Tag Archives: Grand Coulee Dam

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

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.

Lasers to hit dam May 28, 2022

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 famous laser light show on Grand Coulee Dam will begin the season Saturday night, May 28, 2022 at 10 p.m.

And TOURS ARE BACK!

After a couple covid-harried seasons, tours will begin Saturday too, from the pump-generating plant that irrigates half of Eastern Washington. Well, okay, 670,000 acres,— but really that’s impressive. You can learn a lot more on the tour.

The Bureau of Reclamation says the Grand Coulee Dam “One River, Many Voices” laser light show and the John W. Keys III Pump-Generating Plant public tours will come back on May 28.

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 beginning Sept. 1 through Sept. 30, it will start at 8:30 p.m. Start times are subject to change. 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., 12 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. PDT, running approximately one hour. Availability is limited and subject to change. Admission is free. For accessible accommodations, call 509-633-9265. 

Reclamation will continue to monitor any changes in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. Tours can be canceled without notice. Additional tour guidelines are available on our website at https://www.usbr.gov/pn/grandcoulee/visit/tour.html.  

The Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT. Admission is free.

Join us for The 4th!

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.

Here is our guide to the event: