Owned and operated by
Seattle City Light, this Hydro Project supplies more than one-third of Seattle City Light's power. Water stored behind its 340 foot high -- 32 foot thick arch dam forms a lake that stretches 17.5 miles upstream to the Box Canyon Dam and contains 40,000 acre feet of water. When completed in 1967 the project utilized four turbines, each producing up to 208,000 kilowatts of electricity. In 1985 two more turbines and generators were added, bringing its total output to 1,024 Megawatts.
Immediately south of the dam, is the Forebay Recreation Area & Campsite, also owned and operated by Seattle City Light. We visited in early summer of 2017 and the campground was closed in September of 2017 to enable Seattle City Light to initiate a major upgrade to the place. If one were to visit the campground this year (2018) they would likely find that it looks quite different than shown in the accompanying photos.
Access to the dam and the campground is somewhat indirect, as one must leave Highway 31 about a mile south of the bridge at Metaline Falls then follow Highway 2975 about 11 miles north to the dam. Activities at the campground include:
CAMPING, FISHING, HIKING,
HUNTING, WATER SPORTS,
and WILDLIFE VIEWING
At the south end of the campground is a boat launch and a restroom. By now there should be several RV campsites, a few tenting sites, a group camping area with four tent sites, picnic shelters and an enlarged day use area, as well as substantial paved parking areas. Many of the facilities are being designed (according to the informational sign outlining the improvements) to be handicapped accessible. This is a really nice, out of the way campsite, right beside the Pend Oreille River. The locals see it as a good fishing spot, no boat needed, just dangle your hook off the boat dock at the launch ramp. The site is open year round.