Mystic Falls is a 75-foot tiered waterfall on the Little Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, where the river drops off the Madison Plateau above the Upper Geyser Basin. The usual approach through Biscuit Basin has been closed since the basin's 2024 hydrothermal explosion, so hikers reach it by the Daisy Trail instead.
The falls
The World Waterfall Database describes a series of tiered horsetails, four drops in all, the tallest about 36 feet. The trail follows the river upstream through mixed conifer forest to the falls.
Getting there
The Mystic Falls Trail is 2.4 miles round trip from Biscuit Basin, rated moderately strenuous and taking 2 to 4 hours. An optional loop adds 1.5 miles and climbs 500 feet on switchbacks to an overlook of the Upper Geyser Basin.
That route normally starts with a 0.3-mile walk across the Biscuit Basin boardwalk. As of the park's June 29, 2026 backcountry update, the Biscuit Basin trailhead is closed because of continuing thermal activity, and the Park Service directs hikers to the Daisy Trail instead.
There is no separate fee for the hike. Yellowstone admission is $35 per private vehicle for seven days; non-US residents aged 16 and older pay an extra $100 each unless they hold an Annual or America the Beautiful Pass. No vehicle reservation is required. Current closures are posted on the Yellowstone situation report.
When to go
The trail is open for summer, fall and winter hikes. Peak-flow months aren't documented.
On site
Dogs are not allowed on the trail. In hydrothermal areas the park requires visitors to stay on maintained trails and boardwalks.
On May 4, 2026, two hikers on the Mystic Falls Trail were injured by a female grizzly with cubs of the year, and the park closed the area west of the Grand Loop Road from Fountain Flat Drive to Black Sand Basin. The last of those closures was lifted on July 6 after staff surveys found no recent bear activity.
History and name
Members of the 1872 Hayden Survey called it Little Firehole Falls. The Arnold Hague survey renamed it Mystic Falls in 1885, for reasons that were not recorded.
Nearby
Unfaithful Falls is about 0.7 miles away, Cascade Falls on the Firehole River about 1.5 miles, and Precipitous Falls and Lovely Falls, both also on the Little Firehole River, about 2.1 and 2.5 miles.
Distances are straight-line.