POMEROY, Wash. – Visitors at Lower Granite Lock and Dam can get behind-the-scenes tours of the powerhouse, navigation lock and fish passage facilities – areas ordinarily off-limits to public access, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials announced today.
Tours are offered Saturdays and Sundays at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. through Oct. 31. Weekday tours are often available on request or can be scheduled to ensure a tour guide is available. Large groups or field trips can be arranged by contacting the visitor center at 509-843-2214, or by emailing
TourLowerGranite@usace.army.mil.
Tours begin at the visitor center on the south side of the Snake River. The road running across the dam is open for public crossing daily during visitor center hours, making it more convenient for people traveling from areas on the north side of the river.
Tour participants of all ages should check in at the Visitor Center, located immediately downstream of the dam on the south shoreline, about 10-15 minutes early with official photo identification (for those age 18 and older) and wearing closed-toe shoes. No cameras, camera-enabled phones or bags will be allowed in secure areas. All participants must be U.S. citizens, unless pre-registered at least 30 days in advance. Non-U.S. citizens can pre-register by contacting Lower Granite’s park ranger at 509-843-2214, or by emailing
TourLowerGranite@usace.army.mil.
“By getting an up-close look at how things really work, visitors can not only get a better understanding of how water is used to make clean, renewable energy, but they can see first-hand how the fish passage system works to ensure safe passage of Salmon and Steelhead. A 2-million-pound removable spillway weir for fish, which won a national engineering award in 2003, has always been a tour highlight,” said Dawn Waldal, Lower Granite’s interpretive park ranger. “And now with several major construction and maintenance projects recently nearing completion, there are many new and exciting things to see.”
For additional information and current updates, check out the dam’s Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/LowerGraniteDam, or call or stop by the visitor center, open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Visitor Center offers a fish-viewing window where visitors can see salmon and steelhead migrating up the adult fish ladder, exhibits, displays, and a gift shop, as well as a theatre where a series of films about fish passage, dams and the Corps of Engineers is presented. There are also nearby day use areas, camping sites and picnic tables.
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