Lower Undine Falls

Worth the drive

Is it plungeworthy?

35feet tall

A plunge on Lava Creek.

Scale38/60

Documentation20/20

Character14/20

The details

Type: Plunge
Watercourse: Lava Creek
Coordinates: 44.94508, -110.64122

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About Lower Undine Falls

Lower Undine Falls is a 35-foot plunge in Wyoming, on Lava Creek.

Fed largely by snowmelt, it runs hardest in late spring and early summer and can thin to a trickle by late season.

Plungeworthy rates Lower Undine Falls 7.2/10 — worth the drive. The score weighs its scale, how confidently it's mapped, and its character.

What you'll find

Lava Creek stepping 60 feet down basalt ledges beside the Mammoth–Tower road — the falls Thomas Moran sketched, and the rare Yellowstone waterfall you can see in January: this stretch is the only park road kept open to cars all winter.

Getting there

Trailhead: Signed roadside pullout ~4 miles east of Mammoth; optional Lava Creek Trail from the picnic area opposite
Parking: Roadside pullout — narrow, watch the merge
Road: Mammoth–Northeast Entrance road, open year-round weather permitting
Hike: 0 mi round trip (easy)
Heads up: A short use-path reaches the brink. The longer Lava Creek Trail currently has a bridge washout — out-and-back only.

When to go

Late May–June for full flow; mid-winter for the frozen-lace version nobody else drives to. Year-round is the whole point of this one.

Rules & fees

Fee / pass: Yellowstone entrance $35/vehicle
Dogs: Leashed at the pullout; not on the trail
Camping: Mammoth Campground (~4 miles, open year-round)
Warnings: Verify Lava Creek Trail bridge status before planning the hike version.

Researched from NPS — Lava Creek Trail · Wikipedia — Yellowstone waterfalls. Conditions change — verify before you drive. Been to Lower Undine Falls recently? Post a conditions report below.

Where it is

Before you go

The pin marks the feature, not a trailhead or a legal route in. Some sit on private land or need a real hike, and conditions change with season and rain. Check local access, don't trespass, and never enter water — hot or cold — where it isn't safe.