New Crescent Bar boat launch opens May 26
Grant PUD/courtesy photo Final work is underway for the Chinook Park boat launch, parking lot and day-use moorage at Crescent Bar. The facility is expect to open on May 26.
EPHRATA — Ignore the clouds and rain and the temperatures that keep hovering around 60 degrees. Summer really is coming. The new shoreline boat launch at Crescent Bar will open May 26.
The new Chinook Park boat launch is one of a number of new recreation opportunities at Crescent Bar the PUD will open during the summer. The boat launch is two lanes, also includes a dock and will have fuel available.
“Because of ongoing construction in the Crescent Bar area, parking is limited at the Chinook Park boat launch. Those with off-site parking are encouraged to use that option,” according to a press release from the PUD.
Overnight camping will be available during Memorial Day weekend at four PUD campgrounds, including Priest Rapids Recreation Area, Sand Hollow, Rocky Coulee and the Jackson Creek Fish Camp. The PUD charges a fee for overnight camping.
Other recreation improvements at Crescent Bar will be opening during the summer. It’s the culmination of a decade of contention, dueling lawsuits and an eventual settlement, a recreation plan that met with delays and eventual approval.
Among the recreation options due to open in the summer are a 55-site campground on Crescent Bar Island. All campsites will have room for an RV, and most will have room for a boat trailer.
The old campground on the shoreline is being converted into a day use area with picnic tables, bathroom with showers, swim area with a safety barrier and handicapped-accessible bathrooms and trails. A walking trail has been added on Crescent Bar Island, extending to the island’s south end.
The on-island day use area will be refurbished with new playground equipment, picnic and parking areas, a big lawn and a path to the swimming beach. Most “are expected to open in late June or early July, following several months of construction.”
Crescent Bar’s nine-hole golf course has opened for the year already, the press release said.
The PUD operates 19 recreation sites along the Columbia or nearby. Boat launches are available at Apricot Orchards, Frenchman Coulee, the Priest Rapids rec area, Buckshot, Huntzinger and Vantage. There are also two at Wanapum Dam, one above the dam and one below it.
Boaters are advised to be aware of their surroundings when they’re out on the river. “Water released from dams can create hazardous boating conditions. Sudden water level fluctuations can impact the shoreline. Make sure your boat stays wet and anchor well offshore,” the press release said.