Two-and-a-half miles south of Tower-Roosevelt Junction, Tower Creek plunges over 132ft Tower Fall before joining the Yellowstone River. The fall gets its name from the volcanic breccia towers around it, which are like a demonic fortress and earn it the nickname The Devil’s Den. A short trail leads to a viewpoint over the falls and then continues down 200 vertical feet to the Yellowstone River.
Local storytellers claim that prominent Minaret Peak gets its name from one Minnie Rhett, the girlfriend of an early park visitor, but that sounds to us like one of Jim Bridger’s tall tales. Iconic landscape painter Thomas Moran created one of his most famous paintings here.
Stop in for well-deserved ice cream at the Yellowstone General Store on the way back. Tower Fall Campground is just across the road from the parking area. The busy parking lot often fills up by the middle of the day. The potholed and narrow section of road between Tower Fall and Tower-Roosevelt Junction is one of the worst in the park.
