Was heading back to Seattle from Pasco and thought "Hey, I'm a Washingtonian, what's a 2 hour side-trip for an amazing view?"  I had never been to Palouse Falls, and it's incredible.  That said, it's a walk, not a hike, and they are NOT kidding about that.  See sign below.  

Wandering the upper loop, which goes along the northern rim above the falls (my stomach was churning at all times with no fences) plus the parking area and viewpoint are probably less than a mile total, so it's not much exercise but the views are stunning.  Only one small part of the path near the falls is wheelchair accessible, by the way - you can't get to the higher viewpoint or the loop on the north side via wheelchair. 

They've done a good job on their educational signs explaining the origins of the falls.

Well worth the extra time on the road, and the drive was nice as well, with fields of wheat and hills and farms.

It was great to be able to see Palouse Falls again - especially after taking a Geology class on the Ice Age Floods - I now better understand how it was formed.

We were there midday, and it was too hot to hike - but we enjoyed the thick green grass under the tree shade. Its worth walking up to the Fryxall Overlook (far west side).

The 4 mile gravel road from the highway into the park was terribly washboarded - so bad that some cabinetry in our RV fell apart! Hope the state can grade the road - it was bad! 

I managed 0.9 miles walking the short loop upstream from the main falls as well as along the viewpoints near the parking.  We were never far from the river on the loop.

The upstream loop runs very close to the cliff edge in a few places without protection although there are safe trail choices.  Be careful with young ones!  Nearer the parking there are fences.

There was plenty of parking on Thursday.  Bugs did not bother but were present.  The wind probably helped.

Visited Palouse Falls today and was horrified to discover that there is no longer hiking at the park. It is just a long drive with a viewpoint. The rapids are still visible from the canyon rim, but the route down is blocked. 

We are camped at the Starbuck/Lyons Ferry Marina KOA and after setting up camp we drove to Palouse Falls which is only 5 miles from the CG. The CG and all trails into the canyon and base of the falls are now closed. We walked to the 3 designated viewing points. There are several interesting signs explaining the history of the area. One sign says that Palouse Falls which drops 200 feet into the Palouse River Canyon is the only major waterfall formed by the ice age floods still remaining. The highest viewpoint, Fryxell Overlook, has a panoramic view of the falls and Palouse River Canyon. There were many, many yellow-bellied marmots and many white-throated swifts were flying around the area. The swifts nest in steep rocky cliffs near rivers. Palouse Falls is the official state waterfall for Washington thanks to a group of Washtucna elementary students. About 30 years ago I can remember camping at the park and remember Bob and our youngest son, Bob, walking to the base of the falls! We also hiked to the overlook above the castle to the left of the falls. I have included a link to why these trails are now closed. Many picnic tables are available throughout the park.