Parking
Use Wolf Lake Trailhead on Norris–Canyon Road. Parking is on the south side; cross carefully to the signed trail entrance on the north. An information kiosk is at the trailhead.
Overview
About Wolf Lake Trail
Why go
- Little Gibbon Falls breaks up a short forest-and-meadow walk.
- A gently uphill route with a clear turnaround at the falls.
Heads up
- The full route includes a Gibbon River crossing.
- Virginia Meadows can be muddy and buggy in early summer.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yellowstone map
Full mapElevation7,795–7,995 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
5 active Yellowstone alerts
- ClosureBiscuit Basin closed after hydrothermal explosionBiscuit Basin’s parking lot, boardwalk, and Firehole River are closed to all travel.Official details
- ClosureMost Yellowstone roads close to regular vehicles November 1Most Yellowstone roads and the West, South, and East entrances are scheduled to close to regular vehicles November 1, 2026, as the park prepares for winter operations.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Yellowstone Tour Guide
Hear Yellowstone as you drive it.
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 trailhead
Ice Lake Trailhead0:00 / 0:23
“The Ice Lake trailhead is coming up, a good choice for a short, easy lake walk. Allow thirty to forty-five minutes for the one-mile round trip through conifers, with a gentle climb after a small footbridge.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Tangle in the Pine
- Before the Dragonfly Had Wings
- The Spring That Drains After Steamboat
- Rowing Across the Surface
- 243 audio storiesacross Yellowstone’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Wolf, Grizzly Bear, Bison, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 167 trails, 192 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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.”
Trail guide
Hiking Wolf Lake Trail
A short walk to the fallsWolf Lake Trail is a 2.
Wolf Lake Trail is a 2.4-mile out-and-back round trip from Wolf Lake Trailhead to the Howard Eaton Trail junction, with Little Gibbon Falls roughly halfway. It’s an easy, gently uphill walk on natural ground through forest and wet meadows; allow about 1½ to 2 hours. For a shorter outing, turn around at the falls, about 0.8 mile from the trailhead, for roughly 1.6 miles round trip.
Forest, meadow and riverParking is across Norris–Canyon Road from the signed trail entrance, so cross carefully to…
Parking is across Norris–Canyon Road from the signed trail entrance, so cross carefully to start. The path climbs gently through forest and swampy meadows, with the Gibbon River close by. Ground around Virginia Meadows can be muddy and insects can be bothersome in early summer. Beyond the falls, the trail crosses the river and reaches the Howard Eaton junction; turn back there for the route described here. The longer Howard Eaton walk to Wolf Lake itself is a different itinerary.
Little Gibbon FallsThe falls are a small cascade, about 25 feet high, partly screened by trees when viewed from…
The falls are a small cascade, about 25 feet high, partly screened by trees when viewed from the bluff. A closer river-level view is also described along the route. Keep well back from the ledge. For a photo, frame the white water with the layered rock and pines around the cascade.
Access and wildlifeThe trailhead has an information kiosk.
The trailhead has an information kiosk. Yellowstone warns that grizzly bears frequent this area, and pets are not allowed on trails. There is a Gibbon River crossing beyond the falls, so assess the water before continuing.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Yellowstone
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.
