Main Viewpoint: A paved walkway leads visitors to the main viewpoint, which is a short walk from the parking area. Views from the walkway allow visitors to see the waterfall from the closest angle. This photo shows a wide angle view from the main viewpoint which stretches for several feet around the side of the pool on the rim of the canyon. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Canyon: Looking south from the Fryxell Overlook gives viewers a view of the impressive canyon which is almost 400 feet deep where the Palouse River flows toward the Snake River. The confluence of the Palouse and Snake River is about five miles south of the falls. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
Just a few miles upstream from the confluence of the Palouse River and the Snake River lies the Palouse Falls State Park in southeastern Washington. This is a small park with some big and amazing views.
The Palouse River head waters are in northern Idaho where it begins its southwestern run before ending its journey at the Snake River in Washington. The river winds its way through the beautiful Palouse region of eastern Washington along the way.
Palouse Falls is found in a remote area of the state about halfway between Spokane, Wash. and the Tri-Cities area near the Washington and Oregon state line. The otherwise easy flowing Palouse River runs into a stunning basalt rock wall canyon lands where it plunges 200 feet before finishing its flow through the impressive canyon into the Snake River.
The unique landscape and the falls were formed by ice-age flooding 13,000 years ago. According to park information, Palouse Falls is one of the last features of the glacial floods.
The Palouse Falls State Park is about 100 acres giving visitors spectacular views of Palouse Falls. Until January 2022 the park had a small tent only campground but that has been discontinued making the state park a day use park only. The camping area is now a picnic area with several tables under the trees.
Palouse Falls State Park offers views of the falls from three vantage points at three elevations. The main viewpoint is easily accessible by a short, paved walkway beginning at the parking lot. This view is the closest to the waterfall giving visitors an up-close view of the waterfall and the large pool of water below.
From that viewpoint, visitors can walk a gravel path which leads up the side of the canyon rim. The elevation continues to rise as well and the second viewpoint allows visitors to see the waterfall and surroundings from a higher perspective.
The third viewpoint, which is named the Fryxell Overlook, is the highest elevation viewpoint and is farthest from the falls. This viewpoint allows visitors a 360 degree view of the entire area including the falls as well as the deep canyon in which the Palouse River flows after leaving the falls area. This viewpoint has a covered shelter and a picnic table.
Each of the three viewpoints allow visitors to appreciate the Palouse Falls from three unique perspectives. There is not a lot to do other than viewing the falls and hiking the canyon rim at the park but the falls and the amazing geological surroundings are well worth the venture to Palouse Falls State Park.
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Middle Overlook: This overlook provides a view from a higher angle giving viewers a nice overall view of the falls and pool of water at the base of the falls as well as the surrounding landscape. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Fryxell Overlook: The views from the Fryxell Overlook are spectacular. Viewers get a 360 degree view of the falls, the pool, the river as it flows from the falls and the impressive canyon to the south of the falls. The Palouse River travels through the canyon before ending at the Snake River. Shown is a medium telephoto view of the falls and a rainbow which is created by light passing through the mist in the air. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Falls and Mist: A longer telephoto view from the Fryxell Overlook shows an up close view of the falls and the large spray of mist that rise from the surface of the water. The waterfall is 200 feet high and the mist spreads about as far across the pool. This overlook also gives viewers a more direct view of the falls rather than a side view. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Geological Gem: The landscape around the Palouse Falls is a geological gem which was formed by flooding during the ice age 13,000 years ago. The Palouse Falls is one of the last remnants of the glacial floods. The falls and the geological history and landscape are a must see when in eastern Washington. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
