About Perrine Coulee Falls
Perrine Coulee Falls was probably the surprise waterfall of the Twin Falls area for us.
It’s said to be nearly 200ft tall (most of which is in freefall).
Corroborating this height figure, when viewed from the bottom, we found it difficult to photograph the falls from close up without some form of a wide angle lens
Perrine Coulee Falls Developments and Flow
Since the weather was unseasonably hot during the two times we visited the falls in April 2013 and again in June 2021, we definitely appreciated feeling the waterfall’s spray due to its high flow.
However, contrasting our warm weather visits, we also came back in early April 2021 where we happened to see that there was still patches of snow and ice.
Meanwhile the waterfall had less flow as I suspected that Southern Idaho might have still been in the start of its Spring thaw.
Nevertheless, based on our limited sample size of visits, Perrine Coulee Falls actually seemed to have better flow in the Summer than in the Spring!
Whether this flow behavior was due to the timing of the Spring thaw or how Perrine Coulee Creek was managed differently than other neighboring waterfalls like Shoshone Falls and Twin Falls, or a combination of both remains to be seen.
Speaking of water management, Perrine Coulee Falls may have actually benefitted from its watercourse’s water management practices.
That’s due to how more irrigation water further upstream tended to be released into its coulee in the Summer.
As a result, this waterfall would have otherwise been seasonal as opposed to the only year-round waterfall in Twin Falls not on the Snake River (and even most of those on the Snake River like Shoshone Falls and Twin Falls can’t have that claim!).
Experiencing Perrine Coulee Falls
The were two main ways we experienced the Perrine Coulee Falls.
One way was from its base, where we got to go behind the free-falling waterfall and feel its refreshing spray.
The other way was from the Canyon Crest walking path, which yielded a gorgeous panoramic top down view that included the waterfall and the Snake River Canyon.
The following goes into each experience in more detail.
Experiencing Perrine Coulee Falls from the Bottom
I’d imagine that the base of Perrine Coulee Falls would be the most common way to experience the waterfall.
We were able to drive to a pullout around a hairpin turn very close to the waterfall (see directions below).
Once we got out of the car, we could hear the falls so we knew we were in the right place.
Indeed, we were able to see the Perrine Coulee Falls from the barricades.
However, we found some informal scrambling paths hugging the canyon wall that allowed us to get onto an informal foot trail that led directly behind the falls itself.
It was from here that we could look out from behind the falls and into the Blue Lakes Country Club at the base of the Snake River Canyon.
The scrambling path continued onto the other side of the falls where we managed to get a different angled view of the Perrine Coulee Falls (once we got beyond the misty and slippery parts of the rocky scramble).
This perspective especially was helpful in the late afternoon that we visited because we were looking directly against the sun when we tried to see it from the hairpin turn.
For all intents and purposes, this waterfall was pretty much a roadside waterfall, but with the additional scrambling we did to see the falls from other spots, we ended up spending about 35 minutes here.
Experiencing Perrine Coulee Falls from the Top
When we were at the base of Perrine Coulee Falls, I couldn’t help but notice there were a couple of overlooks perched right at the canyon rim overlooking this cove.
It turned out that those viewpoints were indeed accessible, but only from the rim of the canyon, which had a separate parking lot mostly for Canyon Crest businesses (see directions below).
This was where we started the walk, which was on a paved walkway that I think might be called the Canyon Crest Walkway.
Facing the canyon, we headed to our right on the paved walkway and followed it for about 10 minutes or so until we reached the first of two overlooks of the Perrine Coulee Falls.
Since we happened to walk behind a handful of businesses, it seemed like we didn’t park at the closest spot to minimize the walking to the overlooks.
Nonetheless, we parked the car here because we had eaten at the popular Elevation 486 Restaurant beforehand so we were at least familiar with the area.
From the first overlook (which I believe was directly behind the Canyon Crest Dining and Events Center or something like that), we got regal views of the entirety of Perrine Coulee Falls as well as the Perrine Bridge further upstream along the Snake River.
We were also able to see the context of Canyon Springs Drive and the hairpin turn in between the bridge and the falls (i.e. the place we reached the bottom of the Perrine Coulee Falls).
Looking down the Snake River Canyon from this overlook, we were also able to better appreciate the depth of the canyon itself as well as the entirety of the Blue Lakes Country Club at the base of the canyon.
We continued along the Canyon Crest Walkway, which went over a bridge spanning Perrine Coulee Creek, and then we swung around to the second overlook.
