Idaho 2025

Hayden Valley, Mesa Falls, Bechler Region, Jackson Hole

Day 6

Today, we were all over the place. I joked earlier on this trip that we were basically driving the wrong direction all the time, and today was no exception. But, that means we got to see a lot of new things. In short, I hope you like waterfalls, because today is loaded with them!

Hayden Valley Sunrise

Our day started with being uncomfortably close to a wolf. After loading up the car in the dark hours of the morning, I went into the Lake Lodge to drop off the room key and check us out. As I came back outside, I heard a wolf howl. It sounded like it was right on the other side of the Jeep. I’ve never gotten back in a car faster in my entire life! It might’ve been the same pack we saw from Lake Butte overlook; because we heard them in the distance the evening before too.

We drove north from the lake through the Hayden Valley, following the Yellowstone River. We’d hoped to do some wildlife watching, but it was far too foggy to see anything. It was a beautiful sunrise nonetheless, so we enjoyed seeing the frosted landscape. It was absolutely freezing outside, with a wind chill in the single digits, if not negative. After intermittently stopping at overlooks, we finally decided to brave the cold long enough to hike up an ice-covered hill near Trout Creek and Elk Antler Creek. The views were spectacular, although our hands and feet quickly went numb. We both enjoyed the peaceful silence of the morning, then rushed back to the warm car.

We continued up the Hayden Valley, delayed briefly by a frost-covered bison ambling up the middle of the road. 

Canyon

Soon we arrive at the turnoffs for the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Although we already hiked along the north rim earlier this trip, we decided to quickly drive down the south rim to Artist Point to catch one last glimpse of the Lower Falls. Our spontaneity was rewarded with a magnificent glowing view of the falls and the canyon, lit up in a way that was wowing even the clearly seasoned local photographers who were set up for their morning exposures.

Breakfast

Driving back down to the Lake Hotel, we attempted to get a spot for the breakfast buffet, but after hearing the wait times, we opted to get some solidly average breakfast sandwiches from the Hotel Deli instead. We finished up our breakfast and some coffee in the deli, observed the elk grazing by the front porch of the hotel, and then drove by the lakeshore in front of the hotel to get a view of its iconic white columns.

On the Road Again

Back on the Grand Loop Road, we circled around the lower part of the “figure 8”, and headed north to Old Faithful, pulling into the Lower Geyser Basin just long enough to realize there weren’t going to be any significant eruptions soon. After a brief detour down Firehole Canyon Road to see the falls and the cascades, we turned west and exited the park via the Madison River Valley, headed towards West Yellowstone. If you’re keeping track, we’re still headed in the wrong direction.

WEst Yellowstone

Back in West Yellowstone, we filled up with gas, and started our journey to our next realm of adventure: Yellowstone’s “Cascade Corner”. We didn’t have a solid lunch plan, but we quickly found one on the way out of town when I shouted “turn in!” after seeing the sign for Ernie’s Bakery and Deli, which I recognized from one of my travel guidebooks.

Ernie’s has a great to-go lunch special, which gives you a generously portioned sandwich, an apple, a cookie, a bag of chips, and a bottled drink. We each got a bagged lunch, and after a brief wait, we were back on the road again.

Mesa Falls

At this point, you might be wondering to yourself, “Isaac, why is this trip titled ‘Idaho 2025’ if you haven’t even been in the state of Idaho by Day 6?”. Well, here’s your answer: besides the game being in Boise, we wanted to focus some time on the more remote Idaho side of Yellowstone.

Crossing the border into Idaho and driving through the Henry’s Lake area, we were amazed by how much development had occurred since we were last there. We eventually turned onto Mesa Falls Scenic Byway, and headed to see our first waterfall in this area. First, we stopped at Upper Mesa Falls. The river canyon takes an almost 90-degree turn at the base of the falls, making it a very unique drop.

A short drive down the road and a couple missed turns later (it is very poorly labeled), we pulled into the Grandview Campground for a view of Lower Mesa Falls down below. I wish there was a better way to see this one up close, but the view from the canyon rim was magnificent.

Bechler Region

The Bechler Region of Yellowstone National Park is rarely visited, mostly because it’s a real pain to access. It’s not connected to the Grand Loop Road; in fact, it’s barely connected to any main road. There’s a ~28 mile drive from the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway (which is already remote), and the trailheads are over 50 miles from the latest semi-major town. Oh, and most of that 28 mile drive is down a washboard gravel road – yay for Jeep suspension and off-road mode! We were glad to finally make it to this remote area of the park – it truly feels like we had a Yellowstone experience that most people don’t even know about.

Picnic Lunch

Near Cave Falls (pictures later on) on the Fall River, there are a couple of picnic tables right by the edge of the lower falls, plus no more than two parking spaces for the floods of crowds who bother to come out this far. We enjoyed our sandwiches, and used my guidebook in combination with the park’s rudimentary trail map sign to plan our hike for the afternoon.

