Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park

Weekend well spent out at Dry Falls–Sun Lakes State Park! We camped under those big basalt cliffs, hiked the loop around Umatilla Rock, and soaked in the otherworldly views that make this place a treasure of Washington’s past and present. The interpretive ranger did an excellent job bringing the Ice Age floods to life—hard to believe all that water once carved this whole landscape! Campground was easy to get to, clean, and well cared for—bathrooms included (always a win). If you haven’t been out there lately, it’s worth the trip. Big skies, good trails, and a bit of geological wonder never hurt the soul.

Gorgeous lakes. Deep lake was fairly clear even after this hot summer, and was an incredible paddle from one end to the other. Some waterfowl including a bald eagle, quail, some form of red headed duck. The water was clear enough you could see the shelf where the water drops off into the inky darkness below. Several small fish jumping, and spotted a catfish in the shallows. Paddle from one end to the other (of Deep Lake) is about 1.5 hours for a strong paddler at a leisurely pace. Boat ramp was very slippery, so I ended up entering from the sandy spot rather than falling on my... into the water.

Great inexpensive way to visit this area. (**Deep Lake has a trail to cliff jumping!) Paddle boat, canoe and boat rentals are reasonably priced. Weekends during the summer need reservations in advance. Mid-week is usually available anytime. Picnic sites on the lake fill up quickly. Arrive early (before 9:30am) for a good choice. Can be over 100° at times during July and August.

It is very beautiful and amazing geology! Nice hiking, swimming fishing, camping and hot showers. There is also fly fishing lessons and boating. Visitor center is only open 3 days a week but hopefully more days soon. It has detailed exhibit explaining the remarkable geology of the breathtaking view. There is also a concession with reportedly the best huckleberry ice cream in Washington and I can vouch for that!

Great park. Decently maintained. Amazing staff & rangers. Upper rv loops can get pretty windy .. can wreck your tent/sunshade/awning if left out. Beautiful scenery. Cell service is spotty at best.

We were there mid October. Weather was perfect. Lovely park, well maintained. Sites are gravel and level.

I love going here. It's been a few years. Google maps takes you to the bottom of the falls. You can drive all the way to the end. You want to be aware low, clearance cars CANNOT make this trip. Some of the road is paved, but most is off- road, dirt road with many large rocks that need to be straddled or navigated around. The visitor center is above off the main road instead of turning to go down into the canyon with the lakes.

Great stop during your road trip, the visitor center is well staffed with friendly people, the bathrooms are clean. The view is amazing.

Great site to visit! Highly recommend. You'll be blown away. The size of the original waterfall must have been so amazing in its day!

When we first heard about this park, it was hard to picture what would be attractive about a waterfall without any water. But once you get to see this living geology lesson in person, it's easy to consider this a must-see if you're in the area. The visitor center has great informative panels, 3D representations of what you're looking at, and friendly, helpful staff.

Amazing geology, beautiful scenery, but badly worn trails. If you come here to hike, be ready to improvise. Some of the map hiking trails, especially on the west side of the Butte, are badly overgrown. Others don't seem to exist at all.

Sun Lake-Dry Falls SP was once the largest waterfall in Eastern Washington from the last Ice Age. Now, all you see of the dry waterfall is a huge hole in the ground like Grand Canyon w/ water on the bottom. Those waters are lakes and there are roads down below that you can drive on. The visitor center is really neat too. It looks like it's suspended up in the air by concrete slabs. You enter from the back. FREE to look around & drive down to the bottom. Go up the road & turn left. We saw Deep Lk, Dry Falls Lk, Park Lk, & Perch Lk. Pretty cool. Hope you can visit one day.

This place is amazing year round. Summer is a great place to share with children. Winter it looks amazing looking down at frozen lake & snow on hills.

Great at the concession stand next to the visitor center. So yummy great home made burger patty on a ciabatta bun

Ever wondered what Niagara Falls would look like without water spilling over it? Well, probably not but if you want to see a cool freak of nature and an awesome place to take a picture or two, Dry Falls canyon is one of the places to stop on your tour of Washington. If you also have a bent for some good camping, Sun Lakes State Park is right next door. The visitor's center and viewpoint is high up from Dry Falls lake and there is a catwalk that goes out around 25 ft over the cliff for your photos. You can also snap pictures from inside the visitor's center.

Stunning! Fantastic view from the visitors center (which was closed). There is a food truck there that has the most amazing food ever! Then 5steps away is an ice cream stand, that has huckleberry ice cream. Mmmm Wonderful food amazing view, doesn't get much better.

This is Washington's little Grand Canyon, it's beautiful. The visitor center is currently closed but it was worth stopping by to see the magnificent view. I would recommend closely watching your kids though, as there aren't any real Barriers to keep someone from running off the cliff!

Was once the world's largest waterfall previous the ice age flooding which carved out what we see now as "dry falls". So beautiful and well worththe stop

Unbelievable! This is like a mini grand canyon. Imagine a waterfall that was once 30 times larger than Niagara falls. The visitor center was fascinating and uniquely displayed the history of the falls. This place is truly a gem among Washington's tourist attractions!

Ghetto camping! Drove in and left. Campsites are so close together that you may as wel be in a sardine can. Noisey, stinky and disgusting.