Palouse Falls

Palouse Falls is Washington's official state waterfall, a 198-foot plunge carved by cataclysmic Ice Age floods over 13,000 years ago into a horseshoe-shaped canyon of layered basalt. The falls drop in a powerful single column into a deep turquoise pool at the base of a dramatic amphitheater, with the Palouse River winding through the arid scablands landscape in both directions. The surrounding terrain looks more like Mars than the Pacific Northwest — dry, treeless, and sculpted by ancient megafloods.

The main viewpoint is a short 0.15-mile walk from the parking area along a paved path to a fenced clifftop overlook, making it one of the most accessible dramatic waterfalls in the state. The perspective from above captures the full drop and the canyon framing perfectly. Note that all trails to the base and canyon floor are permanently closed as of 2022 due to multiple fatal falls — the clifftop viewpoint is the only legal vantage point.

Visit in spring when snowmelt brings peak water flow and the surrounding steppe turns green with wildflowers. The drive from Seattle takes about four hours, but the remoteness is part of the charm. Palouse Falls State Park offers primitive camping with a handful of first-come sites. Sunset and sunrise light the canyon walls in spectacular warm tones.