Ernie's Bakery and Deli
West Yellowstone, MT

A great place to get tasty sandwich to take on your adventures.

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Bechler River Trail

Our hike of choice was the Bechler River Trail. The trail will eventually take you all the way to Old Faithful, some 30+ miles away, but we decided we’d go as far as the second major waterfall on the river, Bechler Falls. The trail follows the western side of the Fall River, until the river meets its confluence with the Bechler River. The Bechler River (and its trail) fork northwest, and the Fall River goes northeast. By the way, the rivers are 10x wider than they look in the pictures.

Continuing upstream, we eventually climbed up a clear fall line – a sign that the next major waterfall was near.

On our way back down the trail, some kind of very large bird jumped up out of the brush and made us jump out of our shoes – not once, but twice! The solitude was getting to us, I guess…I even got a high heart rate alert on my Apple Watch. Despite the “fowl intervention”, we arrived back at the trailhead safely. The hike was really quite easy for its length, and if we’d planned better, we could’ve continued at that pace and slope for quite some time.

Cave Falls

Back at the main trailhead and [tiny] parking area, we finally took some proper photos of the most easily accessible feature of this region, Cave Falls. The waterfall is over 250 feet wide, and while the main drop is “only” 20 feet tall, there are nearly a dozen drops in just a short section of river that make the totality of the falls much more impressive. It’s one of the more unique waterfalls I’ve seen out west, and definitely worth the miserable drive to see it.

Teton County, Teton Pass

Leaving the Bechler Region, we drove south through Teton County, ID through Tetonia, Driggs, and Victor. The landscape was much different, with rolling farmland, but we enjoyed the semi-smooth asphalt and the views of the western side of the Tetons in the distance.

Eventually, we crossed the Teton Pass back into Idaho, and descended the grinding slope down into Jackson Hole.

Wildlife Watching

We checked into our rental, a small two-bedroom condo in the small town of Wilson, WY – just west of Jackson, nestled up against the eastern slope of the Teton range. Once we’d settled in, we decided to go out to look for wildlife and catch the sunset, waiting to eat until after dark.

First, we actually drove around the condo’s neighborhood, because I knew the development was known for having moose live nearby. Sure enough, after our first turn, we spotted a cow and calf moose eating in someone’s front yard.

We watched them for a while, and actually FaceTimed Mom so she could see them (Faith was occupied and couldn’t answer). We continued to drive around the neighborhood, and spotted a frisky red fox trotting down a gravel driveway.

Leaving our neighborhood, we drove to a few other spots to look for wildlife, but besides some bugling elk, didn’t see much of anything. The best scenery was down Fish Creek Road, which follows Fish Creek, winding behind some marshland right at the very foot of the mountains. 

Nora's Fish Creek Inn

Soon it was dark, and time to eat. We had a reservation at Nora’s Fish Creek Inn, a cozy local restaurant that we’ve been meaning to try since our first trip to the Tetons. We were famished after a long day of hiking and driving on bumpy roads, so we made the most of it. 

For an appetizer, we split their pulled pork poutine (hand-cut fries covered in pork, gravy, cheese, poblano sauce, and caramelized onions). For our main courses, we split: Trout Almandine (Idaho rainbow trout, green beans, corn, brown butter almonds, capers, and scallions), and burrata ravioli (roasted corn cream sauce, spinach, and parmesan). For dessert, we split a cookie skillet (at the recommendation of our server), and their signature huckleberry pound cake (huckleberry pound cake, house-made huckleberry sauce, whipped cream, and huckleberry ice cream).

The whole meal was phenomenal from start to finish. The trout was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten; the ravioli was perfectly done; and the huckleberry pound cake was the perfect dessert – tart, sweet but not too sweet, and the perfect combo of hot and cold. We liked the meal so much we decided we’d come back again before we left Jackson Hole.

Nora's Fish Creek Inn
Wilson, WY

An amazing restaurant. Great food, casual, and fun service. We enjoyed the live blues and jazz in the evening.

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Wrapping Up

Back at the condo, we were able to relax a little more than usual. This is the first place this trip where we get to stay more than one night, so there was no prep work for the next morning. We headed to bed, ready for another big day in Grand Teton National Park tomorrow.

Video

Here’s a video from today’s adventures.

The Best Things we Saw Today

Isaac

The best thing I saw today was… “sunrise glow at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstonel”.

The best thing I ate today was… “trout and huckleberry pound cake”.

Jerry

The best thing I saw today was… “the confluence of the Bechler River and Fall River”.

The best thing I ate today was… “the poutine and trout”.

Conclusion

We’ll spend the next couple of days in the Jackson Hole valley – and we hope to be at a little more relaxed pace. Also, get ready for some moose watching!

– Isaac & Jerry

4 Responses

  1. You had a great day full of adventures! A long, enjoyable post with BEAUTIFUL pictures!! I wish I had been with you!!

  2. We were also in Jackson hole. I can’t believe we didn’t bump into you guys somewhere along the way. Next time I’m following your travel guide.

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