Entry No. 30 — the Spokane file — filed under: outdoor-weird

Steptoe Butte State Park

Steptoe Butte is a freak of deep time: a 400-million-year-old quartzite island poking up through the much younger basalt and silt of the Palouse, once the literal edge of the North American continent. A narrow road spirals all the way around the cone to a 3,612-foot summit with 200-mile views over the rolling wheat hills, with Mount Spokane visible 70 miles north on clear days. A grand hotel built by eccentric pioneer 'Cashup' Davis once crowned the top before burning down in 1911. Geologists even named the landform type 'steptoe' after it: an old rock outcrop surrounded by newer lava.

The move: Drive the spiraling summit road at golden hour and watch the low sun rake long shadows across the corduroy Palouse hills below.

📍 Before you go Discover Pass required. About an hour south of Spokane; summit road is narrow and steep.

• 📍 Colfax / Oakesdale
• 💸 Free
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Outdoors

Where: Steptoe Butte Rd, Colfax, WA 99111

Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4

last checked: 2026-06-24