Very cool stop on our road trip. I didn't realize how massive it was! The visitor center was very interesting with many displays and interactive things for kids to do. Apparently the have light displays over the water- that must be awesome to watch. Down below there's a huge expanse of green for picnicking and light show watching. Lots of parking but I can imagine it can get tough when the light show is held. read more

First of all this was an epic adventure. Roads have twisties to get there. If you have sport mode use it. We showed up and it was very smoky from the fires. However it cleared up when we came back outside. Go watch the short 14 min video about the dam. It was dated but very informative. read more

Grand Coulee Dam - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me

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While visiting Chelan, we took decided to experience the Grand Coulee Dam. The Grand Coulee Dam is massive, powerful and impressive. There are pull-outs several pull-outs in the area which offer different views. The information center offers free parking and free admittance. All exhibits have interesting history background attached. A handful of free educational movies can be viewed in the theatre upon request. Restrooms are easily accessible. Picnic tables can be found outside as well to enjoy lunch/snacks while in awe of the surroundings. Staff was friendly and proud of their work environment. Overall, if you enjoy history and are in the area, Grand Coulee Dam is a must stop. The entire area is well-kept, clean and bursting with history. read more

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it isn't just large but BIG! not sure that grand quite conveys the immensity of it but there may be some regional lexical morphology at play since in my experience 'coulee' refers to a drainage ditch, not a gorge... but yeah, it's the biggest hydroelectric installation in these United American States and pretty fancy as far as dams go with several choices of viewing areas above and below the dam on the route to the nicely appointed visitor's center. plenty to see and do inside with hands on activities and gobs of information about the hows, whys, and wherefores thereof. blah blah blah numbers: 12-million cubic yards of concrete, 1741 yards long, 550 feet tall, 150 miles of lake behind it... the dam produces about 7-gigawatts of power (enough for 2,000,000 households annually or about 5 day trips in Doc Brown's DeLorean) read more

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This is one of the largest hydro-dams in the world. They have a visitor center and also a nice panoramic viewing spot (Crowne Point). Regular tours are first come first serve and is around 1 hour long (started at 1:30 PM on the Friday I visited). Go on the 4.5 hour VIP tour if possible (note that for the VIP tour, advanced registration and US security clearance is required). For the VIP technical tour I went on, we went and looked at every nook and cranny, including tunnels in the dam, the turbines, the generators, the penstocks, and also the spillways. The tour guide was great and the tour was immensely educational. Note that the dam's visitor's center is located about 30 miles from Coulee City, but the drive is rather scenic. read more

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The visitor center includes a film that gives a thorough history of the dam. The center has a nice picnic area, and the evening laser show is a must see. Prior to the show, the spillway gates are lowered one at a time and the resulting water flow is quite impressive. It takes one back to a time when the U.S. was capable of completing large civil projects and building a great society, something that would seem impossible in todays political climate where fighting and elections take precedence over people and progress. Unfortunately the dam tours are on hold due to Covid. Still, this dam and the story and laser show make this a must see in Washington state. read more

Grand Coulee Dam - The Dam - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me

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You used to be able to go on a very interesting and informative tour that took you inside the dam to look at the power turbines. No longer, it's now a 20 minute bus ride that shows you very little, with a tour guide who spent more time talking about inane personal matters than anything to do with the dam. Very very disappointing and will not be back or recommending to anyone ever. read more

Current hours at Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center: 9am - 5pm 7 days a week. Current Public Tours: 10am, 12 noon, 2pm and 3:30pm Laser light show each night in August at 9:30pm... September at 8:30pm Best place to view the Laser Light Show: Visitor Center Parking Lot read more

Grand Coulee Dam - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me

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. read more

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The tour focuses on a the building holding the pumps supplying water for Banks Lake, and not the massive turbines generating power. We did, however, have the opportunity to stand on the dam, which was nice. The BLM needs to teach their tour guides how to speak. How difficult is it to learn not end every sentence with um. Not a one of my my Vietnamese friends, refugees from the war who were introduced to English in refugee camps, has the issue. read more

This is an old dam from an era of civil projects that did great work for the country and the local community. The river and reservoir are really nice and the visitor center is good too. read more

Grand Coulee Dam - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me

Massive, impressive. It's a long drive through beautiful scenery to get there. The tour gives you a sense of the scale, history, and the importance of the project, but sadly does not include the generators themselves, only the pumping station. You have to request a (group) hardhat tour, in advance, to see them. But seeing the pumping station alone is impressive, which can pump a billion gallons a day. Yes, that's billion with a B. Which only uses 10% of the dam's output capacity to pump that much water up 280 feet to the irrigation reservoir lake. The visitors' center is good with artifacts and dioramas that give the human side of the dam, its construction, and its impact, and a little science as well. read more

