Shell Falls

Worth the drive

Is it plungeworthy?

75feet tall

A plunge on Shell Creek.

Scale46/60

Documentation20/20

Character14/20

The details

Type: Plunge
Watercourse: Shell Creek
Coordinates: 44.58652, -107.61374

Get directions →

About Shell Falls

Shell Falls is a 75-foot plunge in Wyoming, on Shell 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 Shell Falls 8/10 — worth the drive. The score weighs its scale, how confidently it's mapped, and its character.

What you'll find

Shell Creek grinding 120 feet down through 550-million-year-old granite beside the Bighorn Scenic Byway — 3,600 gallons a second in June, dinosaur country all around. A boardwalk overlook site, wheelchair-friendly, and the classic leg-stretch between Cody and the Black Hills.

Getting there

Parking: Paved lot at the Shell Falls Interpretive Site, US-14
Road: Paved byway; high-elevation stretches close in winter
Hike: 0.2 mi round trip, 20 ft of climb (easy)
Heads up: The site has carried a construction notice (no restrooms) with an unclear end date — the overlook itself has remained the draw; a call to Bighorn NF settles the day's status.

When to go

June through September, staffed season; June for maximum water.

Rules & fees

Fee / pass: None — free
Dogs: Leashed on the boardwalk — national forest rules, friendlier than the parks
Hours: Dawn–dusk in season
Camping: Ranger Creek and Sibley Lake campgrounds within a few miles
Warnings: Verify site services during the construction window.

Researched from USFS — Bighorn National Forest. Conditions change — verify before you drive. Been to Shell 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.