Kepler Cascades
A 150-foot cascade type waterfall located along the Firehole River 2.5 miles south/east of Old Faithful.
Plan Around Kepler Cascades
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Kepler Cascades Details
Kepler Cascades is a 150-foot cascade type waterfall located along the Firehole River 2.5 miles south/east of Old Faithful. There is a large parking area and a platform for viewing the cascade. The Kepler Cascades were described by the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition in 1870 but not named until 1881. In his 1871 report to the Secretary of War, Gustavus C. Doane, a member of the expedition described Kepler Cascades as: September 18 [1870]. -- We broke camp at 9 o'clock, traveling along the slopes of the ridges, skirting the ravines through falling timber, and passing in many places over swampy terraces, for a distance of three miles, when we suddenly came upon a mountain torrent, 40 feet wide, and running through a gorge of trachyte lava 200 feet in depth. This was the Firehole River, heading in a lake a few miles to the south. Following down the course of this stream we presently passed two fine roaring cascades, where the water tumbled over rocks to the depth of 20 and 50 feet successively. These pretty little falls, if located on an eastern stream, would be celebrated in history and song; here, amid objects so grand as to strain conception and stagger belief, they were passed without a halt. The cascades were named by Philetus Norris, park superintendent in 1881 for the 12 year old son of Wyoming's territorial governor John Wesley Hoyt. Hoyt and his son, Kepler Hoyt, were visiting Yellowstone in 1881 when Norris named the cascades after Kepler.
Difficulty
Low
Distance
N/A
Estimated time
Region
N/A
Nearby Parks Around Kepler Cascades
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Nearby Points of Interest Around Kepler Cascades
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0.1 mi away
Lone Star Geyser Trail
This mostly level trail follows an old service road along the Firehole River.
1.3 mi away
East Lot
Located south of the East Lot parking area near the Old Faithful Lodge.
1.4 mi away
Old Faithful General Store
Dating back to the roaring '20s, this store's grand National Park architecture is front and center.
1.4 mi away
Old Faithful Lodge Cabins
The log-and-stone Old Faithful Lodge was built in the 1920 and offers great views of the geyser.
1.5 mi away
Obsidian Dining Room
Located within the Snow Lodge in the Old Faithful area.
