Palouse Falls: Overview
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 198 feet with high volumes of water flow in spring and early summer.Want to support Washington State Parks? Get involved by joining a friends' group. For more information, visit the Friends' Group web page.
Park hours/updates:
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.
Agency information:
Don't move firewood: Please protect the Pacific Northwest from invasive species by obtaining or purchasing your firewood at or near your camping destination (within 50 miles). Firewood can carry insects and diseases that threaten the health of our western forests. You can make a difference by buying and burning your firewood locally. For more information, visit online at www.dontmovefirewood.org or the Washington Invasive Species Council website.
The Discover Pass now can be used on either of two vehicles!Annual pass: $30
One-day pass: $10
(Transaction and dealer fees may apply)
A Discover Pass is required for motor-vehicle access to state parks and recreation lands managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
Exemptions: Your purchase of the Discover Pass supports recreation on state lands. However, the Discover Pass is not required if you are camping or renting overnight accommodations, for the duration of your stay at that state park. For additional exemptions and more information, please visit the Discover Pass website.
Campsite Information:
The park has 10 tent spaces and pit toilet restroom One tent site is ADA-compliant. Sites have no hook-ups. Braziers are available. All campsites are first come, first served. For information call the park at (509) 646-9218.2013 camping fees:
Please note that the following general fee information is not customized for each individual park, so not all fees will apply to all parks (for example, primitive campsite and dump station fees listed apply only to parks that have primitive campsites and dump stations).May 15 – Sept. 15 (peak season)
Primitive campsite and water trail camping: $12
Standard campsite: $23 non-premium site, $26 premium site
Partial-utility campsite*: $30 non-premium site, $35 premium site
Full-utility campsite*: $32 non-premium site, $37 premium site
*Please note: Camping fees during the 2013 peak season are $28 for partial-utility sites and $29 for full-utility sites at Beacon Rock, Brooks Memorial, Columbia Hills, Conconully, Lewis & Clark and Schafer state parks. These parks are first come, first served.
Jan. 1 – May 14 and Sept. 16 – Dec. 31 (off-peak season)
Primitive campsite and water trail camping: $12
Standard campsite: $22 for non-premium and premium sites
Partial-utility campsite: $28 for non-premium and premium sites
Full-utility campsite: $29 for non-premium and premium sites
Maximum eight people per campsite.
Second vehicle: $10 per night is charged for a second vehicle unless it is towed by a recreational vehicle. Extra vehicles must be parked in designated campsite or extra vehicle parking spaces.
Dump stations (if available): Year-round dump station fees are $5 per use. If you are camping, this fee is included in your campsite fee.
More about park hours
Check-in time is 2:30 p.m., and check-out time is 1 p.m.
Quiet hours are from 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
Engine-driven electric generators may be operated only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.
Length of stay: You may stay up to ten consecutive days in any one park from April 1 through Sept. 30; the stay limit is extended to 20 days between Oct. 1 and March 31.
Park Features
This park features a 198-foot-high waterfall which is particularly spectacular in spring and early summer. A quarter-mile ADA-accessible hiking trail overlooks this natural wonder. The park has an observation shelter and historical displays.
History
The park was dedicated June 3, 1951. For many years the falls were called "Aput Aput," meaning "falling water." 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.
Interpretive opportunities
There are interpretive panels throughout the park about the Ice Age Floods and the creation of the canyon.Services/Supplies
| Available in the park | Available in the area |
| • Camping | • Fishing/hunting • Gasoline • Golf • Groceries • Hardware • Marine supplies • Pay phone • Postal service • Propane • White gas • Swimming |
Services and supplies are available at privately-operated Lyons Ferry Marina.
Activities
| Trails | Water Activities | Other |
| • 0.5 mi. ADA Hiking Trails | • Bird Watching • Interpretive Activities • Wildlife Viewing | |
The quarter-mile ADA-accessible hiking trail overlooks the falls. | ||
Events
The 2013 State Parks free days are as follows:
Jan. 21 – In honor of Martin Luther King Day
March 30 – In honor of Washington State Parks' 100th birthday on March 19
April 27 and 28 – National Parks Week
June 1 – National Trails Day
June 8 and 9 – National Get Outdoors Day and Department of Fish and Wildlife Free Fishing weekend
Aug. 4 – Peak season free day
Sept. 28 – National Public Lands Day
Nov. 9 through 11 – Veteran's Day weekend
Please note: A Discover Pass is still required to access lands managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife during State Parks free days. For more information, please visit www.discoverpass.wa.gov.
Find other events at Washington State Parks
Picnic and Day-use Facilities
The park provides one picnic shelter with a table and brazier, seven uncovered braziers, 15 unsheltered picnic tables and two acres of picnicking area. Picnic sites are first come, first served.Wildlife
| Mammals | Birds | Fish & Sea Life |
| • Badgers • Bobcats • Coyotes • Deer or Elk • Marmots • Rabbits • Raccoons • Squirrels | • Chukars • Crows or Ravens • Doves or Pigeons • Ducks • Geese • Gulls • Hawks • Herons • Hummingbirds • Ospreys • Owls • Pheasants • Quail • Snipes • Swans • Woodpeckers • Wrens |
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 Ivy | 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 198-foot waterfall is spectacular to view, particularly in spring and early summer. |
