bonneville lock & dam

The Bonneville Dam visitor center on the Washington side of the river has a fish counter, great viewing area and comfortable seating to just hang out. Lots of history. The Power House has a viewing area for the generators and is easy to access with elevators, stairs and escalators. There is usually a Ranger or someone on duty when they are open to answer questions and provide helpful handouts. Be sure to check out the power map in the upper level. Great for kids.

This would be a great place to take kids to–especially when the fish are running through the underwater display. It's an interesting learning experience if you can survive the blast of heinous rainbow carpeting throughout.

The roar of the water thru the dam is so ajust awesome! the sturgeon and fish ponds are so cool to see them up close!

Had s great experience, lots of educational and fun things to see. Took s tour of the power house, the Ranger Ron was great. He made it a funny, educational and nice experience.

This is a real working dam and you get to see some of the inter-workings of this location. The dam and fish ladders were interesting but the best time to visit is September when the fish are running. It was interesting to walk around the facility to look around but unless you have some time to kill or just want to see this attraction would I come all the way out here from Portland. There are areas to picnic but warning because it is an actual working dam the security is on high alert so getting through the main gate could take some time depending on the time of the day you are there.

This is an engineering marvel and it is fun to walk around watching a working dam.I like to bring quarters to feed the fish in the ponds. They swarm where ever you throw the food just like synchronized swimmers.The staff in the Dam love to talk if time is allowing that.We like to watch the fish count and going down into thew dam to watch them climb the ladders too. They have a great gift shop but entry to the dam is free.

"That was interesting," said my husband when I asked him what he remembered of our visit to Bonneville Dam in October 2014. Many good activities at this site. First off, you are greeted by a staff person who gives you an overview of what's available...I like choices, especially if there's a crowd. Lots of displays, plenty of individual reading sites, a self guided tour showing the power of water and how it is used to make electricity. And, there's a short video that's informative. Downstairs, you'll find glass windows where you can view the fish ladder. This is really awesome! It's incredible how these huge fish swim upstream to return to their spawning grounds. There's lots to enjoy here; but, my faves were the fish ladder and the information on how they count the fish.

A self guided tour showing the power of water and how it is used to make electricity. There is a short video presentation it this little inside amphitheater and some exhibits that are very engaging. The site of all the turbines and the power they represent is awesome. Downstairs is the glass windows showing the fish ladder and seeing all these huge fish swimming upstream to go back to there spawning grounds is humbling. There is exhibits down there of native american artifacts and artwork. Spoke with the employee that counts fish and she gave us a insight into her job as well as the fish she counts as they swim by.

This review is from a visit to the south side of the dam. If you were to assume that Bonneville Dam is one of those things a tourist should just snap a photo of before hurrying on down the road, you'd be wrong. The fish ladders are interesting, and you can watch fish navigating them from a viewing area in the basement of the visitor center. The adjacent fish hatchery is also worth spending some time visiting, so plan this as a major stop on your vacation trip along the river.

We really loved seeing the steelhead swim up the ladders in the Visitor Center of the second power plant on the Washington State side of the Dam. The film there explained how the Columbia River became the river 15,000 years ago. There is also a clear explanation about how the Army Corp of Engineers relocated the town of North Bonneville. And of course, there is a great view and explanation of the turbines at work. This was the second dam installed on the Columbia River in 1974.On the other side of the river in Oregon, there is an historic area with museum but...closed for the season. There is a wonderful sturgeon Hatchery here with a live 450 lb sturgeon that is 70 years old along with other fish. On the Oregon side,there is also another dam visitor center. This original first dam was built in 1937. There are also locks on this side of the river. NThis is a wonderful place to bring children of all ages!

I was shocked to be driving so close to the dam. This free tour showed how electricity is produced and how it works around mother nature's salmon. The walk and talk tour was about 20 minutes. After that you can go on your own to explore (within the marked boundary). This is a must stop. You can even be a "fish counter" no joke.

Passed by here numerous times but this was my first visit. You have to be impressed by the shear size of this dam and the amount of water that passes through it each day. The Corps of Engineer staff were very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. There are great views from the top deck and you get a 360 degree panorama. It is unfortunate that because of the 9/11 attack parts of this massive structure are now off limits to the public. Watching the fish swim through the fish ladders is impressive as was their size. The dam is only half of the stop. The other half is the visit to the fish hatchery and to the sturgeon ponds. Millions and millions of salmon and trout are raised there every year and released into the river. In my opinion a wise use of our tax dollars and a great educational opportunity for every member of the family.

This dam is a lot of fun because you get to drive over part of it to get to the island that the visitor center sits on. Don't miss the fish ladder down in the basement.Those big salmon will scare the **** of you when they pop out of the murky water. Gift shop has lots of interesting books on the dam and local area.Be advised that since this is a federal (Corps of Engineers) dam, no firearms are allowed. They did check the rear of our SUV. We had just come from Canada so "no problem" but we usually carry a pistol for protection.

Don't understand why, but there is no place to review the powerhouse tour for the Washington side, so I'll put it here. It is really good. The little lady with the Corps of Engineers was enthusiastic and knowledgeable. We saw fish ladders, including underwater viewing windows. We saw the generators with spinning magnets and adjustable vane mechanisms. I think accessibility was better than what you get in the Oregon side tour. Highly recommended.

The visitor's center was great - lots of displays, good short videos, nice fish observation windows and great tour of the power plant with Meg. She was knowledgeable and funny. Much more intimate than Coulee Dam or Hoover Dam.