Have hiked here several times and each time I see people push the limits of common sense by trying to climb to the bottom or walk out to the edge of the falls. I guess most are successful but we loose a couple people every other year due to their stupidity. This fall draws you in but please use common sense when hiking around to see this fall. I came here to let my mom and wife get a chance to see this fall. Beautiful as always!! Checkout out my video of this hike by clicking the link down below or checkout my other videos of over 300 hikes I have done in Washington State on my VIMEO Channel at https://vimeo.com/mikemorrison

As always get out and see this beautiful state and enjoy your hiking!

Take Care,

Mike

Finally took the time for this side-trip in what feels like the middle of nowhere.  Easy to see why folks have been injured (or worse) here and need for warning signs.  We ventured down to the river and the lip of the falls but no further.  It was windy and warm, and not too crowded which was nice. I wouldn't want to compete with traffic on certain sections of trail.

It was nice to finally see Washington's state waterfall in person.

I connected these state parks with my feet rather than the driving option. It's about 8 miles distance between the two and as I solo hiked, I made it a round trip. I parked at the Lyons Ferry Game Management Unit (Lyons Ferry SP still closed for winter) and walked the road until an old two-track appeared below. This leads to a pretty good use trail to Marmes Pond which crosses the steep slopes below Peak 362 with its dramatic basalt outcroppings. A short scramble down takes you to Marmes Pond. From there I started cross country passing by the rock shelter above the pond. 

This is mostly a cross-country hike but the last 1.6 miles joins an old road bed that goes to the bridge crossing of the railroad at the Palouse Falls State Park entrance. There is also a railroad track crossing to join this road unless you stay high where the tracks enter a tunnel and scramble down to the road where some defunct power lines are.  

A couple of places require sure footing and the use of hands though exposure is minimal. If you find yourself on steepening slopes above 100' basalt cliffs, turn back and look for an easier way around. Game trails can lure you into these areas.

Edit to add: I've been informed that I crossed some private property during this hike. Though there is no indication of leaving public land and entering private parcels, it is our responsibility to know this information.
Please keep this in mind if you attempt this hike.

I made the false assumption that since others have done this hike that it was ok to proceed. I'll leave the trip report up as a source for this info. If you are interested in the hike, I suggest contacting The Ice Age Flood Institute via the link below.

I spent the week in Eastern Washington hiking and snowshoeing, making a stop at Palouse Falls for good measure.  The road was plowed but narrowly so making it challenging to stay out of the berm when passing cars that did not move over. 

The road and parking lot were snow covered but manageable in 2W drive and new tires.  There was only one other vehicle in the lot so basically I had the trail to myself.  I stuck to the paved ADA path which was snow covered, as well, but not too icy.

The falls flowed over the edge of the canyon like a slowly spilling iced latte disturbing the frozen layers of the Palouse River below.  Long icicles clinging to the cliff walls, such a contrast to summer!

Looking down along the canyon, the recent snowfall accented the ice age carved walls like a black and white photo.

As a side note, passing out of Washtucna down 261 there was a flock of wild turkeys to be navigated!