Bonneville Navigation Lock

Went to the dam but stopped at the lock along the way. The docent let us in the gate early and just in time to see a barge come into the lock. This was way cool, my 5 year old just loved it. As the lock filled with water and rose the barge up (about 10 – 15 mins) we had an opportunity to speak with the pilot and crew, they were exceptionally nice and willing to answer our questions. Did you know one barge takes 538 trucks off the road! The barge that came through was carrying a ton of trash and 1 million gallons of gas, now that’s commerce at its best! Worth the wait to see a barge or anything else go through, I swear the barge looked as if it was going to crash or get stuck, brilliant piloting.

If you get lucky you can watch the lock in action, amazing to see the water rise 60 feet, accept the vessel, then lower to let it on its way down river. Or raise a boat up, it’s all amazing, no pumps required! They have short hours, starting at 1 pm or so. Seeing a boat go through is just pure chance. Ask the Docent if there is anything scheduled. Boats get one round trip per day, all free of charge! Think of that when you pay your bridge toll! Very worth the effort to watch it in action!

We planned to visit the Bonneville Dam, but noticed a road leading to the Locks… the parking lot was empty as everyone else seemingly was going to the power station and dam proper. Damn the dam! Lets go see the lock!
This turned out to be an extremely good choice — apart from the extremely nice (and genuinely lonely) docent, we had eth place to ourselves on what was other wise an packed Memorial Day weekend where traffic on Historic route 30 was a parking lot.
This is a place for those of us who are 8 to 12 years old or who appreciate great historic engineering. I fall into the later category, but wish I had my grandkids with me as this place rocks. There were actually three locks over the years with this incarnation being the latest. Sure the environmentalist may bemoan the damming of a wild river for power, but where else would they get clean power for running their electric cars? Can’t have your cake and eat it too.
The restrooms were sparkling clean and the informational displays enlightening. What a great tourist experience! It si truly ‘as good as it gets’!