A 200-foot waterfall on an easy, scenic hike through lodgepole forest with a bonus Grand Prismatic hot-spring view.
Yellowstone National Park entrance fee, $35 per private vehicle (7-day pass)
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Based on this listing's approximate location — see the note on coordinates below.
NPS lists the trail as usable in summer, fall, and winter (as a ski trail); standard hiking season is roughly Memorial Day weekend through fall per NPS bear-management-area guidance.
Fairy Falls is a 200-foot waterfall on the Little Firehole River, reached via a scenic 5.4-mile round-trip hike from Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park. The route follows Fountain Flat Drive (accessible for 2.3 miles) then connects to the Fairy Falls Trail through lodgepole forest, providing one of the park’s more family-friendly waterfall hikes.
The easy grade and moderate distance make this accessible to a broad range of hikers, though the full 5.4 miles does require commitment. The trail passes through a Bear Management Area that typically opens on the NPS’s standard Memorial Day weekend schedule; the page carries no closure alert as of the September 2026 check, indicating normal access is expected for standard hiking season.
A key feature of this hike is the proximity to the Grand Prismatic Spring, whose vivid mineral-colored waters and thermal features add a second natural attraction to the trip. Dogs are not permitted on any NPS trails, including this one. Yellowstone’s $35 per vehicle, 7-day entrance fee applies.
Summer through fall; the trail also functions as a ski route in winter. Standard hiking season runs roughly Memorial Day weekend through fall per NPS bear-management guidance.
Dogs are not permitted on this trail. Those with mobility challenges should plan for an easy but 5.4-mile round-trip distance.
Grand Prismatic Spring nearby offers dramatic thermal features and vivid colors.
Yellowstone National Park entrance fee, $35 per private vehicle (7-day pass)
Via a 5.4-mile round-trip trail rated easy by the managing agency.
No — the managing agency's page states dogs are not permitted here (or on the specific trail/area needed to reach the falls).
We track 11 waterfalls in Yellowstone National Park.
There are 4 other waterfalls we track in Teton. All Yellowstone National Park waterfalls →
nps.gov
NPS Fairy Falls Trail page (checked 2026-09-04): 200 ft waterfall, 1.6 mi one-way (5.4-mi round trip counting the Fountain Flat Drive approach) through lodgepole forest; NPS states pets are not allowed. Page notes the trail is a Bear Management Area expected to open on its standard Memorial Day weekend schedule; as of check date (September, well past that date) the trail is in its normal open season with no closure alert on the page.
Checked September 2026.