A Quick Stop At Gibbon Falls In Yellowstone National Park

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While I still haven’t finished my Florida posts (I’m SO close!), I want to start sharing from my other trips since I moved, so we’re starting with Gibbon Falls in Yellowstone!

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This is really just a short walk, not a whole hike, but it’s getting it’s own post anyway.

In the fall of 2024 I went to Yellowstone (and the Tetons and Teddy Roosevelt) with my parents.

We spent two days in Yellowstone and this was our last stop on the first day.

It’s right along the main scenic drive and more of a roadside stop than a hike.

The lighting was pretty terrible since it was late afternoon and a canyon, but it was still nice to stop and see.

My mom waited in the car while my dad and I made the short trek to the viewing area.

The parking area here is pretty big and there was a decent number of people, but it wasn’t so busy that we couldn’t stop.

There are a couple of different viewing points, and we just stuck to the closer ones.

There is a paved walkway to all of the viewing spots. It is downhill so you’ll have to go back up that to leave, just to note that.

It’s not steep but it is a hill. Gibbon Falls is more of a long and wide waterfall than high and dramatic.

Even though I say it’s less vertical, it is still an 84 foot high waterfall, it just has a gradual descent, which is very pretty.

It’s still wide and dramatic, just less vertical. Like I said, we had terrible lighting, so it wasn’t AS cool as it could be on say, a cloudy day.

After the first lookout area, we went down to one more view to look more in the downriver area, which, again, bad lighting but was beautiful.

The view from there is the river cutting through an endless sea of pine trees that you never expect to see in Yellowstone, even if you know it’s there.

We debated going down to the last viewing area further down the hill (still paved) but decided what we saw was sufficient.

If the lighting was better I might have been more interested in going to the end, or if it was earlier in the day, but we had already walk like six miles so I was fine with what we saw.

We headed back up to the car then made our way back to Gardiner for the night.

While this wasn’t my favorite stop in Yellowstone, it’s still definitely worth making a quick stop for.

It’s a short, easy walk to see the falls really only takes 10-20 minutes depending on how far you walk.

If the parking is full and you aren’t able to stop, it’s ok, I wouldn’t say you missed a must-see.

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Where is Gibbon Falls?

Gibbon Falls is on the loop road in Yellowstone, on the Mammoth/Old Faithful side.

It’s about an hour from Gardiner and West Thumb Geyser Basin, 45 minutes from Mammoth Hot Springs, and 35 from Old Faithful.

It’s between the Artist Paintpot Trail and the junction to the west entrance.

How long is the Gibbon Falls trail?

If you go all the way to the end, it’s about 0.5 miles round-trip, but I would say about 0.25 miles to the second viewing area and back.

Is the Gibbon Falls trail hard?

Nope! And while it is on a hill, there is only 32 feet of elevation gain going all the way to the end.

Is Gibbon Falls worth it?

If you can stop, yes, but if you can’t, you’re not missing out too much. Maybe I would feel differently if we had better lighting, but I’m neutral-positive on Gibbon Falls.

If you LOVE waterfalls and need to see them all, then make the stop, but if you’re pooped after a long day in the park, it’s ok to miss.

Have you been to Yellowstone? Did you see Gibbon Falls? What did you think of it?