I admit, I was initially lured to this place after reading one of those listicles online – something like, “25 Waterfalls you Must See Before you Die” or some such. After clicking through and seeing a beautiful photo of Palouse Falls, I wondered, as a Washington resident, why I’d never been there. As another trip reporter says, this is probably not the best destination hike. If you are passing through, it’s a beautiful place to stop. Cell phone reception is minimal to non-existent (a plus for some, including myself, BUT don’t count on being able to access WTA’s information about the trails when you’re there). I naïvely assumed that since it was a state park, it would have good signage. "The “numerous trails” in the state park are not marked (if at all), nor are they well maintained (perhaps they are not sanctioned). My advice is to follow WTA’s recommendation and not try to take any of the trails that take you to the base of the falls. I had forgotten this piece of information and we tried one of those trails – the one that a park ranger told us was, “The least dangerous route.” None of the information boards we found at the viewing area or campground provided information on hiking trails. You’re on your own if you choose to follow a trail out from this area. We had two adults, two kids (ages 9 and 11) and a dog. The humans agreed that while it was a fun adventure, we wouldn't choose to do it again, nor can we recommend it to friends. The dog, however, would do that hike multiple times. Bring your own water! Currently, due to the dry conditions, there is no running water at the viewing area or the campsite. They are bringing in containers of water from the nearest town but it is unreliable. There was a small tank in the back of a pickup truck but it was running low mid-afternoon. The following morning, it had yet to be refilled/replaced. If you plan on camping: be advised that the description of a “105-acre camping area with 11 tent spaces” is misleading. Perhaps the state park is 105 acres, but the area designated for tent camping is, in my estimation, less than an acre. It is a grassy hillside in the middle of two parking lots. There is absolutely no privacy. If you want to go and experience Palouse Falls at sunset/sunrise, the campground will suffice, but it is not a pleasant camping experience. We arrived at 3:30pm on a Saturday and were able to choose among a few open spots. By 7:00pm, the campground was full. They do not take reservations.

The lack of snow pack this year has really taken its toll on the falls. The water flow is very low and it's not quite the same without the normal thunder from the falls. I would not make a special trip for Palouse Falls at this time, wait for more normal weather conditions and see it in all its glory. The one highlight about the lack of water is that it's easy to cross the river by the rapids by walking from rock to rock. I hadn't explored that side before and it allows for some interesting views by the falls, but they're not as interesting without a strong flow so it's a catch-22.

A group of 4 of us traveled from Tacoma to visit the falls today and enjoy and casual hike. The falls are beautiful and definitely worth seeing but the hiking trail was difficult to discover. The map showed a path to different view points but no obvious hike was mapped out. Also, a great place to stop by in passing. Terrible idea to make it a day destination. We spent nearly 13 hours in a car in 100 degree heat to enjoy 20 minutes worth of sight seeing.

The very short and easy hike follows the rim of the canyon above the falls and drops down to the river and some smaller falls. We stopped at pools beneath the smaller falls for a dip, as it was quite hot and the spot was perfect. The trail followed the river to the mouth of the falls, where it pretty much dead ends at a steep overlook. There were a number of smaller trails that seemed to hug the inner part of the canyon and descended to the pool below the main waterfall, but they looked quite dangerous and not well maintained. We opted not to go down to the bottom, especially as some people we spoke to had just come up and said it took almost an hour to get down. Overall, the waterfalls were beautiful and the hike was very easy. I would recommend coming closer to sunset, as the light was just starting to become perfect, but we had a long drive back to our campground and had to leave.

We didn't actually hike down to the falls, but did some of the tracks around the perimeter at the top. It was too damn hot to do much else! We weren't really prepared for the steep hike down (only had tennis shoes, not hiking boots) and didn't have more than 1 water bottle with us, which we thought wouldn't be enough for the challenging hike back up. With no shade and 100 degree heat, we enjoyed our views from near the parking lot!