From that second overlook, we were only able to get a partial view of the Perrine Coulee Falls.
However, we could better appreciate the verticality of this vantage point as the canyon walls here were nearly completely vertical.
A bonus of this second viewpoint was that I could also see a hidden upper waterfall on Perrine Coulee Creek that ultimately would feed the main drop of the nearly 200ft main drop further downstream.
Given the proximity of businesses and residences to the Canyon Crest Walkway, Julie and I shared this path with a lot of friendly locals who were either jogging, biking, or strolling about.
Many of the pedestrians we encountered were pushing strollers and/or walking their dogs.
Given that experiencing Perrine Coulee Falls from the canyon rim was essentially like a suburban waterfall, we took advantage of its position by going for an after-dinner walk or even making a walking loop of about 1.5 miles from our accommodation.
Authorities
Perrine Coulee Falls resides in Twin Falls in Twin Falls County, Idaho. It is administered by the City of Twin Falls. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.
In order to drive to the Perrine Coulee Falls, we first had to get to the town of Twin Falls.
We got there by taking the I-84 east from Boise for nearly 2 hours, then we took the Twin Falls exit onto Hwy 93.
After a few miles driving south on Hwy 93, we crossed over the Perrine Bridge and entered the bustling town of Twin Falls.
Driving from the Perrine Bridge to the Perrine Coulee Falls Bottom
A short distance south of the Perrine Bridge entering Twin Falls, we turned right onto Canyon Springs Rd.
I recalled this right turn was before the main traffic light for Poleline Rd.
We then followed Canyon Springs Rd as it went past a few residential homes and descended into the Snake River Canyon.
Right before the first hairpin turn (fringed by barricades), there were some informal pullout spaces that we used to park the car.
Driving from the Perrine Bridge to the Perrine Coulee Falls Top Access
Backtracking from Canyon Springs Rd back to the main road just south of the Perrine Bridge, we then continued to head south to the intersection of the Blue Lakes Rd and Poleline Rd.
This was a major intersection with a traffic light just south of the Perrine Bridge across the Snake River Canyon.
We then headed west on Poleline Dr for about a mile to Washington Street North.
Turning right onto Washington St N, we took this road for about a quarter-mile to Canyon Crest Dr on the right.
Then, we turned left into the arched roadway for Pinnacle Pl, where there’s a large parking lot for the local businesses of Pinnacle Place (including the Elevation 486 restaurant).
This parking lot was where we started the walk along the Canyon Crest Rim towards the top of Perrine Coulee Falls.
Finally, for some additional context, the town of Twin Falls was 128 miles (2 hours drive) east of Boise, 159 miles (2.5-3.5 hours drive) west of Idaho Falls, 218 miles (over 3 hours drive) northwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, and 251 miles (under 4 hours drive) north of Ely, Nevada.
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Left to right sweep of the Snake River Canyon before ending at the Perrine Coulee Falls in Summer 2021 flow late in the afternoon
Back and forth sweep from the second overlook down at Perrine Coulee Falls and the Snake River Canyon as seen in mid June 2021
Nearly 360 degree sweep from the familiar elevated spot leading down behind the falls itself with some bantar in the background. This was shot in mid-June 2021
Long video showing the entire behind-the-waterfall experience while making multiple columnar sweeps along the way
Left to right sweep of the Snake River Canyon before focusing more on the Perrine Coulee Falls from the overlook along the Centennial Trail
Video starting with the upper drops of the Perrine Coulee Falls before going back and forth across the Snake River Canyon from the 2nd falls overlook along the Centennial Trail
Long video showing the entire experience of going behind the Perrine Coulee Falls
360 degree sweep showing the Snake River Canyon and the alcove containing the Perrine Coulee Falls from the far side of the alcove itself
Deliberate top down L-shaped sweep of the falls in the afternoon with some folks already behind the waterfall.
Slow right to left top down S-shaped sweep from the opposite side of the falls
Inverted U-shaped sweep from behind the falls
nearly 360 degree deliberate sweep starting with the hairpin road, then briefly zooming into the bridge leading to Twin Falls, then panning over to the Snake River Gorge before finally panning on Perrine Coulee Falls
Slow and deliberate left to right sweep from the first overlook before ending at Perrine Coulee Falls with a panning along its flow, then zooming out to show the falls and the arched bridge together
Right to left sweep from the second overlook starting with the bridge leading to Twin Falls, then panning across the gorge towards Perrine Coulee Falls. The movie ends with a slow zoomed in bottom up sweep of the falls, including its hidden upper cascades.
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