News Release Archive

Grand Coulee Dam Issues Visitor Center Summer Schedule

Media Contact: Lynne Brougher, (509) 633-9503, 05/19/2011 08:15
John Redding, jredding@usbr.gov

For Release: May 19, 2011

The Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center is open daily. Beginning May 28, the hours of operation for the Visitor Center will be extended for the summer season. This will also mark the beginning of the popular Laser Light Show which will run nightly through the end of September.

Hours for the Visitor Center will be from 8:30 a.m. until one hour past the start of the Laser Light Show. Through the end of July, the show will begin at 10:00 p.m. For August, the show begins at 9:30 p.m. and for September, 8:30 p.m.

May 28 will also be the start for dam tours from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Visitors will ride a shuttle bus to the Third Powerplant where they will view the turbine shafts of two of the largest generators in the world. Visitors will then ride the shuttle bus across the top of the dam for spectacular views of Lake Roosevelt upstream and the Columbia River winding through the town of Coulee Dam downstream.

Tours last for approximately one hour and are on a first-come, first-served basis. No reservations are taken and space is limited. Visitors are advised to be at the tour stop at least 15 minutes before the start of each tour.

For more information, call (509) 633-9265.

Grand Coulee Dam is located on the Columbia River about 90 miles west of Spokane, Wash. It was completed in 1941 and serves as a multipurpose facility providing water for irrigation, recreation, fish and wildlife, hydroelectric power production, and also flood control.

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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; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.

Relevant Link:

http://www.usbr.gov/pn/grandcoulee/index.html