Posted on August 4, 2025
Contractors plan to remove a hazardous gravel bar near launch
The busy Heller Bar boat ramp that often buzzes with activity in the dog days of summer will be closed for three days later this month to give dredging crews space as they remove a bothersome gravel bar from the Snake River.
A contractor will remove the gravel bar that sits in front of the ramp and can make it difficult for boaters launch their crafts The concrete ramp at the north end of the expansive recreation site will be blocked from Aug. 18-20. Beginning about a week prior to the dredging and lasting through the work, an area near the bathrooms in the parking area just south of the ramp will be set aside for contractor staging. The bathroom will remain available for public use but the staging area will take up some of the parking space that is normally available at the site.
The Heller Bar Recreation Area is managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and recreation officials there recommend boaters plan for the closure. Power boaters can use alternative launch sites such as the Church Camp, Couse Creek and Asotin Slough Ramps that are all located north of Heller Bar.
Rafters can use a gravel beach adjacent to the parking areas south of the ramp or elect to use one of the other ramps north of Heller Bar.
The work was scheduled for August when water levels are generally lower. A contractor will remove an estimated 527 cubic yards of gravel and other sediment that has collected in front of the ramp.
Staci Lahman, a spokesperson for the agency, said some boaters have complained about the gravel bar, which has grown larger over the years. The dredged material will be disposed of in deeper areas of the river near the ramp.
Lahman said the agency has communicated the closure with commercial rafting and jetboating companies and wants to reach as many other users as possible so they can think about using alternative access sites.
“If people plan ahead, that will make it easier,” she said. “We just don’t want them to be frustrated and waiting to launch or waiting to take out.”
