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Grand Coulee Dam, Coulee Dam, WA

Photo: Farwestern Photo by Gregg M. Erickson, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

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Grand Coulee Dam

See a mile-long concrete dam on the Columbia River, tour the visitor center and watch a summer laser show.

Visitor Center at the base of the dam, off WA-155 · Coulee Dam, WA

About Grand Coulee Dam

Grand Coulee Dam stretches 5,223 feet across the Columbia River and stands 550 feet high, holding back Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake. The Bureau of Reclamation visitor center, designed by Marcel Breuer to resemble a generator rotor, has hands-on exhibits on irrigation, flood control and hydropower, and on the dam's effects on Native Americans and settlers. On summer nights the One River, Many Voices laser show is projected onto the dam for about 30 minutes, with no ticket needed.

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  • #columbia river
  • #laser light show
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  • #engineering landmark

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What's around here?

The closest stops to Grand Coulee Dam, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Steamboat Rock State Park

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    A large state park on the north shore of Banks Lake, known for a tall basalt butte, water recreation, and camping.

    9.7 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Banks Lake Wildlife Area Unit

    Check prices

    A Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife unit surrounding Banks Lake, an irrigation reservoir ringed by basalt cliffs and shrubsteppe.

    17 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Bridgeport State Park

    Under $25

    Lakeside camping park on Rufus Woods Lake, tucked behind Chief Joseph Dam, with beaches, shade, and trails.

    29 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park

    Under $25

    A large high-desert state park between Soap Lake and Coulee City, with lakes for water recreation, trails, golf, and camping.

    31 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sightseeing
    Local Gem

    Grant County

    No admission fee

    Central Washington county with lakes, sand dunes and the Grand Coulee Dam nearby.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    51 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    Outdoor Adventure

    Moses Lake

    No admission fee

    A Columbia Basin lake town in central Washington known for boating, sandy beaches and the Moses Lake Sand Dunes.

    58 mi awayMore like this

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