Yellowstone: Union Falls and Mr. Bubbles

October 14, 2024  •  1 Comment

Hey Everyone,

We've had a trip to the Bechler region on our to-do list for a long time, but the best time to go is during Corrie's work crunch time. With the spectacular late-season weather that we've had this year, we were able to sneak in an overnight trip to Union Falls and a two-night trip into Bechler Canyon.

To start, we drove out to the Grassy Lake Reservoir Trailhead. The final drive down to the parking lot is steep and rutted. If you don't have an off-road vehicle, it's probably best to walk it first to see if your car can make it. After a short distance from the parking lot, we were greeted by a Yellowstone boundary sign.

Grassy Lake TrailheadGrassy Lake TrailheadNPS / Jacob W. Frank

After a mile, we arrived at the Falls River crossing. It's wide and cold. I think crossing this early in the season would be fairly challenging, you definitely want to make sure you have some trekking poles.

Falls River from Mountain Ash Creek TrailFalls River from Mountain Ash Creek TrailNPS / Jacob W. Frank

Once on the other side of the river, the trail is mostly nondescript and through the trees. There are a few points along the way that open up, but the views in the distance are of more trees.

Mountain Ash Creek TrailMountain Ash Creek TrailNPS / Jacob W. Frank

While this trail may be a destination hike, the final destination is ABSOLUTELY worth the 15+ miles roundtrip. We arrived at the overlook in the afternoon as planned. The light at our back created a nice little rainbow in the spray of the falls.

Union Falls from overlookUnion Falls from overlookNPS / Jacob W. Frank Union Falls base and rainbowUnion Falls base and rainbowNPS / Jacob W. Frank

I noticed that there was a small trail down to the base of the falls. After getting fairly wet from the spray on the hike down, I was able to find a dry spot where I could take a photo.

Union Falls and Mountain Ash CreekUnion Falls and Mountain Ash CreekNPS / Jacob W. Frank

We hiked back to the junction and took the trail up to Scout Pool. It's not a hot spring, but the water has some thermal influence so it's probably in the 70s. It was a great spot to jump in and wash off the sweat from the day's hike before heading back to camp and hitting the sack.

Scout Pool near Union FallsScout Pool near Union FallsNPS / Jacob W. Frank

The following morning our plan was to hike back to the trailhead, then take Grassy Lake Road west until we could hook up with Cave Falls Road and take that into Bechler. We certainly missed the peak of the fall color, but there were still some occasional pockets of color. The other thing we noticed is how incredibly clear the water is. When the sun is overhead and you look with polarized lenses, you can see right through the water like it's barely there. 

Mountain Ash Creek crossing near 9U4Mountain Ash Creek crossing near 9U4NPS / Jacob W. Frank Mountain Ash Creek confluence near 9U4Mountain Ash Creek confluence near 9U4NPS / Jacob W. Frank Proposition Creek crossing on Mountain Ash Creek TrailProposition Creek crossing on Mountain Ash Creek TrailNPS / Jacob W. Frank

The hike back out was uneventful, although there's a fairly steady climb out from the campsite on the way out. 

Morning light on Mountain Ash Creek TrailMorning light on Mountain Ash Creek TrailNPS / Jacob W. Frank

Back at the trailhead, we jumped in the car and headed over towards Bechler. It's about 2.5 hours of driving on the dirt road. In some places you need to go very slowly due to the condition of the road. We arrived to the area late afternoon, set up camp, and then drove out to Cave Falls. It's not a huge drop, but it's a wide falls with a decent amount of water, even this late in the year.

Fall afternoon at Cave FallsFall afternoon at Cave FallsNPS / Jacob W. Frank Visitors at Cave FallsVisitors at Cave FallsNPS / Jacob W. Frank

The following morning we set off from the Bechler Ranger Station to spend two nights in Bechler Canyon. As with Union Falls, the trail starts off in the trees, but eventually it opens up when you arrive to Bechler Meadows. After crossing the suspension footbridge, it's about three miles to cross the entire meadow.

Bechler Meadows Trail: suspension bridge crossingBechler Meadows Trail: suspension bridge crossingNPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler Meadows Trail: hikers heading northBechler Meadows Trail: hikers heading northNPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler Meadows Trail: hazy view of the TetonsBechler Meadows Trail: hazy view of the TetonsNPS / Jacob W. Frank

At the mouth of Bechler Canyon, the vegetation completely changes. It turns into Fern Gully with giant spruce trees and ferns everywhere.

Bechler River Trail: fall colors in Bechler CanyonBechler River Trail: fall colors in Bechler CanyonNPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler River Trail: hiker through fernsBechler River Trail: hiker through fernsNPS / Jacob W. Frank

Once in the canyon, you gradually start to climb as you make your way up to Three Rivers Junction. Along the way you hike by another couple beautiful waterfalls. The first, Colonnade Falls, is a two-in-one.

Bechler River Trail: Colonade FallsBechler River Trail: Colonade FallsNPS / Jacob W. Frank

Shortly after Colonnade Falls, you arrive at Iris Falls. There was so much spray coming off this falls, that when I took a photo of it I was almost able to see a full 360º rainbow.

Bechler River Trail: Iris Falls and rainbowBechler River Trail: Iris Falls and rainbowNPS / Jacob W. Frank

We arrived late afternoon and called it an early night after the big hike in. The following morning, we made breakfast and got an early start on the short hike up to Mr. Bubbles. With the cooler air temps in the morning, we were able to see all the thermal features near the Bechler River that we didn't notice the day before.

Bechler River Trail: tributary reflectionsBechler River Trail: tributary reflectionsNPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler River Trail: morning steam along bechler RiverBechler River Trail: morning steam along bechler RiverNPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler River Trail: themal pool reflections near 9B0Bechler River Trail: themal pool reflections near 9B0NPS / Jacob W. Frank

The trail through the canyon takes you near some beautiful thermal features. I tried to find the names of features on a map, but I'm not sure if there are official names or not.

Bechler River Trail: hiker near thermal poolsBechler River Trail: hiker near thermal poolsNPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler River Trail: morning themal pool reflectionsBechler River Trail: morning themal pool reflectionsNPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler River Trail: morning thermal pool viewsBechler River Trail: morning thermal pool viewsNPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler River Trail: hiker near thermal pools (2)Bechler River Trail: hiker near thermal pools (2)NPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler River Trail: Bechler River near Three Rivers JunctionBechler River Trail: Bechler River near Three Rivers JunctionNPS / Jacob W. Frank

As we arrived at Ferris Fork junction, we started seeing signs of more thermal influence in the water.

Bechler River Trail: Ferris Fork crossingBechler River Trail: Ferris Fork crossingNPS / Jacob W. Frank

Once we passed Ragged Falls, we arrived at the spur trail out to our destination.

Bechler River Trail: Ragged FallsBechler River Trail: Ragged FallsNPS / Jacob W. Frank

Hiking in we could see a thermal feature dumping into the river. Upon closer look, there was a boiling hot spring and travertine feature.

Ferris Fork Spur Trail: Ferris Fork thermal featuresFerris Fork Spur Trail: Ferris Fork thermal featuresNPS / Jacob W. Frank Ferris Fork Spur Trail: travertine feature flowing into Ferris FFerris Fork Spur Trail: travertine feature flowing into Ferris FNPS / Jacob W. Frank Ferris Fork Spur Trail: travertine feature flowing into Ferris FFerris Fork Spur Trail: travertine feature flowing into Ferris FNPS / Jacob W. Frank

At the end of the trail, roughly 16 miles from our starting point, we arrived at our destination. We have plenty of friends that suggested we hike out here, but we didn't really get what all the fuss was about. Now that we were here with the place to ourselves, we could see the allure. 

Ferris Fork Spur Trail: Thermal pool along Ferris Fork (2)Ferris Fork Spur Trail: Thermal pool along Ferris Fork (2)NPS / Jacob W. Frank

It wasn't until we jumped in that we "got it." The area where you soak, aptly named Mr. Bubbles, is a mixture of hot water from a nearby spring and the cold water from the Ferris Fork. Depending on where you sit in the feature, you can "adjust" the temperature to your liking. During the 2.5 hours we soaked, we couldn't believe we had the place to ourselves. We kept saying that someone was going to show up eventually, but it never happened. 

Ferris Fork Spur Trail: thermal poolFerris Fork Spur Trail: thermal poolNPS / Jacob W. Frank

Back at camp, we ate lunch and then took naps in the sun. I went back out to take photos during the sunset before happy hour and dinner.

Bechler River Trail:Bechler River Trail:NPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler River Trail:Bechler River Trail:NPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler River Trail:Bechler River Trail:NPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler River Trail:Bechler River Trail:NPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler River Trail:Bechler River Trail:NPS / Jacob W. Frank

The weather was clear and we were close to a new moon, so I decided to head out to try and get some photos of the night sky. I scouted a place during my sunset stroll so I knew where I wanted to shoot, but unfortunately I didn't have a tripod. So after creating a janky way to hold my camera with my trekking poles and pack, I was able to capture a keeper.

Bechler River Trail: Milky Way reflections in thermal poolBechler River Trail: Milky Way reflections in thermal poolNPS / Jacob W. Frank

The next morning we had a long hike and drive ahead of us, so we started early. Even though we were back tracking, it was nice to get to see the same spots in different lighting. 

Bechler River Trail: fall colors along creek crossingsBechler River Trail: fall colors along creek crossingsNPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler River Trail: Lower Bechler Canyon FordBechler River Trail: Lower Bechler Canyon FordNPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler River Trail: hiker through Lower bechler Canyon FordBechler River Trail: hiker through Lower bechler Canyon FordNPS / Jacob W. Frank

Especially the waterfalls... They were in the shade this time around so I was able to do some longer exposure shots of the cascades and falls.

Bechler River Trail: casscades on Bechler RiverBechler River Trail: casscades on Bechler RiverNPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler River Trail: steep drop on Bechler RiverBechler River Trail: steep drop on Bechler RiverNPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler River Trail: Iris Falls and fall colorBechler River Trail: Iris Falls and fall colorNPS / Jacob W. Frank Bechler River Trail: Iris Falls and fall color (2)Bechler River Trail: Iris Falls and fall color (2)NPS / Jacob W. Frank

Back in the meadow, there was some haze in the distance that prevented us from seeing the Tetons with too much definition.

Bechler Meadows Trail: hazy view of the Tetons (2)Bechler Meadows Trail: hazy view of the Tetons (2)NPS / Jacob W. Frank

We could even smell the smoke in the air a little bit. We made it back to the trailhead in the early afternoon, tired, but recharged from a spectacular trip in a new part of the park for us.
 

Trip details: In total we hiked just shy of 50 miles. The roundtrip out to Union Falls and Scout pool is about 17 miles with ~2,000 feet of elevation, and roundtrip out to Mr. Bubbles is about 32 miles and ~1,900 feet of elevation. It seems like the window for this trip is between late-August and when the snow flies. I'd love to hit this in peak fall color, but it seems that we were just on the back end of it, especially with the big winds that were in the area the week before.


Comments

Leah(non-registered)
Wow, this hike looks incredible! Beautiful photos. Definitely makes me want to soak at Mr. Bubbles one day.
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