The dam is exquisite. Colossal and quite a feat of engineering. This rating is for the tour. First, you drive to a diminutive shoddy shack on the east end of the dam where you sit and wait while an overhead air conditioner clatters away like an idling diesel bus. You wait until they demand you place all your belongings in bins. You are hustled to gather your things as you are herded through one security scanner by personnel with a collective personality of a stale cracker, of which they've had far too many. You then are packed like sardines into short buses where a guide eventually barks that everyone must tightly fasten their seatbelts. Right. Cheeky Dam Factoids are regurgitated by the guide as the bus creeps at 20mph to the other side of the dam, using surface streets through town. This is where the guide begins to annoyingly remind you that you can't see much of the dam any more due to 9/11. Fun! I can't actually spend any time exploring the dam. What a waste of time! You reach the other side of the dam and are dumped off the short bus. They tell you about the inner workings of the dam. This gets your hopes up until they pack you like sardines into a freight elevator. The elevator door creaks open to reveal the vast turbine area which could be interesting but no one can actually see any of it due to the laughably miniaturized viewing area behind fogged glass. After 2 minutes they order you back into the freight elevator. Everyone barely squeezes in. A claustrophobic's delight! The short buses await and you're ordered back on, and must fasten your seatbelt to go a blistering 5mph across the dam. Hilarious. They turn around at the end and then tell you to disembark once they reach the middle of the dam. You have exactly 2 minutes to take pictures atop one of the greatest engineering sites in North America. Then the bus driver begins honking at you to get on. You are again reminded that things just aren't like they were before 9/11 as the short bus takes you back to the other side. No sh*t. Cliffs notes: the drive to Grand Coulee is incredible. Once onsite, just stand back and enjoy the dam. It's amazing. The tour is so horrible it's hilarious, and must be avoided. read more

Well worth the trip. The visitors center is nice and very informative. The dam tour is just awesome! The 2nd largest dam in the world has a lot going on. The tour took us into the dam with two very knowledgeable guides and gave us plenty of photo opportunities. The tour ended with approximately 20 minutes of photos on the top of the dam. I really would like to see the nighttime laser show, so we will definitely be returning. Well worth the trip and an opportunity to learn about an epic piece of infrastructure that is so vital to our country. read more

Well, given the privileges we had visiting Grand Coulee inside out it was a very knowledgeable trip .. Getting a chance to visit all those turbines, walking the green corridors, being able to go to the decks to feel the mist so up close and many others. The grandeur of the dam can not be imagined by just looking at it from a distance .. the idea could only be given a statistical scale by being up close and we were. visited all the 3 turbines .. saw them working .. smelled the grease in the corridors .. heard the machinery grinding .. felt that tingling sensation out of an unknown fear when our guide told us that we are far below the water and sometimes water seeps from the concrete, which btw is perfectly alright. All in all, a lovely trip and yes just to share it started with great food .. and ended with as well. (my review on Lapresa Mexican & Pepper jack Bar & Grill) PS - Would like to tip my hat to our guide, he was too enthusiastic to be true and made those 4 hours feel like a jiffy. read more

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I'm the 2nd person on Yelp to review it, that's cool. The Grand Coulee Dam is out in the middle of nowhere in Central Washington state and bigger than Hoover Dam!! That's cool. From their website: "The Grand Coulee Dam, located on the Columbia river in central Washington, is the largest concrete structure in the United States. It forms the centerpiece of the Columbia Basin Project, a multipurpose endeavor managed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. In addition to producing up to 6.5 million kilowatts of power, the dam irrigates over half a million acres of Columbia river basin farm land and provides abundant wildlife and recreation areas." Tours are hourly from 9-5 daily. We got to the visitor center about 10:15am and the guy said the next tour was 12noon. We ate our lunch that we brought and then drove over to where they start the tour. They limit the amount of people because of security & small parking lot. Have to go through security like at the airport. Don't bring anything metal, just leave everything in your car except your car keys. No camera bags, but camera ok. Don't need your ID. I brought my water bottle, but didn't need it for the 1hr tour. After going through security have to ride in a van, there were 2 vans when we went. Got out and the guy talked about the Dam, showed us the 3rd Power House, then down the elevator, looked around at some machine. After that we got back in the van & they took us to the top of the dam. Took some photos. That's the end of the tour. Got back to our cars. Visitor center has lots of good information & several films to watch. The hr long is way boring, shorter ones are better. We stayed for the Festival of America where they were selling food, craft stuff, & had some live music. In the evening at 10pm they had a laser show about the Dam which was just ok. Website: http://www.grandcouleedam.com/aboutlls.html read more

