You can get married at Rocky Reach

The assignment seemed simple enough:  Take a picture of yourself in front of a dry Central Washington hill to prove you were over there.

But finding an interesting one is hard, and then it has to be in a place you can stop.

You can find both at Rocky Reach Dam Park just north of Wenatchee.

Huge basaltic rocks stick out among the dry grass on the hills overlooking the park that also features green grass, trees, Columbia River beachfront and the dam itself.

You can even get married under the wedding pergola if you so desire, but you have to bring your own minister or Justice of the Peace.

Use of the 17-acre park, and even the pergola, is free.

You can get out and visit the Rocky Reach Dam Discovery Center museum, and stroll onto the dam -- or into it on a tour.

If you are there at the right time fish can be observed working their way up the ladder that accompanies the dam run by the Chelan County Public Utility District, which also owns and operates the park.

Restrooms are available as are two picnic shelters with barbecue grills, a playground and horseshoe pits.

Rocky Reach Dam Park is open from March 1 through October 31 and has normal operating hours of 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., while the Discovery Center is open year round the same hours but only from Tuesday through Sunday.

Picnic shelter reservations are accepted beginning the first Monday of January each year by calling (509) 663-7522.

And what about the wedding pergola?

Reservations are accepted year round at (509) 661-4960.

How to get there:

Rocky Reach Dam Park is located seven miles north of Wenatchee on Highway 97A.

The address is 6151 SR97A (Mile post 203.71), Wenatchee, WA 98801.

The exit for Highway 97A off of U.S. Highway 2 is located just west of the Columbia River in the northern part of Wenatchee.  It is just before the Frances Farmer Bridge going east and just after it going west.

Text and photos by Tim Clinton.