Rocky Reach Dam is impressive to look at when you drive by on Highway 97A between Chelan and Wenatchee. Seeing the high water level behind it compared to the low level in front of it points out just how much water this man made concrete and steel contraption is holding back. Seeing it from the highway doesn’t do it justice though. There is a reason that visiting Rocky Reach Dam for an up close look is a North Central Washington tradition.
Whether you’re by yourself, with your significant other, or bringing the kids along, Rocky Reach Dam has all you need for a great visit. Upon entering the property, you’re greeted with a huge open grass area with room enough for the biggest group. There’s also meticulously groomed flower gardens, pleasant picnic shelters, and even climbing toys for the kids. Make sure to get an up close look at an actual turbine generator that was once a working part of the dam and is now on display for viewing and even touching. Whether you’re just looking for a nice spot for a picnic or a place for the kiddos to burn off some energy, this is the spot.
If that’s all you do at Rocky Reach Dam though, you’ve missed out on some of its best features. Right inside the visitors center is a nice cafe and several interesting antique items on display, as well as a gorgeous and huge horse mural too. Going downstairs at the visitors center leads you to a small theater where information movies about the dam are played. Below that is the viewing windows where you can watch all kinds of fish make their way up and down the Columbia River. Return to the top and you can go outside for a great view of the dam itself, as well as a nice look both up and down the river.
Now though, you get to actually walk out on the dam. Your view of the structure continues here and you can even see all the way back to the picnic and play area you may have stopped at first. Out on the dam structure is where the Museum of the Columbia is located. A short elevator ride brings you to the museum where you can learn all about the history of the Columbia River in this part of North Central Washington. You’ll see displays on both the lives of early settlers in the area as well as Native American life too. When you’ve finished your trip through the museum, an entryway across from it will lead you to more displays involving information about the dam as well as a viewing window where you can see the spillway gates of Rocky Reach Dam, and if you’re lucky, the water of the Columbia River raging through them.
Your walk back across the dam is enjoyable too with the view of the high water on one side, low water on the other, and the scenery all around. Whether you have a short time to visit or as long as it takes to see everything, Rocky Reach Dam is about as perfect of a day trip destination or break from a road trip that you could find.
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