American Falls
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 make arrangements at the private
facility, 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.
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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.
Idaho State Journal History |
The rising waters taking over the former site.
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 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.
American Falls
3680 Park Lane
American Falls, ID 83211
(208) 226-2569
American Falls Chamber of Commerce
Power County Website
Power County Press
Current
events calendar
American Falls Dam before construction of the new dam.
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