Category Archives: To Dos

Things to do in the Coulee area

Here’s your visitor guide

A boat on Banks Lake is tiny against the massive wall of the Upper Grand Coulee.

Here’s our 2023-24 Visitors’ Guide, the print version in online form. Use this to keep it “in your pocket” for quick reference

OR

Pick up the actual print version just about anywhere in town, at the Visitor Center at Grand Coulee Dam or at several visitor centers around the state.

Grand Coulee Dam laser light show and public tours begin Memorial Day weekend 

 – Starting May 26, the Bureau of Reclamation will begin operations of the “One River, Many Voices” laser light show and the John W. Keys III Pump-Generating Plant public tours. 

laser light show
The lasers tell the story of the dam and surrounding area and people, drawn with light figures 300 feet tall and up to nearly a mile away.

The light show will run nightly at 10 p.m. Pacific Time through July 31. Beginning Aug. 1, the show will start at 9:30 p.m., and from Sept. 1–30, it will begin at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are not required to enjoy the light show.

Public tours at the John W. Keys III Pump-Generating Plant will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. PDT, running approximately one hour. Availability is limited and subject to change. Tours can be canceled without notice. Please call 509-633-9265 for accessible accommodations. For additional tour guidelines, visit https://www.usbr.gov/pn/grandcoulee/visit/tour.html.

Admission is free to watch the laser light show and to join a public tour. The Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center remains open daily from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. PDT, free of charge.

The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation’s largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR

First Friday Market events in Grand Coulee through October

The first Friday of each month means shopping and entertainment from June through October in a new kind of event for the area. 

On July 1, North Dam Park in Grand Coulee will host a 5-9 p.m. event that includes beer, hotdogs, live music, and vendors.

Beer will be provided from Republic Brewing; hotdogs from Porky’s Hot Dogs, and acoustic musician Rylei Franks will provide tunes and ambiance to the event.

The First Friday Market events are being hosted on the first Friday of each month until October, including June 3, July 1, Aug. 5, Sept. 2, and Oct 7.

The first Friday of each month means shopping and entertainment from June through October in a new kind of event for the area. 

This Friday, June 3, is the first of its kind, and future “First Fridays” will be held on July 1, Aug. 5, Sept 2, and Oct. 7.

Festival of America on July 4 at Grand Coulee Dam

The Festival America takes place on Independence Day, the 4th of July, at the park below the visitor center for the Grand Coulee Dam. 

With the dam, a testament to what Americans can accomplish working together, as a backdrop, those attending the festival can enjoy shopping, music, food, a laser light show, and fireworks to celebrate the founding of the United States of America.

There will be 25 vendors at the festival selling food, crafts, fun and more from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m.

Live music includes funk and rock musician Jerry Lee Raines who takes the stage at 2 p.m.; the Hometown Hooligans who play classic rock covers starting at 5 p.m.; and Jesse Quandt, who plays country rock, starting at 7:30 p.m.

The laser light show titled “One River, Many Voices,” starts at 10 p.m., with lasers projected onto the face of the dam itself telling a story, followed by a fireworks show that will launch over 5,000 shots off of the dam and lighting the face of it.

changes coming for Spring Canyon?

Kids jump off the popular swimming platform at Spring Canyon.

You have until the end of the day on May 30, 2020 to comment on potential changes in Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, including Spring Canyon, and on the potential removal of the swim dock, removal of the concession building, and more.

Find out more in this story. There’s a link you can use to comment to the National Park Service on its draft plans.