Definitely a must do if you are in the area! The Dam is impressive, to say the least. Go to the Visitor's Center and take a look around - the exhibits there are really informative and interactive so it's actually fun. You also absolutely have to do the tour! An experienced guide takes you through the compound, to the powerplant, and on top of the Dam itself! The tour is by van so you get to cover a lot of ground. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable, answered all of our questions, and had a sense of humor. Anyone would enjoy a visit to the Grand Coulee Dam - the Dam that tamed the west! read more

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IT IS THE BIGGEST POWER PLANT IN THE USA! That's worth 5 stars right there. Seriously, it is worth going out of your way to visit like the Empire State Bldg, Fenway Park, Golden Gate Bridge, Washington Monument, etc. It has a museum that makes boring things like hydropower and dam-building interesting, there are bald eagles feasting on the fish at the bottom of the spillway almost all year round, a laser-light show at night for people who like laser-light shows, and it is relatively in the middle of nowhere so you have to take a fun road-trip to get there. They have tours that take you across the top of the dam, but it is just as impressive from across town as it is from on top. The Grand Coulee Dam is just huge and historic. If you really don't like dams, you can still enjoy a visit to the Grand Coulee Dam because nearby attractions include Banks Lake (filling up the upper Grand Coulee), Roosevelt Lake (the lake behind the Grand Coulee Dam), Colville Indian reservation (Chief Joseph's grave isn't too far away in Nespelem) and the Columbia River (which flows downstream from the dam for a while before it is impounded by Chief Joseph dam, which is not worth visiting). read more

Oh the Grand Coulee Dam! I visited this place - it's a dam fine dam. I had a dam great time here. It's a dam shame to leave it. They have a dam fine visitor center here. Ever wonder what that dam Woody Guthrie song was about? This is it - the Grand Coulee Dam. ~ It's a dam. Big whoop. Inside the visitor center you'll learn all about how it works, why it was important to the area, etc. But seriously - it's a dam. It's about as exciting as visiting a brick wall, only you can't climb on top of it. read more

Grand Coulee Dam - A dam fine dam. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me

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Drove all the way here and they won't let you in the visitor center without wearing a mask. So we had to leave. We vacationed all over the place in Washington state for two full weeks no where did they make us wear a mask except here, not even in national parks. Sorry, but this is AMERICA, not Nazi Germany. If you don't like wearing masks don't bother driving out to there, the guy who runs the front desk there is still stuck in the Covid power trip charade. read more

This year they changed the lazer show. So we went and were not impressed. About 4 years ago was the last time we saw it. Then they would release water to come down the walls which made the show really neat to see. Not this time, and a lot of the show was hard to see with the dark walls. The water actually made a white background and the lazer light reflected off it beautifully. She show change was not better in my mind. It was still good but maybe it was just the lack of presentation with the water. Bring back the water coming over that Dam walls to make it better. read more

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I'm from the Seattle area and we decided to take a detour on our way home from Spokane. It was roughly a two hour drive. Unfortunately after two hours we spent about 5 minutes there. There is not much to do in regards to tourist visiting the dam. I gave it three stars because it is a sight to see. We went during the day so I'm unsure of the quality of the laser show. read more

Grand Coulee Dam - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me

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This morning my family and I made the 1 hour, 45 minute trek from Spokane Valley to see the Grand Coulee Dam and take the 10am tour. We got there early and were surprised that we were the only ones there. Our tour guide, Ralph, was great. Greeted us as soon as we arrived and noticed we had a toddler. We were initially concerned seeing that the tour involved getting in a van but Ralph said not to worry because they had spare car seats. The tour itself lasted about an hour, and be prepared for plenty of "dam" jokes. Understandably there are some fairly strict restrictions of what you can take on the tour, so just read up on the rules and be prepared. If you're in the area I'd highly recommend it. Get there 30 minutes early and enjoy the tour. read more

