Palouse Canyon Rim

Palouse Canyon Rim Trail follows the basalt edge of the Palouse Falls canyon upstream from the main overlook, offering an extended geological tour of this remarkable landscape sculpted by catastrophic ice age flooding. The rim trail provides continuous views into the deeply incised canyon where the columnar basalt walls display millions of years of volcanic layering in dramatic cross section. Walking along the canyon edge, hikers can observe how the Missoula Floods stripped away the overlying sediment and carved the canyon system through solid basalt with incomprehensible force, creating a miniature version of the Grand Canyon in the rolling farmlands of eastern Washington. Interpretive panels along the route explain the geology of the Columbia Plateau basalt flows and the catastrophic flood events that repeatedly transformed this landscape during the last ice age. The rolling basalt plateau above the canyon is covered with bunchgrass prairie and sagebrush, typical of the shrub-steppe ecosystem native to eastern Washington. Horned larks, western meadowlarks, and loggerhead shrikes inhabit this open grassland environment. Prairie falcons hunt along the canyon rim and are sometimes seen in dramatic pursuit of ground squirrels on the plateau. The trail offers an excellent complement to the falls overlook visit, extending the experience with geological context and additional canyon viewpoints.