Steptoe Butte is a pointed hill in a landscape that is otherwise all curves, and that is exactly why you can see so much from it. The Palouse is a region of south-eastern Washington where the earth rolls in endless, smooth, wheat-covered dunes, the product of wind-blown dust, called loess, piled up over many thousands of years. Steptoe rises abruptly out of this sea of soft hills, a steep cone of ancient quartzite that was once a mountaintop and was buried by the lava flows that covered the surrounding land, leaving only its summit exposed.
That odd history has given geologists a word, kipuka, borrowed from Hawaiian, for a hill left standing amid a younger lava flow. From the top, at a little over three thousand feet, you can look out over a patchwork of fields in greens, golds and browns, stretching away to the Blue Mountains, the Rockies of Idaho and the horizon beyond. The colours change by season: the fields are emerald in spring, gold in summer and bare earth by autumn. Photographers come at dawn and dusk to catch the low light on the rolling hills, which look like velvet, and the summit can be crowded then.
The butte is named after Colonel Edward Steptoe, whose troops were defeated by a force of Native warriors nearby in 1858, a battle that led to a larger war on the plateau. The summit is a state park now, with a narrow, winding road to the top, a small car park and a picnic area. The road is paved, but steep and tight, with little room to pass, and it is not suitable for large vehicles. It is a short, rewarding ride, with hairpin bends and gradually widening views. Gravel and wet leaves can make the corners slippery, and strong winds can blow at the top, especially in spring and autumn.
Weather is the main factor. Clear mornings give the best views, but the Palouse is dry and dusty in summer, and haze or smoke from wildfires can obscure the view, while winter brings ice and snow. There are no services on the butte. Colfax, about eighteen kilometres away, is the nearest small town, and Pullman, thirty-five kilometres south, has fuel, food and everything else, so fill the tank before you go.
Stay for the light, if you can. Sunset on the Palouse is unforgettable.