One fall not to drive past: 249 feet of water dropping clean off a sheer wall of black basalt. What sets Latourell apart is that it plunges free of the cliff and never once touches rock on the way down, so visitors can walk right up and stand at its foot. The wall behind the water is the show, long vertical columns of five and six sides each, basalt that cooled slow and cracked into pillars, the very same stone that built Ireland's Giant's Causeway, splashed with vivid, almost electric yellow-green lichen. A turnoff on the cliff side leads straight to the lot. A dramatic free-falling plunge with geology you can study up close, steps from the parking area.
There she is — Latourell, two hundred and forty-nine feet of water dropping clean off a sheer wall of black basalt. Here's what sets this one apart from everything else on the road: it plunges out free of the cliff and falls the whole way without ever once touching the rock, so you can walk right up and stand at the foot of it. Look at the wall behind the water. Those long vertical columns — five and six sides apiece — are basalt that cooled slow and cracked into pillars, the very same stone that built the Giant's Causeway over in Ireland. And they're splashed with a vivid, almost electric yellow-green you won't quite believe until you're standing under it. Now, if you only get out of the car for one fall on this whole road, friend, make it this one. The lot's right off the highway, easy in and easy out, and a short paved path drops you to the base in just a few minutes. So pull in, get out, and walk down — I'll meet you at the bottom, where the spray drifts off the falls and lands cool on your face.
