American Falls Recreation

Visit our 128 acre year-round recreation area called Willow Bay.  Willow Bay is easy to reach, the State Highway 39 bypass connects to Marina Road and can be reached from either end of American Falls.  The marina area has a cafe and store, RV campgrounds with hookups, a dump station, laundry facilities and even a propane filling station to top off your stove tanks.  In the winter you can even take a stroll out on to the reservoir.  OK, it's ice by then, but local residents take advantage of ice fishing.  You can also use the boat docks at Sportsman's Park near Aberdeen on the north side of the reservoir, at the public boat dock on the west shore across from American Falls, or the Seagull Bay Yacht Club.  On the lower side of the falls is the Oregon Trail Sportsman access, you'll find it at the end of Falls Avenue in town.  The access is one of the better fishing and boat launch accesses below the falls.

American Falls just before the dam.

History of the American Falls Dam    The construction of the Great Dam was started in about 1923, the cornerstone laid in 1925, and storage of water commenced soon thereafter.     In 1925 the Bureau of Reclamation moved, lock stock and barrel, the entire American Falls community to new ground so the dam could be filled.     The dam backs up a reservoir of 1,700,00 acre-feet of water. It has a shore line of 125 miles, with an area of 65,000 acres of land and extends into three counties, Power, Bingham, and Bannock.

The rising waters taking over the former site.

American Falls Today!
The area features two Golf Courses and a driving range at Indian Springs two miles east of American Falls. Trenner Park offers picnic facilities, access to a fishing dock, and a spectacular view from the lower side of the dam.  During high water flows you'll see a torrent of water spilling over the falls that originally gave the city it name  Because the area has a large body of water along the Canada-Mexico flyway it's a haven for bird watchers.  The area around the reservoir and nearby Massacre Rocks State Park has recorded more than 200 species of birds.  Almost any time is a good time for Bird Watching in American Falls, but you may want to make a special effort to be here in August for the American Falls Shorebird Festival.
  

City of American Falls
3680 Park Lane
American Falls, ID 83211
(208) 226-2569

American Falls Chamber of Commerce
Power County Website
Power County Press

  American Falls Dam before construction of the new dam.