The greatest thing about Pullman, Washington is the beautiful land that surrounds both the city and the school. While there are certainly many great sites within the city of Pullman, The Palouse Scenic Byway is world famous for its splendor.
What is the Palouse Scenic Byway? It is a road that connects all of the old Indian trails, wagon roads, and railroads that once served the entirety of the Palouse region. Not only are you going to experience beautiful scenery on this drive, but you are going to see the towns that make this region great.
There are many ways to take the Palouse Scenic Byway, and there are three recommended day trips.
Day Trip No. 1
This day trip starts in Pullman and involves traveling north on US-195 toward Colfax, a small town located about 15 minutes from Pullman. You can even take a small detour and go to Klemgard Park, which has an awesome 1-mile trail and picnic area.
Colfax has many interesting shops along Main Street, and it also is the home of Codger Pole, which is the world’s tallest chainsaw sculpture. Another great place to see in Colfax is the Whitman County Historical Society Perkins House and Cabin, an original log cabin west on Last Street off Highway 195, located on Perkins Avenue.
If you travel west on SR-26, you will find the town of Dusty. Here, you can enjoy Pampa Pond, a three-acre lake, a good fishing spot for rainbow trout.
If you continue west and then turn south on SR-261, you will be at Palouse Falls State Park. Palouse Falls State Park is home to the last active waterfalls on the Ice Age floods path, as the Palouse River runs through a narrow cataract that drops 200 feet into a churning bowl. There are three distinct viewpoints of the falls (sometimes with a rainbow): One from the top at the main entrance, one from the top at a paved interpretive path, and the other at the end of a more advanced trail.
Then, on the way back, turn north on the LaCrosse Airport Road to see historical basalt houses and cabins on Scharpenberg Road built between 1934-1936.
From there, head back to Colfax and on through to Pullman where you can enjoy great restaurants and catch a show.
Day Trip No. 2
Starting from Pullman, head on SR-194 to Almota, you can stop at Boyer Park to hike or bike along the 4.5 Snake River Trail. From there, travel up the road to Lower Granite Dam, where you can visit the fish viewing rooms.
You can then return to Pullman through US-195, and you will pass through Colton and Uniontown. Colton is home to St. Gall’s Church, which is north on Steptoe Street off Highway 195. Uniontown is the home of Artisans at the Dahmen Barn, which has a surrounding gate made of 1,000 wagon wheels.
Now, if you stop in Colton, you can visit the historic St. Boniface Catholic Church. This particular church was built in 1904, and it has original stained-glass windows.
From those towns, you can head back to Pullman to see the sites in and around WSU, or you can head down the grade to the Lewiston and Clarkston area.
Day Trip No. 3
Start in Pullman and take SR-27 to the town of Oakesdale to an ongoing restoration of the J.C. Barron Flour Mill, originally built in 1890 (when Washington State University was founded). Head north to the Tekoa Train Trestle on the John Wayne Trail, then go north on 27 to the town of Latah, which has a prehistoric mammoth skeleton found in 1880.
Then head to Fairfield and Rockford, along the way. If you head back to SR-271, this will take you to Rosalia on an easy drive on West Prairie View Road. Then visit Steptoe Battlefield to turn south on US-195, and then head to Steptoe Butte State Park.
Steptoe Butte State Park is a steep drive upward, and you can find a lot of great views at the top. If you like to take your bike, it is a very steep climb up, but it is a quick trip back down.
From Steptoe Butte, head to Garfield, and if you are in Garfield during the late summer or early fall, then you can stop by Bishop’s Orchard, where you can participate in apple picking. There are also great places to visit in the city of Palouse, such as the 1895 Holy Trinity Church with Litch Gate, and the McCroskey House. All you need to do is go north off Highway 27, the corner of Bridge Street and East Alder.
After you see what is in both Garfield and Palouse, stop by Kamiak Butte Park. This is where you can hike the Pine Ridge Trail for all kinds of interesting sights, with one beautiful view where you can see both Moscow and Pullman.
From there, head back to Pullman to see many of the sights in town.
Other Points of Interest on the Palouse Scenic Byway
The Day Trips will guide you to many visual points of interest within the Inland Northwest, and they are worth going out to see them.
Other things to see include:
Rock Lake: This is the largest natural lake in eastern Washington, with a year-round open fishing season for rainbow trout, brown trout, largemouth bass, and bluegill. You can access it on Day Trip No. 3 by taking Highway 23 west from Steptoe and turn north on Rock Lake Road.
Steptoe Battlefield Monument: On Day Trip No. 3, head to Rosalia, take East 9th Street to the battlefield, and follow the signs.
Old Milwaukee Bridge: On Day Trip No. 3, it is on Highway 195, south of Rosalia.
Manning Rye Covered Bridge: On Day Trip No. 1, take the Green Hollow Road off Highway 26 just outside Colfax. You can park at the grain elevator, and then take a short hike to the bridge.
Snake River: You are going to see a lot of this on Day Trip No. 2, but you can follow it and discover a lot of great sites along the way, like Wawawai Park.
Country Bible Church: On Day Trip No. 1, you can see this nearly 100-year-old building in the town of LaCrosse. You will need to go to Dusty and head south on Highway 127.
Hooper: Hooper is an unincorporated community and company town, and there is a store and a “haunted” hotel, located off of Highway 26 on Gray Road.
Tekoa Empire Theatre: If you follow Highway 27 in Tekoa, you can see a very old movie theatre built in 1940.