Billy Chinook Falls

Access to the falls looks a lot more complicated on a map than it really is. From Highway 97 either in Terrebone or Metoulis, simply follow the signs pointing the way to The Cove Palisades State Park. Once the road to the park begins winding down hill, a campground will be passed and then the road will bend hard right next to a large pullout where the falls and sweeping vistas over Lake Billy Chinook can be observed. Total distance from Highway 97 (just south of Culver) is about 6 1/2 miles.There are two substantial waterfalls in The Cove Palisates State Park, this is the most easily accessed, but smaller of the two. The falls occur where a small unnamed drainage, mostly fed by irrigation runoff, plunges 160 feet off the lip of the Crooked River canyon towards Lake Billy Chinook below. The main road accessing the park passes near the top of the falls and again crosses below it, offering several vantages. The stream along which this waterfall occurs would naturally be an ephemeral watercourse but the extensive agricultural activity along its course has allowed it to essentially come to life when it would otherwise be dry. Expect the falls to be flowing at their best when irrigation activities are at their peak in the early to mid summer months.