face into a pool, tucked beyond a young lodgepole pine forest. Keep it for a real waterfall hike, not a quick pullout; the walk takes an afternoon rather than a few minutes.
Parkwolf’s verdictA waterfall worth the walkMap
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Yellowstone Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yellowstone National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Yellowstone audio tourRecorded for this place
Grand Prismatic Overlook and Fairy Falls“You're approaching the Fairy Falls trailhead, the starting point for Grand Prismatic Overlook as well as the waterfall hike.”
Plays as you drive up to Fairy Falls in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“First time driving through a national park. We used the Yellowstone tour on grand loop Road and it’s just like having a tour guide in your car with you.”
Guide
The two starting points are at the end of Fountain Flat Drive and the Fairy Falls Parking Lot about a mile south of Midway Geyser Basin. The out-and-back options are listed at 5.4 or 6.7 miles, with a 3 to 5 hour estimate. Parking is very limited. Carry water and leave pets behind.
From the south lot, a spur climbs to the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook before the trail continues to Fairy Falls. That’s a worthwhile extra view, but it isn’t the waterfall; keep going if Fairy Falls is your goal.
The southern route crosses the Firehole River near the start and follows young lodgepole pine forest. The early stretch has little shade, so it can feel more exposed before the trail carries on through the trees.
Lodgepole pine has thin bark and often dies when fire passes, but some cones hold seeds until heat opens them for the next generation. Yellowstone’s 1988 fires affected about 36 percent of the park. That park-wide fire cycle is one reason the young pine forest along the route is worth noticing.
At the end, the water runs down a high cliff and fans over dark rock into a pool. For a photo, keep the lower pool and the cliff in frame; a tight crop on the white water loses the scale of the fall.
If you have time and energy left, the trail continues 0.6 mile to Spray and Imperial geysers. Going there and back adds 1.2 miles to the hike.
Wildlife
713 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
743 sightingsWolfMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
5,273 sightingsBisonMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
3,258 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
397 sightingsMooseMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,494 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yellowstone. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyMidway Geyser Basin Trail0.7 mi · 45 min · 1.7 mi awayA compact boardwalk loop to a giant spring and a blue crater.
EasyGrand Prismatic Overlook Trail1.6 mi · 1.5 hr · 1.9 mi awayA short climb to see Grand Prismatic from aboveEasyFairy Falls Trail4.5 mi · 3 hr · 1.9 mi awayAn easy forest walk to a 200-foot waterfall.
EasyImperial Geyser Trail6.6 mi · 4 hr · 2 mi awayA forest walk to a 200-foot waterfall and two active geysers.
ModerateMallard Creek Trail8.6 mi · 4.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayBurned woods, rocky climbs, and a high outcrop above Mallard Lake.ChallengingFairy Creek Trail11.3 mi · 7.5 hr · 2.8 mi awayA long backcountry traverse from geyser views to Imperial Geyser.
ChallengingSummit Lake Trail15.4 mi · 8.5 hr · 2.8 mi awayA long CDT walk to an alpine lake and backcountry hot springs.
ModerateMystic Falls Trail2.4 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.8 mi awayA creekside forest walk to a 70-foot waterfall.Sight · 0.6 mi awayImperial GeyserThe blue geyser pool adds 1.2 miles beyond Fairy Falls.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayGrand Prismatic SpringThe overlook turns a vivid close-up into a full ring of color.
Picnic area · 2.2 mi awayWhiskey Flat Picnic AreaA meadow-side picnic break where bison sometimes pass.
Sight · 2.9 mi awayMystic FallsA 70-foot waterfall with an optional climb to a basin view.
Sight · 2.9 mi awayBiscuit BasinA short loop of colorful springs and a geyser that erupts often.
Sight · 3.4 mi awayArtemisia GeyserA deep blue pool that can erupt as a rolling boil.
Sight · 3.4 mi awayWhite Dome GeyserThe cone is the main show; an eruption is a bonus.
Sight · 3.5 mi awayGreat Fountain GeyserIts long, multi-burst eruptions reward a flexible wait.Parkwolf’s Yellowstone ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
