Moses Coulee Preserve and Dutch Henry Falls

Moses Coulee Preserve sits in a massive basalt canyon carved by Ice Age floods, managed by The Nature Conservancy to protect one of the largest intact shrub-steppe ecosystems in the Columbia Basin. The preserve holds Dutch Henry Falls, a seasonal waterfall that flows strongest in spring when snowmelt feeds it from the plateau above. The short trail to the falls takes about a quarter mile of walking.

Beyond the falls, the coulee opens into a wide canyon with 400-foot basalt walls, sagebrush flats, and bunchgrass meadows. Established trails are short and sometimes peter out, so much of the exploring happens on faint two-tracks and creek beds along the canyon floor. Spring brings waves of bitterroot, lupine, and balsamroot across the steppe. Doves, swallows, and bats inhabit the cliff faces.

This is a fragile landscape. Biological soil crusts cover the ground between plants and take decades to recover from a single footprint. Stay on established paths. No dogs, no fees, and very few other visitors. Carry all water needed; shade does not exist here.