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 brood like a demonic fortress and earn the fall the nickname 'Devil’s Den.' A short trail leads to a viewpoint above the fall, but don't bother heading further down as there are no further views of the cascade.
Local storytellers claim that prominent Minaret Peak gets its name from one Minnie Rhett, the girlfriend of an early park visitor, but that sounds rather like one of Jim Bridger's tall tales. Iconic landscape painter Thomas Moran created one of his most famous paintings here, credited with inspiring the US Congress to create the National Park System.
On the way back, stop in for a well-deserved ice cream at Yellowstone General Store, a former stagecoach stop that dates back to 1912. Tower Fall Campground is just across the road from the busy parking area, which often fills up by the middle of the day.
