FISHING -- A new ADA-accessible fishing pier has been installed at Steamboat Rock State Park near Electric City.

The dedication ceremony is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Monday, April 28, at the boat launch on Banks Lake, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission says.

The 12-year project was spearheaded by Rotary Club of Grand Coulee Dam working with State Parks and a number of other organizations. 

The new pier provides fishing access to people with disabilities, and representatives from the area organizations say it is the first such accessible pier in North Central Washington. The $60,000 project received grant support from Rotary District 5060; the Columbia Basin Foundation of Ephrata; the Grand Coulee Lions Club; the Trivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation; and individual donations.

The community also raised money for the project through Rotary Club spaghetti feeds and additionally donated time and materials worth $13,000 to build the concrete base-anchor for the pier.

Steamboat Rock State Park is a 3,522-acre camping park with 50,000 feet of freshwater shoreline on Banks Lake. The park is popular for lakeside camping, hiking, fishing, swimming and other water activities. The park’s sweeping green lawns are protected from winds by the poplar trees, in a surrounding landscape that includes basaltic rock and the gray-green brush of the channeled scablands.

A Washington Discover Pass is required for vehicles accessing the park.