After spending much of the afternoon on the nearby Bunsen Peak Loop, I had a little time left in the day for a short walk. After recharging at Mammoth Hot Springs, I ventured partway east on Grand Loop Road and settled on this brief jaunt. In a park where visitors seemingly already have a strange aversion to hiking (maybe cause of these guys), the place was deserted, leaving me alone with the modest falls. On my way back, I encountered a surprise—a massive, black wolf who started briefly into my soul before meandering on through the sagebrush.

The northwest section of Yellowstone National Park features many of the park’s waterfalls. While perhaps less impressive than roadside Gibbon, Rustic, or Undine Falls, viewing the curiously-named Wraith Falls at least requires visitors to get out an stretch their legs on a short, 0.45-mile trail that culminates at a viewing platform opposite the 79-foot cascade. The hike traverses sagebrush slopes, stands of mixed conifers, and marshes.

The hike

The Wraith Falls Trailhead is situated five miles southeast of Mammoth Hot Springs on Yellowstone’s Grand Loop Road. Pass the Undine Falls pull-off on the left, then cross Lava Creek and emerge out onto sagebrush flats, finding the small Wraith Falls parking lot on the south side of the road.

Head out on the gravel trail as it cuts through patches of sagebrush and splits: what appears to be the former route heads right, while the new track stays left. After crossing a small marsh, skirt the hillside on the left and bear south to a shady woodland. Climb mildly, then cross the footbridge over Lupine Creek, fed by the falls.

Ascend again, then round a sharp left-hand bend, leading into a stiff but short set of stairs with a wooden railing. The trail ends at a small viewing platform with a somewhat distant look at Wraith Falls: here the cascading creek fans out across a chalky cliff and tumbles 79 feet. Of course, the flow is more impressive in spring and early summer; by fall it usually thins to a handful of slivers.

When ready, return the way you came, descending the stairs, crossing the bridge, and tracing back across the sagebrush to the trailhead. The entire hike should take less than an hour.