The river was named by Frank Bradley, a member of the 1872 Hayden Geological Survey for cartographer and explorer Gustavus R. Bechler, the chief surveyor and mapmaker on the survey.

Henry Gannett also a member of the survey claimed that Bechler discovered the river, but trapper Osborne Russell explored the area in 1830.

[2] The Bechler River is located in the remote southwest part of the park known as Cascade Corner, named by Superintendent Horace Albright in 1921 for the abundance of waterfalls and cascades in the Fall and Bechler River drainages.

Several major Yellowstone waterfalls exist in the Bechler River watershed:[3] Although the Bechler River is in the remote Cascade Corner of the park, it is popular with local anglers.

Because of spring runoff, the river is generally not fishable until mid-July and access is difficult.