Parks and Recreation

The Rocky Reach Visitor Center is located at the west end of the forebay wall, on the Chelan County side of the Rocky Reach Hydro Project. The center is easily accessible from Highway 97A and offers ample parking for visitors, including recreational vehicles and buses. Those touring the facility will discover an air-conditioned seasonal gift and food service area, restrooms, and balconies that offer panoramic views of the project, the juvenile fish bypass system, the reservoir (Lake Entiat), and the Columbia River. The Visitor Center's small theater, with a seating capacity of 90, shows movies throughout the day and upon special request. Guided tours are available throughout the season and by special request. Close to 60,000 visitors annually enjoy the hydro project's visitor facilities.

Hours of operation:
Visitor Center  8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Museum  8:30 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Park  8:30 a.m.- 9 p.m.

Questions?
Call (509) 663-7522

2008 dates of operation:
March 15 - Oct. 31

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A highlight of any visit to the Rocky Reach Visitor Center is the opportunity for a closeup view of fish passing through the fishway. The fish viewing room, with five windows located on the west side of the fish ladder, allows visitors to watch salmon, steelhead, trout and other species continue their upstream migration to spawning areas. Salmon and steelhead are seasonal visitors. The best months of the year to see chinook salmon are May and August. Sockeye salmon are most visible during July, and it's September for steelhead. "Look a salmon in the eye" in the fish viewing room, located downstairs in the Visitor  Center at Rocky Reach Dam.

After completing a tour of the Visitor Center, guests can walk along the forebay deck to the powerhouse and take an elevator down to the fourth floor where they can enjoy a number of exhibits and observation points. Conveniently arranged guided or self-guided tours take visitors through the Museum of the Columbia, featuring a look back at the rich history of early life along the Columbia River. Other powerhouse displays include a Nez Perce Indian Portrait collection, display of Rock Island Dam, Edisonia collection, and changing art, craft and floral exhibits. Balconies provide visitors with views of the full length of the powerhouse, the spillway, fish ladder, juvenile fish bypass, and Columbia River.

Adjacent to the visitor center and powerhouse are 19 acres of award-winning lawns and gardens. Special features include Petunia Island, where 8,000 brilliantly colored annual flowers are planted in a new design every year. A large symbol of the Chelan County Public Utility District is composed of colorful flowers. Another display of bright red, white and blue annual flowers depicts the U.S. flag, and dozens of varieties of dahlias and the wide open space of lawn, clusters of alpine trees, picnic areas and playground equipment await the visitor. A turbine exhibit was constructed on the Rocky Reach grounds in the summer of 1998. The hub and blades of Generating Unit C5 were saved for the exhibit following C5's rehabilitation.

From flowering magnolias to towering pines, Rocky Reach Park is home to a broad variety of beautiful trees. This diversity is cataloged, mapped, and explained in a self-guided tour of the Rocky Reach Park Arboretum. A brochure provides information about 42 species of trees at the Rocky Reach Park Arboretum, showing visitors where trees are located and guiding them in a walking loop that starts and ends at the Visitor Center parking lot. It’s an easy walk that takes 1 to 2 hours. 

Click here to view the brochure. 

Food service provided by Rocky Reach Cafe. Click here to see menu.