Mileage: 1.3+ miles RT (105 acres to explore)
Elevation Gain/Highest: 150/925ft
Map: USGS Palouse Falls, Palouse Falls website
Favorite Eats After Hike: Pack A Cooler
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
Hike Details:
Palouse Falls State Park is Washington State’s official waterfall and draws thousands every year to see the Palouse River’s stunning 200 foot drop into the canyon below. The falls are located on the ancestral land of the Palouse (Palus) people and encompass 94 acres. A short paved ADA trail near the campground leads to an overlook and a non-fenced dirt path that makes its way around the top of the canyon for about a half mile.
You will see social trails that lead down into the canyon and I talk about it in my trip from 2014. They closed those social trails in 2022 that go down into the canyon area due to deaths of hikers. Please respect signage and the tribal land the falls are located on.
My Hikes:
2/14/2021
I spent the week in Eastern Washington hiking and snowshoeing, making a stop at Palouse Falls State Park for good measure. The road was plowed but narrowly so making it challenging to stay out of the berm when passing cars that did not move over.
The road and parking lot were snow covered but manageable in 2W drive and new tires. There was only one other vehicle in the lot so basically I had the trail to myself. I stuck to the paved ADA path which was snow covered, as well, but not too icy.
The falls flowed over the edge of the canyon like a slowly spilling iced latte disturbing the frozen layers of the Palouse River below. Long icicles clinging to the cliff walls, such a contrast to summer!
Looking down along the canyon, the recent snowfall accented the ice age carved walls like a black and white photo.
If you are wondering what the falls can look like during the winter season, here are a few pictures!
8/26/2014
This was part of a 2 day road trip I took to Eastern Washington to explore some places I had on my list like the Lenore Lake Caves and Gingko Petrified Forest State Park. I hit those first early in the day and then headed over to watch the sun go down at Palouse Falls State Park. I can’t believe I lived over here for 6 years and never visited the falls.
The trailhead is located within the state park campground, and the tent only spots are first come, first serve. I opted to continue on towards Walla Walla and stayed at a KOA. It was a very hot summer and I wanted to be able to take a shower! Anyway, on with the hike.
I began out on the main trail that runs the rim above the falls. The area is mostly flat and you have great views of the falls from above and down the canyon the river flows in.
Closer to the campground there is a short ADA trail with fences but here there is nothing but common sense to keep you from falling as you walk along the canyon edge. From here, I could see trail along the canyon wall and over by the drop of the falls and knew I would try and see how far I could get to that area.
The trail (more like an old service road) continues along the rim toward the upper part of the Palouse River and you can gaze down at the upper falls area. I followed this to its end where it meets the railroad tracks, turned right along a fence and dropped down on scree to the canyon floor to follow a trail that takes you into this area.
There are several trails that wander here, first I took one that followed the river up and then came back down and followed the canyon wall to the where the main falls cascades over the rim of the canyon. This is a bit if a scramble and although the trail continued, I only went as far as I was comfortable because I knew one step on loose rock and it would be dramatic fall to the river bed below.
Coming back, I walked about a bit around the large upright shards of boulder that announce the river’s descent and listened to the roar of the falls as they dropped almost 200ft down. I imagined what it would have been like years ago when the river was at the rim level. It was obvious the river was not running as high as it usually was with it being the end of summer but it was still and amazing experience.
Directions: From I-90, take exit 221 at Ritzville and head south on SR 261 41.5 miles to Palouse Falls Road. Turn left and reach the trailhead at the state park in 2.4 miles. Here is their Google map. You will need a Discover Pass. There is a campground, picnic tables and pit toilet. Do not expect cell phone coverage.
Head over here for more of my hikes in Eastern Washington.
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