Grand Coulee Dam from the air, with Lake Roosevelt behind it and Banks Lake in the background. Banks Lake, an irrigation reservoir, is filled with water pumped up from Lake Roosevelt that irrigates 670,000 acres of crops in the Columbia Basin Project.
The Bureau of Reclamation has temporarily closed public visitation to the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center in support of the recommended guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the bureau stated in a March 19 press release.
“The health and safety of the public and our employees is our number one priority,” the release said.
The Grand Coulee Dam will continue to operate as usual, but its visitor center will be closed to the public, and tours of the dam, which had been scheduled to start April 1, will be delayed until further notice.
“Water deliveries and powerplant operations will continue without interruption. Mission essential functions, such as security and law enforcement, will continue.”
It’s a little easier in the Coulee now to get a Discover Pass to park at Washington State Parks.
An automated pay station located at Northrup Point along SR-155, in the same area as Northrup Canyon and Steamboat Rock, accepts credit and debit cards to buy annual Discover Passes, day-use Discover Passes, as well as boat launch permits and more.
The pay station is located in the parking lot at Northrup Point near the boat launch there.
An annual Discover Pass cost $30 for the year; a day-use Discover Pass cost $10. A boat launch permit costs $7, and an unattended overnight vehicle parking fee is $10.
Denis Felton is the area manager for area state parks, including Steamboat Rock, Sunlakes, Dry Falls, and Potholes.
Felton said one of the main purposes for installing the pay station at Northrup Point is to simplify their work and reduce the use of cash in envelopes, used for boat launch and overnight parking fees, to appease the state auditor.
“The state auditor hates it when people collect lots of cash,” Felton said. “It’s an audit nightmare.”
Felton said the automated pay station, installed around late April 2019, has reduced the amount of self-pay envelopes by about half, although they’d like to reduce the envelopes by as much as possible.
Felton said that another automated pay station at Steamboat Rock State Park sometime “down the road” is possible, “but it’s not a priority right now.”
Discover Passes are available at the arrival booth at Steamboat Rock State Park when the booth is open.
A paystation has been where Felton’s office is located, at Sunlakes State Park, for four or five years now, he said.
An option to buy an annual Discover Pass is also included when renewing vehicle license tabs through the Washington State Department of Transportation, and they are also available at Coulee Playland.
The state Legislature passed the law to create the Discover Pass in 2011, in part for “recovering the cost incurred by the state for operations and management of recreation opportunities.”
There are 74 automated Discover Pass pay stations statewide. At the most recent purchase cost of $7,000 each, that’s the equivalent of 17,266 annual Discover Passes.
Fall is fast approaching, and rather than be plagued by the summertime blues, why not celebrate autumn with the upcoming Harvest Festival?
Life-size fun with human foosball.
There will be food and fun aplenty for adults and kids alike with helicopter rides, arts and crafts, games, barbecues, beers, live music.
The Harvest Festival, put on by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, will take place from Friday to Sunday, Sept. 20-22, at North Dam Park.
Helicopter rides will be available from Inland Helicopters from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, offering those who take the ride a scenic bird’s-eye view of the coulee’s unique landscape, a great opportunity to take photos for the photographer in all of us.
And when you need to calm down from the adrenaline rush of flying in a helicopter, the Harvest Festival beer garden will have a variety of ales that are good for what ails ya, and some live music to boot.
The beer garden will be open on Friday from 6-10 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The Hometown Hooligans, a rock ’n’ roll band hailing from Coulee City, will perform live music on Saturday night, from 8-11 p.m.
And bring your bib! A barbecue competition will take place on Saturday and Sunday, with samples available on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. when $10 will buy you four samples. Categories include ribs, brisket, pork, and chicken.
The competition is sanctioned by the Pacific Northwest BBQ Association and awards cash prizes totaling $6,500.
On Saturday from 10-3 kids can enjoy a number of free activities: finger painting, rock art, slime making, popsicle stick art, pumpkin decorating, water balloons, and a “magnificent bubble station.”
Also on Saturday, from 10 a.m .to 1 p.m., teams of six will compete in a lifesize human foosball tournament.
The Run The Dam race will offer 5k, 10k, and half-marathon lengths to run, starting at 9 a.m. Saturday.
And if motorcycles and poker are your thing, a motorcycle “poker run” will start on Saturday at 9 a.m. Riders will take a 210-mile journey around the coulee and surrounding areas, gathering cards to try to get the best hand of poker.
And as always, there will be vendor booths, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
More information on all of these activities, such as registration info for the bbq contest, information for vendors, and more, can be found on the chamber’s website at http://www.grandcouleedam.org or by calling 509-633-3074.
The Festival of America will feature live entertainment and fireworks off the top of Grand Coulee Dam on July 4th.
The entertainment, food and special craft vendors, and viewing of the Laser Light Show and fireworks are great from the park below the Visitor Center at the dam.
