Bechler Falls is a 7-foot wide cascade on the Bechler River in the southwest corner of Yellowstone National Park, Teton County, Wyoming. It is the last waterfall on the Bechler before the river joins the Fall River, and an easy, nearly level walk from the Cave Falls parking area leads to it.
The falls
The Bechler River slides down a broad, steep cascade about 130 feet wide. Lidar elevation data puts the drop at 6 to 8 feet, with 7 feet given in modern records, though earlier surveys listed 15 feet, a figure still quoted by various guides. What it lacks in height it makes up in volume: the river remains powerful here, especially early in summer. The falls sit about a mile above the confluence with the Fall River.
Getting there
The walk starts at the northeast corner of the parking lot at the end of Cave Falls Road, just north of the park's southern boundary (Cave Falls Trailhead 9K2). The road leaves the Mesa Falls Loop (Highway 47) five miles from Ashton, Idaho, and runs through Targhee National Forest, remaining unpaved except for the last 3 miles.
The outing measures 2.6 miles round trip with about 50 feet of gain: the path follows the Fall River upstream past a string of cascades to the Bechler confluence, then continues along the Bechler, set back from the bank, until the falls come into view. A longer 7.5-mile loop returns through lodgepole forest via the Bechler Ranger Station.
Yellowstone admission is $35 per vehicle for seven days, plus $100 per person for non-US residents aged 16 and older unless covered by an Annual or America the Beautiful Pass. Overnight trips beyond the falls need a backcountry permit.
When to go
Summer and fall are the recommended seasons for the hike, with the strongest flow early in summer.
On site
The Park Service asks hikers leaving this trailhead to carry bear spray and keep it at hand, not inside a pack, and warns that park waters are swift and cold. The Fall River ford near the Cave Falls Trailhead is wide and dangerous; park staff do not recommend crossing it, and the walk to Bechler Falls does not cross it. Pets are not allowed on Yellowstone trails.
History and name
The falls were named in 1921 by E. C. Gregg and C. H. Birdseye during park surveys.
Nearby
Cave Falls and Lower Cave Falls on the Fall River are each about 0.8 mile away, at the start of the walk. Forders Cascade is about 1.7 miles and White Angel Falls about 2.2 miles, both also on the Fall River.
Distances are straight-line.