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Mesa Falls, Ashton, ID

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

Sports & OutdoorsOutdoor AdventureFamily Favorite

Mesa Falls

Follow a boardwalk to views of a 114-foot waterfall on the Henrys Fork and walk a trail to a Lower Mesa Falls overlook.

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

About Mesa Falls

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

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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.

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Henrys Lake State Park

    Under $25

    A high mountain lake park in eastern Idaho, known for trout fishing, shoreline camping, and views near Yellowstone.

    30 mi awayMore like this

  • 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

  • Sports & Outdoors
    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

  • Sports & Outdoors
    History Buff

    Nez Perce National Historic Trail

    No admission fee

    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

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