Hiking Mystic Falls and Biscuit Basin Overlook in Yellowstone National Park

One of the few true hikes we planned during our 10 days at Yellowstone National Park and Grand Tetons National Park was Mystic Falls. What we did not include in the plan was creating the loop to the Biscuit Basin Overlook. This took a very short 2 mile hike with basically no elevation and made it 3.5 miles with 600 ft elevation. Definitely not the hardest hike I have ever done, but a bit longer than we initially planned. The trail details can be found on AllTrails, as always.

Mystic Falls - Yellowstone National Park

Biscuit Basin to Mystic Falls

The trailhead for Mystical Falls it at the back of the boardwalk in Biscuit Basin. From the trailhead to Mystic Falls is a quick 1 mile out hike that follows Little Firehole River. The views along the river are gorgeous, as would be expected in Yellowstone National Park. The hike alternated between exposed and tree cover, making it an good mid-day hike in the heat. The waterfall views did not disappoint, and at this point in our 10 day trip we were still full of energy taking lots of photos.

After we got to the waterfall we couldn’t resist extending the hike for more views of Yellowstone National Park. We ventured up a few steep switchbacks and up to the top of the hill. The lookout over Biscuit Basin was epic, we could see all the way to the main Yellowstone Lodge and Upper Geyser Basin. This section of the trail has a few other trails connecting to it that can take you further in the backcountry. We stayed in the more trafficked area. The overlook section of the trail was more secluded than Mystic Falls, which made it even better.

By far my favorite part of the hike was the switchbacks down to the basin. The flowers along the way were popping and made for some amazing photos. We also reflected on the fact that we hiked the trail counterclockwise, which we decided was the best way to do this particular hike. The incline was much steeper with a 25% grade on the way down.

Before you go

As I mentioned in my Geyser Basins Blog Post, Biscuit Basin has a very small parking lot. We always managed to get lucky with parking at the various basins. But be prepared to change your plans last minute. The trail to Mystic Falls is also featured on the NPS website for Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone National Park is MASSIVE! Looking at maps it honestly does not do the vastness of the park justice. It is so huge, and with that size comes a good amount of time to get from place to place. We stayed on the south side of the park. To get to this trail head was an hour and half drive from our campground.

Like most national parks, Yellowstone is not very dog friendly. Rightfully so with all the thermal features. My pup Winter sat out on this adventure. The park fees are standard, and they do honor the national parks pass if you have one, which of course we did.

There is so much more to Yellowstone National Park than what is featured in this blog post. Check out the National Parks Page on the website to see all the other adventures we had over our 10 days visit. These adventures include: