Skip to content
BusinessesGrow
Mesa Falls, Ashton, ID

Photo: Zechariah Judy, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sport & OutdoorOutdoor AdventureFamily Favorite

Mesa Falls

Mesa Falls Visitor Center, Mesa Falls Scenic Byway, about 16 miles from Ashton · Ashton, ID

Why you should go…

Upper Mesa Falls drops 114 feet across a 200-foot-wide ledge on the Henrys Fork of the Snake River, inside Caribou-Targhee National Forest. An accessible trail and boardwalk lead to views of the falls, and you may spot osprey and eagles along the canyon. The visitor center occupies the historic Big Falls Inn, built around 1915, with exhibits on the area's natural and cultural history. A one-mile nature trail through the forest ends at an overlook of Lower Mesa Falls.

  • #waterfall
  • #scenic byway
  • #national forest
  • #boardwalk
  • #hiking

Good to know

General sport & outdoor guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Weather calls the shots

    Check the forecast the morning of and keep an indoor backup in your pocket for the day it turns.

  • Shoes, water, sun cover

    The three things that decide whether you last the whole outing or cut it short after an hour.

  • Parking and launches fill early

    On a nice weekend, lots and trailheads are often full by mid-morning.

  • Daylight shrinks in shoulder season

    Spring and fall visits need an earlier start than the same trip in July.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Mesa Falls, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    Old Faithful

    $25–$50

    Watch Yellowstone's signature geyser shoot water more than 100 feet high from the surrounding boardwalks.

    31 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Iconic

    Grand Prismatic Spring

    $25–$50

    Follow the boardwalk past Yellowstone's largest hot spring, a deep blue pool ringed in orange and yellow.

    34 mi awayMore like this

  • Tours
    Outdoor Adventure

    Yellowstone Helicopters

    $50+

    Helicopter sightseeing flights from West Yellowstone Airport over Hebgen Lake, Two Top and Earthquake Country, from 20-minute hops to a 60-minute wilderness explorer.

    34 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours

  • Attractions
    Family Favorite

    Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center

    Under $25

    Nonprofit wildlife park near Yellowstone's west entrance, home to rescued grizzly bears, gray wolves and other native species.

    34 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Sport & Outdoor
    History Buff

    Nez Perce National Historic Trail

    Free

    A 1,170-mile historic trail across five states retracing the Nez Perce people's 1877 flight from the U.S. Army.

    35 mi awayMore like this

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Iconic

    Yellowstone Lake

    $25–$50

    Look out over North America's largest high-elevation lake, with geysers on its shore at West Thumb and trout below Fishing Bridge.

    51 mi awayMore like this