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Palouse Falls State Park |
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Park Overview
 Palouse Falls
State Park is a 105-acre camping park with a unique geology and history. The
park offers a dramatic view of one of the state's most beautiful waterfalls.
Palouse Falls drops from a height of 200 feet.
A vehicle parking permit is no longer required for day visits.
Park Hours Summer: 6:30 a.m. to dusk.
Winter: 8 a.m. to dusk.
Camping:
Check-in time, 2:30 p.m.
Check-out time, 1 p.m.
Quiet hours: 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
Driving Directions Located 23 miles southeast of Washtucna, Wash.
From SR 261:
Located 17 miles southeast of Washtucna.
From State Route 261 Washtucna: Drive southwest 5.8 miles to the State Route
261/260 junction, and turn left at the grain elevator. Follow State Route 261
southeast for 8.7 miles to Palouse Falls Road. Turn left, and follow the road to
the end (approximately 2.5 miles).
Picnic Facilities The park provides one sheltered picnic area with eight
braziers and 10 unsheltered picnic tables with two acres of picnicking area.
Picnic sites are first-come, first-served.
Activities
| Trails |
Water Activities |
Other |
- 0.5 mi. ADA Hiking Trails
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- Bird Watching
- Interpretive Activities
- Wildlife Viewing
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The quarter-mile ADA-accessible hiking trail overlooks the falls.
Featured Creatures
| Mammals |
Birds |
Fish & Sea Life |
- Badgers
- Bobcats
- Coyotes
- Deer or Elk
- Marmots
- Rabbits
- Raccoons
- Squirrels
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- Chukars
- Crows or Ravens
- Doves or Pigeons
- Ducks
- Geese
- Gulls
- Hawks
- Herons
- Hummingbirds
- Ospreys
- Owls
- Pheasants
- Quail
- Snipes
- Swans
- Woodpeckers
- Wrens
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Environmental Features
| Physical Features |
Plant Life |
Special |
| Created by the Lake Missoula
floods, Palouse Falls is the only major waterfall left along the
glacial flood path of 15,000 years ago. |
- Alder
- Ash
- Birch
- Oak
- Poplar
- Lupines
- Thistle
- Poison Oak
- Poison Ivy
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The Marmes Rock Shelter was the
site of a 1968 archeological dig. Geologists unearthed remains
of the "Marmes Man." Among the oldest human remains found in the
western hemisphere, Marmes Man is estimated to be 10,000 years
old. Approximately 1.25 miles upstream from the mouth of the
Palouse, a levee surrounds a murky pool below a shallow basalt
cave. The remains of at least five individuals were excavated
from a fire hearth in the cave.
Created by the Lake Missoula floods, Palouse Falls is located in
the Palouse Falls Natural Area, this 200-foot waterfall is
spectacular to view, particularly in spring and early summer.
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History The park was dedicated June 3, 1951. For many years the falls were
called "Aputapat." Later, the name was changed to commemorate the Palouse Indian
culture.
According to a story of the Palouse tribe, the Palouse River once flowed
smoothly into the Snake. But four giant brothers, in pursuit of a mythic
creature called "Big Beaver," speared the great creature five times. Each time
Big Beaver was wounded, he gouged the canyon walls, causing the river to bend
and change. The fifth time he was speared, he fought the brothers valiantly and
tore out a huge canyon. The river tumbled over a cliff at this point to become
Palouse Falls. The jagged canyon walls show the deep marks of Big Beaver's
claws. |
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