About Firehole Falls and the Cascades of the Firehole
Firehole Falls and the Cascades of the Firehole were two notable waterfalls and cascades amongst a larger series of pretty impressive waterfalls on the Firehole River.
They were definitely noteworthy roadside stops along the one-way Firehole Canyon Drive.
However, the popular road also featured precipitous rhyolite cliffs flanking the narrow road as well as the Firehole Swimming Area.
That swimming area allowed us the opportunity to dip in the geothermally heated waters at a calm part of the river.
Indeed, the waterfalls found along this stretch of the river could technically be considered geothermal waterfalls!
As with roadside attractions like these, the temptation would be to take pictures and keep driving.
But I’ve found that actually getting out of the car and spending time to really pay attention to the subtleties of Nature made the experience more fulfilling and memorable.
After all, it seemed like exclusively experiencing things from the car created some kind of detachment from the immediate surroundings.
Firehole Falls
Pictured at the top of this page was the 40ft Firehole Falls, which was perhaps the main scenic attraction of the Firehole Canyon Drive.
Thus, it was a real busy and popular roadside stop.
The waterfall was said to be the result of a large pool of lava that once filled the massive Yellowstone Supervolcano’s caldera.
The lava eventually hardened into the more erosion-resistant rhyolite layer over which the falls dropped.
The Firehole River would continue to erode away the softer layers thereby growing this waterfall over time.
The roadside pullout for Firehole Falls was pretty large though often times dozens of vehicles would crowd the area.
So we exercised some patience in order to both get in and get out of the congestion.
While the best and most direct views of the falls were by the sign pointing out the falls, I also spotted a more unusual view further down the hill by some fencing.
I’d imagine at one point that fence might have blocked off scrambling access to the waterfall’s base (very steep and not recommended).
The pullout for this falls was about 0.9 miles from the start of the Firehole Canyon Drive.
The Firehole Swimming Area
While Firehole Falls was not safely accessible, further upstream along the Firehole River was the Firehole Swimming Area.
We noticed that parking was very limited for this spot as there were only a handful of roadside pullouts nearby.
We also noticed that there were a couple of change rooms by the road.
In addition, we went down a well-established boardwalk and stairs ultimately leading us to the rocky shores flanking a wide and calm part of the Firehole River.
Upstream from the calm section, there were a few rapids and mini-cascades as the river was channeled through a narrow canyon.
Meanwhile, downstream of the calm section were a few more wide cascades before the river would become turbulent again.
The Firehole River Swimming Area was about a mile further from Firehole Falls or nearly 1.9 miles from the start of the Firehole Canyon Drive.
The Cascades of the Firehole
Finally, the Cascades of the Firehole were actually an attractive set of cascades and waterfalls seen right at the very end of the one-way Firehole Canyon Drive.
I noticed a paved walkway along the Firehole River following this stretch towards a picnic area right off the Grand Loop Road further upstream.
Although I didn’t see any signage acknowledging this name for the cascades, it was apparently named by park superintendent P.W. Norris according to The Guide to Yellowstone Waterfalls and Their Discovery
We managed to pull over at an informal shoulder just before the stop sign marking the end of the Firehole Canyon Drive.
However, if we happened to miss this pullout, we could have driven over to a much larger pullout about 250ft south (right) from where the Firehole Canyon Drive rejoined the Grand Loop Road.
This pullout was near an island in the Firehole River that was apparently used as a camping spot by the park’s earliest visitors.
Authorities
Firehole Falls and the Cascades of the Firehole reside in Yellowstone National Park near West Yellowstone in Park County, Wyoming. They are administered by the National Park Service. For information or inquiries about the park as well as current conditions, visit the National Park Service website.
All the attractions mentioned on this page were along the one-way Firehole Canyon Drive.
To reach the entry point of this drive, we drove about 0.8 miles south of the Madison Junction.
The entrance to the Firehole Canyon Drive was on the right.
Coming from the other direction, we drove a little over 15 miles along the Grand Loop Road north of the Old Faithful turnoffs (or about 33 miles along the Grand Loop Road northwest of the West Thumb Junction).
The entrance to the Firehole Canyon Drive was on the left.
For context, the Madison Junction was about 14 miles (under 30 minutes drive) east of West Yellowstone, Montana, about 40 miles (over an hour drive) south of Gardiner, Montana, 104 miles (over 2 hours drive) south of Bozeman, Montana, 123 miles (over 2 hours drive) northeast of Idaho Falls, Idaho, about 141 miles (about 3 hours drive) north of Jackson, and about 335 miles (over 5 hours drive) north of Salt Lake City, Utah.
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Viewing the falls from pretty much all the different angles possible alongside the road
360 degree sweep of the Firehole Swimming Area
Left to right sweep of the last of the Firehole Cascades near the end of the one-way drive
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