Recently I was able to revel in the joy of hearing those three little words that every girl spends her childhood dreaming about: Laser Light Show. Holy $#@!! How can anyone give this place less than 5 stars when they have a frickin' 45-minute laser show every night of the week? I won't even give you the details. It's like trying to describe to someone what it's like to ride a unicorn over a rainbow. You absolutely have to experience it for yourself. Anyway, the tour they give during the day is pretty cool (not to mention free!), too. Even though the tour guides appear to be teenagers, they're surprisingly knowledgeable and could answer even the most technical questions from The Boy. And if you're like me and all that stuff goes over your head, you can make up a little story in your head, like you're in the middle of an episode of 24, working with Jack Bauer to save the dam from terrorists. "The following takes place between 11 am, and 12 pm..." read more

I drove out to the Grand Coulee Dam while on vacation last month. It was about an hour drive from Wenatchee, where we were staying. We were headed out specifically to check out the light show, so we left in the late afternoon and took the scenic drive on highway 28 (making the 1 hr drive a 2 hr drive) stopping at Soap Lake, Lake Lenore Caves, and Dry Falls State Park. The drive in and of itself was worth the trip- awesome! Beautiful canyons, rivers, and wildlife. The caves and dry falls were amazing. There is a nice park in Soap Lake, and a cool windmill park in Grand Coulee Dam City. The dam itself was cool for dam, and the lightshow was neat for the first 10 minutes- after that it was just okay. The idea is that the show tells the story of the dam with pictures in laser lights as well as a narrated story blasted from speakers at strategic locations. It was a fun outing, but in the end the light show was anti-climactic. So, the dam and the lightshow were both fine, but not as impressive as what is already there- in short, nature. read more

Went to see the light show, and visit the visitors center. The center was fun and interactive. The movies were good and informative. The laser light show was fascinating, but the acoustics were horrible. I know it was outside, and I also know it was reflecting off of the face of the dam, but that doesn't change the fact that I only understood about every 5th word of the narrative. read more

This one was a little disappointing. We just stopped for one night, to check out the laser show and tour the dam. The dam is massive, and the light show was entertaining although the technology is a little outdated. The upside is it all of it was free, as they don't charge for anything. The dam is much larger than Hoover, but the information provided to guests is not nearly as good, nor is the tour. read more

We received a modified tour of the dam due to maintenance work, so we didn't get to go on top. The guide was a bit obnoxious yet very knowledgeable. It was fun to see the generators/turbines under the structure. The visitor center was great. We watched a couple of movies on the history of the area and the dam. Before the light show, the sluice gates opened and water spilled out over the dam - unbeatably awesome! The light show was OK, it started out with a weird cartoon before going into the native American history of the land. I'm glad I saw it once, but won't be in a hurry to go back. read more

I had been going to the Grand Coulee Dam for the laser light show nearly every year for the last 20 years. We hadn't gone in 2-3 years and wow, we were so disappointed to see the new laser show this past week. It is flat AWFUL. What a waste of a vacation evening. The old show was fun, entertaining and educational. As a kid growing up, the old show helped me to understand the power of the river and the amazing history of the dam and its impact on the U.S. when it was built. The new show is boring, not dynamic and feels more like a bad classroom video than anything. The old show mixed in music and a great laser show while telling a story. Now there is just story, and it's told in a way that is way more confusing. It's a shame because I was looking forward to sharing this long tradition with my own kids, and we all walked away (a group ranging from 5yo to 63yo) disappointed. I feel bad for the town that will no longer receive my tourism dollars (and based on other reviews, won't be receiving a lot of other visitors) because of the terrible laser show from here on out. read more

We went to Coulee Dam over the 4th of July to experience the Laser Light show and fireworks again. We have seen the old Laser Light show and it was something you would want to see over and over through out the years, so when they said they had a new show we were expecting something really terrific. We were very disappointed the show had no zip to it and it was so much like a commercial instead of a show. It was so much better when the Mighty Columbia River talked to you. I don't think we will be back. BV read more

Great area to experience, native american culture, history about the dam and recreational activities. Local attractions and events are: colorama parade, the 4th of July Powwow in Nespelem, the 4th of July fire works and laser light shows on the dam. And the sunflower festival. Check it out during the summer, great swimming, boating, casino, restaurants and plenty of lodging and camping sites. There is golfing, hiking, seasonal fishing and hunting. For vendor information, contact the colville tribes switch board: 5096342200 read more

We came to the visitors center at 5:10 p.m. so we just missed the last tour which left at 5 p.m. The visitors center was really interesting and the staff were helpful. We came back for the light show "One River, Many Voices" that started at 10 p.m. The show was fun and interesting, but we could barely hear the narration over the sound of the water coming over the 11 spillways. It was still a great experience and we both were glad we saw the show. read more

