Dunanda Falls

Dunanda Falls is a really great area to explore. It's a really exotic place with some interesting things. It has a huge waterfall with hot springs ready for soaking right at the base. It has a smaller waterfall made up completely of hot water. It has a gigantic meadow that acts kind of like a bathtub drain for much of Yellowstone, and it has some really nice lodgepole forest to hike through. This hike is over 9 miles each way which makes it best for a backpacking trip but can be done as a very long day hike. Personally I think you'd be doing a disservice to not spend more time here to enjoy all there is to offer. If you do plan to stay overnight you absolutely have to get a camping permit and you will likely have to reserve your spot the winter before you go. For good reason, the sites around Dunanda Falls are some of the hardest to get in the whole park. There are few things that are important when doing this hike. First, the hiking season is unusually short. You normally don't want to do this before late July because the meadows are extremely wet making the hiking wet and difficult and the bugs are horrendous. If you go early make sure you plan to deal with the bugs. Second, getting here can be a challenge. The Bechler Ranger Station is located on a dirt road near Cave Falls. To get here you are at least a couple hours from any other road in the park. You do not access the area from the Grand Loop Road but instead from nearby Ashton, Idaho. If you are coming from Jackson you can also take the Grassy Lake Road but it is a long and rough dirt road. Most sedans can drive the Cave Falls Road to the ranger station without issues as long as conditions are good. If it has rained or snowed you may very likely need something 4x4 and high clearance. Third, is another reminder that no camping is allowed in the backcountry without a permit. Fourth, get to the ranger station early to watch the mandatory safety video and pick up your hiking permit. Fifth is about bear safety. Bring everything you will need to safely stash your food and other items from the black and grizzly bears that frequent the area. Each member of your party should carry bear spray and you should never hike here alone, especially without bear spray. The more people in your group the less likely you will have issues with bears. The last observation is to bring proper shoes and good wool socks because it is highly likely you will get your feet wet. Depending on which route you choose to take there may even be mandatory river fords. Be prepared for this and you will have a great time. This is not an area to take lightly and you will be a long way from any help should something happen here. If you are prepared you will have an amazing time! Your hike will start right at the Bechler Ranger Station. Even if you aren't staying overnight it's a good idea to go inside and get current info on trail conditions. They also have a bear sighting report which can be helpful. Our day started out with a blizzard but we knew it was coming and came prepared and we were happy later that we still decided to go. You will begin your hike in the trees and stay there until the first trail fork after roughly 1.5 miles. Both forks can take you to Dunanda. Left is the Boundary Fork Trail and has a mandatory ford of boundary creek. The right fork is the Bechler Meadows. We took this one because there is a suspension bridge over the long creek crossing. If the weather had been better we would have tried each trail one way but it was too cold for the river ford during our trip. The coordinates for all of the main junctions are at the top of the trek. The next two miles are in and out of the forest again until you reach the suspension bridge over Boundary Creek. About a quarter mile before the bridge, stay left at the junction. The right takes you to the Bechler River Trail and Cave Falls. Once on the bridge go one at a time and be careful. It was very slick on the bridge itself. It was also a great spot for a break and a snack. Be sure to keep drinking and snacking the whole time to keep up your energy. The creek was also great to refill our water. You will next enter the famous Bechler Meadows. This area acts as a giant drain for a large portion of the park. It is a massive meadow. Probably the biggest I have seen in high elevation. It has super interesting geography in this area. The meadow is several miles wide and long. The trail through here even in late September was full of bogs. We were able to mostly navigate around them and stay relatively dry. In the middle of the meadows you will come to another junction. Take a left here to get to Dunanda Falls. The right will again take you to the Bechler River Trail. Eventually the trail will enter the forest for good after roughly 4 miles. From here you will be in and out of the trees the rest of the way. You will also pass the first few campsites and will have 4 different creek crossings. We were able to find logs for all remaining crossings. You will also meet the Boundary Creek Trail discussed earlier that you can take on your way back if you are prepared for the ford of the creek. Trekking poles were very handy for the log crossings. Roughly 1.5 miles from the previous junction you will come very close to the falls. Stay straight for the overlook of Dunanda Falls as well as Silver Scarf Falls. The left fork goes to campsite 9A3. The final piece of trail climbs until you reach a sign for the two waterfalls. Definitely visit both falls. They are both gorgeous! The view from the top of Dunanda offers great views of the surrounding area.Go back and visit Silver Scarf Falls a short distance away. Silver Scarf is a very long cascade that is unique because the entire creek is warm water. I would guess around 80 degrees. To get to the base of Dunanda Falls requires some off trail hiking. Backtrack a short distance to the turn for campsite 9A3. We set up camp before going to the falls. The camping was nice despite challenging conditions. We even got a short view of the tetons the next morning. To reach the base take an unsigned right at campsite 9A3. If there are people camping be sure to be polite since you will be in their reserved site. The group before us was not and did not have their previous nights camp taken down until deep into the evening meaning we could not pitch our tents in the best parts of camp. (You can have a view of the tetons from your tent) You will proceed down a steep (and in our case very muddy) hill to boundary creek. You can either ford the creek or carefully cross a huge fallen tree to get to the opposite side of the creek. From here, proceed carefully up creek (some bushwhacking involved) until you reach the base of Dunanda Falls. This view really lets you see the full 150 foot drop and it is spectacular. We were able to soak in the springs located near the base for a few hours and were even able to get behind the waterfall. It was a really cool experience. We returned the next morning where we were treated to about an hour of gorgeous blue skies during sunrise. Be sure to be smart with the hot springs. Make sure to drink fluids and check the temps of each pool before entering. If you get too close to the source, the water can be far too hot so use common sense and relax with an incredible setting. We then returned to camp and had a very cold night. We woke up the next morning and our wet swimming suits had frozen rock hard, providing us some good laughs before our long trek back to the truck. You can return the exact way you came (this is what we did to avoid mandatory river crossings) or take the Boundary Creek Trail which is actually about .5 miles shorter. Either way it's a nice hike that will most definitely seem longer than it did on the trip out.