Palouse Falls

LaCrosse, WA

Washington's official state waterfall drops 198 feet into a circular basalt plunge pool carved by Ice Age floods, in a canyon that seems to appear from nowhere in the rolling wheat country of the Palouse. The upper viewpoint looks straight down the canyon as the river snakes away toward the Snake. Spring runoff turns the falls into a thundering column framed by green hills.

Photography Guide

Best Time: golden hour
Crowds: Moderate
Shot Types: widelong exposurelandscape
Best Seasons: springsummer

Practical Tips

Flow peaks from April to early June and dwindles to a trickle by late summer. The cliff-edge trails beyond the fenced viewpoints have claimed lives; stay behind the railings. Evening light fills the canyon, and the park's dark skies make it a good astrophotography stop.

Is it a good day to go?

7-day outlook

Mild, dry days with light winds are the most comfortable for a visit.

Forecast by Open-Meteo. Verdicts weigh the forecast against the conditions that suit this spot.

Author's Comments

You drive for an hour through wheat fields that roll like a slow ocean, and then the ground simply falls away. That is the thing about Palouse Falls that no photograph quite prepares you for. The canyon does not announce itself. It is not there and then it is, a two hundred foot gash in the scablands, a perfect circular plunge pool at the bottom of a column of water that has been carrying itself over that lip since the Ice Age floods carved the whole strange geometry. Come in May. The runoff is at its loudest and the surrounding hills are still green, which they will not be by July. The falls in August are a sad thin ribbon and the canyon reads as bones without flesh. In spring it thunders. The upper viewpoint is the one everyone uses and it is the right one. From there the Palouse River bends away from the pool and snakes down the canyon toward the Snake, and if you time it for the last hour before sunset the whole basin fills with warm light while the eastern wall goes into deep shadow. That contrast is the photograph. A long exposure softens the column into something closer to smoke, which I like some evenings and resist on others depending on how much I want the water to feel like the force it actually is. Stay behind the railings. I mean this. The cliff trails beyond the fence have killed people and the view from the sanctioned overlook is already the view. If you can stay past dark, stay. The sky out here is genuinely black, and the Milky Way rises over the canyon in a way that makes the drive back feel like a reluctant thing.

Gallery

Palouse Falls pours in a smooth white curtain over dark basalt into a misty plunge pool, framed by steep rock walls and sparse green patches on the canyon rim. The long exposure softens the water and spray while the brown river swirls below. Photo: Vineesh Devasia / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

From a high overlook, Palouse Falls pours in a bright white column into a round basalt pool, sending mist and a faint rainbow across the canyon floor. Layered dark cliffs and green mossy ledges frame the falls beneath the dry, rolling hills above. Photo: PJ Blalock / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

A black-and-white vintage photo shows Palouse Falls plunging in a thick white column into a misty basalt canyon, framed by steep rock walls and a flat rim above. Handwritten notes on the print identify it as “Palouse Falls 198 ft. high” and “17 mi. south of Washtucna, Wash.” Photo: Steve Shook from Moscow, Idaho, USA / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

Palouse Falls plunges in a bright white ribbon over dark basalt into a deep circular pool, with mist rising and a vivid rainbow arcing through the spray. Steep canyon walls and sunlit dry grass frame the falls from the high overlook. Photo: Dsdugan / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

A tall, narrow waterfall drops into a dark circular plunge pool, surrounded by layered basalt cliffs and dry tan canyon walls. From the high overlook, the falls sit centered in a stark, rugged scabland landscape under a pale overcast sky. Photo: Jwj0987 / Wikimedia Commons / CC0

A tall column of water drops over a sheer basalt cliff into a churning misty plunge pool, framed by dark rock walls and rounded canyon rims. The sepia-toned, old photograph has handwritten text along the bottom, giving it a historic postcard feel. Photo: Steve Shook from Moscow, Idaho, USA / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

Palouse Falls spills in a silky white ribbon over a dark basalt cliff into a round, nearly black plunge pool, with the river curving away through the canyon below. Warm golden-hour light turns the layered rock walls and surrounding scablands pink and orange under a soft pastel sky. Photo: Стивен Лю / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Palouse Falls drops in a smooth white column into a deep circular basalt pool, surrounded by layered canyon walls with patches of green moss and grass. Warm golden light grazes the rim of the scablands, while the long exposure softens the water and mist at the base. Photo: Bala Sivakumar from Seattle, USA / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

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