I've been going to the Dam since I was a kid, I am now 30. Do the math. This year is the first year in my life I can say to NOT see the show. They took out everything that made it spine-tinglingly epic. The Morgan Freeman style voice from the personality of the river, the Chariots of Fire scene that sent chills down my spine. They had those two things right up till a few years ago. This show I wouldn't recommend to adults at all. The voice of the beaver made me cringe and it was too cartoony throughout. The kids might enjoy the pre show, but that's about it. The only good thing about the show when I went just the other day was they let the water down. That is always awesome. You know it's a sign when the park and surrounding viewing areas aren't packed to the brim with people like how it used to be. The concession stands for the holiday that used to be open till the start of the show were even closed. Such a bitter disappointment and I never thought the day would come that I'd leave a bad review for a place that used to be family tradition for us every year. read more

Certainly grand. Probably not worth driving just to see the dam. But if you are in the area it's worth stopping to see. And the Laser show at night was pretty cool. read more

There are free tours of the inside of the dam, a visitor center, a park facing the spillway and free laser light shows in the summer. I suggest getting food early in town, everything closes early - the mexican restaurant is my favorite. read more

We only visited the visitor center. My family watched the video and were suitably impressed. The story of the dam and it's creation are pretty impressive, inspirational even. The dam has a laser light show (June-end of September), one of the employees said people like to bring a picnice dinner. The show is narrated, which you can hear from speakers situated closer to the dam. Lake Rosevelt is quite a nice vista, too. read more

Went to the show every year for 13 years or so. I moved to Arizona in 2012 and recently found out about the changes. Saw the video on youtube. While it needed some updating, the new show is boring. They could have spliced the awesome stories into the old version and used the new system to spruce up or reimigine the original graphics. I am extremely disappointed and will not be visiting to watch it any time soon. I had planned a vacation to take my girlfriend to see it, but that's not going to happen. I think she would be more impressed with the Goonies house in Astoria. read more

We had such a great time here! We went on the tour and our tour guide - Bill - was outSTANDing!! So much information and what an eye opener as to what we can accomplish as a nation if we put the manpower and resources to work. That dam and what it does for this part of the country is extraordinary. And they built it on time and under budget in the 1930's - 1940's. Incredible! Thanks Bill for your wealth of knowledge!! read more

Dam Disappointing. The Bureau of Reclamation really needs to up their dam game. The dam itself is impressive but the tour and the visitor's center are not. The tour which starts on the side opposite the visitor center consists of passing through a security check to rival TSA (understandable), getting on a bus to be driven to the other side of the dam. Then a quick trip down an elevator to the right side powerhouse. You get to take a few photos from a glass cage. Then back up the elevator, back into the buses. Then drive to the other end (the starting side) across the top, turn around and come about halfway back. Get out, take a few photos, then back into the buses for the drive back to the starting point via the roads. WTF!? Why not have the buses pick you up at the visitor's center? Security is handled in a single wide portable. They could save about half the fuel burned on each trip this way. As for the Visitor's Center, the building itself is mildly interesting, but the exhibits are not. Upstairs is the one interesting thing, the mini-documentary about the construction of the dam. The rest of the exhibits are "meh" at best. And there's no gift shop! If you must go see it, skip the tour, go watch the mini-documentary, take a few photos from the parking lot and move on. They need to look at what they do at Hoover Dam. Now that's a Dam Tour! read more

A more amusing tourist destination than I imagined: my co-conspirator wanted to stop here on the way back from camping in Eastern Washington and I agreed only because I did not see why not. Catching the tour (on the hour, show up 15 minutes prior, check with the info center for more info) was a bit difficult as it filled up fast around lunch time, but pretty neat, especially as it turns out this dam puts out more power than that famed Hoover Dam over near the Grand Canyon, and it plays a part of American history. The short film we caught (can't recall which...maybe geological) at the info center was a little lopsided on the industrial empire-building side after briefly mentioning native Americans with no resolution, but all in all it was pretty cool. The drive south from here to I-90 was definitely made more fascinating after the lesson on geological formations from the ice age. The young tour guides were also very knowledgeable. P.S. I hear there is a light show on the dam every night. Probably especially spectacular around 4th of July. P.P.S. This may have been an activity I would've found very boring as a teenager vacationing with family. Just sayin'...if you were thinking of it.. read more