Tower Fall Overlook

Tower Fall is a 132-foot waterfall on Tower Creek in Yellowstone’s Tower–Roosevelt area. Eroded volcanic pinnacles rise around the narrow drop, giving it a different shape from the big falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It’s a good quick stop on the Northeast Grand Loop if you want the spires as much as the falling water; from the overlook, the fall sits at a distance, which can feel less dramatic than people expect.

The sign marks 150 yards from the trailhead to the overlook. A longer trail continues about three-quarters of a mile beyond it to a view of Tower Creek flowing into the Yellowstone River. Tower Fall General Store is beside the parking area, handy for a snack or ice cream; visitors also mention restrooms. There is designated accessible parking next to the store, but the access information doesn’t establish that the overlook path itself is accessible. Pets aren’t allowed on the hiking trail, even if carried; trained service animals are permitted.

Keep the eroded pinnacles and some trees around the waterfall in your picture. If you zoom in on the white water alone, you lose the feature that makes this stop distinctive. The farther river view gives you a second angle on Tower Creek, but the overlook is the classic waterfall view.

The name comes from the tower-like rock formations at the brink. A large boulder in W. H. Jackson’s 1871 photograph remained on the lip for more than a century before falling in June 1986. Thomas Moran painted Tower Fall too; his painting helped make the case for protecting Yellowstone, established as a national park in 1872.

The ragged pinnacles around the fall are volcanic rock cut by erosion. The columnar basalt in the canyon north formed when a lava flow cooled and cracked into hexagonal columns.

The nearby gorge provides habitat for bighorn sheep, red-tailed hawks, osprey and peregrine falcons. Black bears are also seen around Tower Fall and Tower Junction, particularly in spring.