Grand Coulee Dam

The mighty Grand Coulee Dam! Roll on Columbia, roll on... Please make the time to take the FREE guided tour. The tour is, as of 2023, the only way to access the road across the crest of the Dam or any part of the Dam for that matter. The tour takes about an hour and is well worth your time. Go to the Visitor Center to ask for tour times and directions to the tour location (first come, first served, so get to the tour location about 30 minutes early). The tour will drive you via air-conditioned busses to the Dam's irrigation pump house and take you about halfway across the Dam's crest roadway. A great place to see the Dam in all its glory is the Crown Point Vista "Park"... about four miles out of town on Hwy 174. Park is in quotes because there's nothing there but an overlook and a badly maintained gravel parking area, but it's the most breathtaking view available and worth the short drive. The laser show lasts about 32 minutes and is well produced. Projected directly onto the spillway of the Dam, the best place to view the show is either from the stands next to the Visitor Center parking lot or the park directly below. The roar of the water falling more than 500 feet down the spillway gives me goosebumps every time. We visited the Grand Coulee Dam almost every summer when we were kids. My grandfather was a worker on the Dam during its initial construction, so there was a family connection that we all felt growing up. Please don't hesitate to visit and appreciate the scale of one of man's greatest engineering achievements. A must see!!!

Stopped here in June 2023 to take a free tour of this magnificent man-made wonder while traveling from Mount Rainier to Glacier National Park. Very glad that I did. Got to see the inner workings of the dam, as well as the view from the dam itself. Was quite impressive. Way cooler than the Hoover Dam in my opinion (and far more powerful too). Would highly recommend that anyone near the area take an hour to view this beautiful wonder.

Amazing!
Worth the drive.
Visitor center has as much as you want to know, probably more. Views are great, interactive displays are designed for all ages. Definitely make sure to make sometime to be here. Remember to look up times of dam tours ( we missed one, and there was quite a wait until the next) and when the lazer shows are running. Lots to do. Amazing facts about the history of the dam and surrounding areas.

Great place. It was awesome to watch the light show and the only suggestion I have is to bring a little mosquito repellent.

The tour is very good with history and inside tour. First, go through a metal detector after 9-11 more security was enforced. Then everyone got inside a van. The host took us through town talking about historical buildings and other history of the town. Once on the Dam, the host told us about how many water Devers pipes went to 690,000 acres went to towns and farms. We went through a gate and walked inside. I think we went to the 9th floor where the turbines were. I took a photo of the green turbines. (Two not in use) Soon we got back in the van and drove across the top of the Dam. Half way back across the Dam we stopped and got out. I took photos on each side and a video on top of the Dam. Afterwards, we drove back to the pick up spot. The whole trip was a hour.

It's a beautiful place whether that be summer, winter, spring or fall. I highly recommend coming here when it's Independence Day! They put on quite the show! Officers are all around for protection. And they have like a little fair where you can walk up to stands where people sell gifts, food and drinks. It's a peaceful town and even more peaceful scenery. Check out the pictures!

Very interactive educational experience that the whole family will enjoy. Not only do you learn about the dam itself but you learn about Coulee City as well. I stopped at a few different locations in the city and was welcomed with a smile by friendly locals who helped me learn about their extraordinary city! Can't wait to go back again!

Unfortunately, we were detouring from our trip between Chelan and Osoyoos (yes, quite a detour but well worth it!) so didn’t have a chance to see the night display on the dam. However, travelling via Mansfield over the high plains was tremendous and seeing the Dam itself from the overlook viewpoint was fantastic. I have, of course, got to mention Lonnie Donegan for introducing me to The Grand Coulee Dam in his UK version of the Woody Guthrie song years ago!

I've visited other dams before, but never anything on this scale. And prior to our visit, I had no idea that this dam held back a lake with over 150 miles of shoreline. The biggest piece of confusion for me was coming to the realization that, at the dam, the Columbia River is flowing northward, which it apparently does in a few places as part of its journey mainly south and west. We didn't take the tour, but the visitor's center, the laser show, and multiple viewpoints to take in the dam led to a nice appreciation of how many early 20th century resources went into building this.

One of the largest hydroelectric dams in the world. Beautiful scenery, around this quiet little town, well worth visiting. We were lucky enough to be there while water was flowing over the spillway in the daytime.

While somewhat remote, this location is among the most beautiful places in the State of Washington. The mighty Columbia River Gorge is the natural source of amazing rock formations surrounding this massive, monumental power-plant. Incredibly large public works overshadow a quaint mid-century town, beautifully manicured. Enjoy expansive vistas all around the dam and a historical tour guided by the visitor center.

Took the tour, very interesting. It's hard to describe how massive this thing is. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to construct, especially back in the 40's.

Huge dam. The water was overflowing the spillover when we visited. The laser show at the night is pretty cool. Lots of picnic tables around the dam.

It was a great experience to see the power behind water, The laser light show was awesome, it was so amusing how they put some of the story into action.

It’s amazing that a small city has the largest hydropower producer in the United States. It would be nice if they would let people go on the bridge! It’s very beautiful though.

Must visit place in Coulee City. This dam is the largest power generating plant in the United States. Though when we visited only 2 of the 3 were operational. Also we couldn’t get to see the laser show because we went during COVID. The visitor center too was closed. But still it’s a beautiful drive that shouldn’t be missed.

Beautiful place surrounded by rugged hills. Set in the middle of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation area - the Grand Coulee dam is a sight to behold. The salmon ladders on the side allow for the salmon to swim upstream when it is time for them to spawn.

COVID update: the visitor center and all public restrooms are closed in the property. The short drive to the vista point is worth every minute. The pictures here are views from the Steamboat Rock State Park Crown Point.

Amazing engineering feat from over 100 years ago. Tour guide Josh was fantastic. Worth visiting this marvel of construction!

First class visitors center and tour. All free of charge. The waterfalls are especially beautiful due to snow melt and rainfall this year.

Beautiful part of Washington this area definitely has my heart & eastern washington is my birthplace. I love visiting eastern Washington it always has me feeling nostalgic.