When the wind blew a sign down that signaled the turnoff from Highway 243 to Grant PUD’s Buckshot Recreation Area, just north of the community of Desert Aire, it’s almost as if Mother Nature wanted to keep this rustic gem a secret.
But, sorry, Nature! Tucked along a sheltered backwater inlet of the Columbia River above Priest Rapids Dam, Buckshot is already a favorite jumping-off point for area hunters and anglers.
It’s also a quiet, natural getaway for an easy stroll or some flatland birdwatching – complete with ADA-compliant viewing/hunting areas – for those who don’t need or want amenities that tend to draw bigger crowds, like picnic tables, grills and sun shelters.
A vault toilet and an informational kiosk are all that accompany the boat launch and parking area. A Discover Pass is needed to park here.
A benefit of hydropower The 31-acre Buckshot Recreation Area is part of 316 acres owned by Grant PUD as mitigation for the environmental changes brought about by Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams. It’s one of the 19 such public recreation areas owned and operated by the utility along the Columbia River and is a big public benefit of locally owned and controlled hydropower.
It’s surrounded by lands owned by state and federal agencies and managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), which co-manages the Buckshot area with Grant PUD. The land is relatively flat and grassy, with brushy vegetation along the shoreline. It’s thought to have been intermittently underwater during ancient glacial floods, based on its cobbly substrate, covered today by a relatively thin soil layer.
ADA access Buckshot is divided into two sectors – the 31 acres by the boat ramp/parking lot area and a larger and undeveloped, “northern” sector. Well-maintained gravel roads radiate out from the parking lot area. All are passable to foot travelers but are blocked to motorized vehicles by locked gates. The closest wheelchair-accessible wildlife-viewing area is about a quarter mile from the parking lot along the road behind Gate 2 (see map). Another wildlife viewing/hunting site is in the northern sector in an irrigated agricultural field about a three-quarter-mile walk from Gate 1.
Visitors who seek easier wheelchair/ADA access to either viewing/hunting spot can borrow a key from the WDFW office in Ephrata to open the gates for vehicle access (see map)
The viewing areas double as duck blinds and contain no seating, so bring a camp chair if you want to sit and observe a while. The closer viewing area overlooks the backwater inlet. A fringe of cattails and shoreline reeds conceal the view of the Columbia River, beyond.
Wildfire recovery Lined with grasses and squat, shoreline trees and brush, the area burned in a wildfire in 2018. Blackened, contorted tree trunks are still visible amid the already recovering vegetation, which Grant PUD’s staff has supplemented with shoreline plantings of willows and other trees to speed recovery and improve fish habitat.
Either gravel road makes for an eerily beautiful walk. Birds still love the area, too, judging from their chortles and chatter, which build to a chorus the morning. Quiet, patient observers will see red-winged blackbirds and possibly burrowing owls, loggerhead shrikes, sage sparrows and thrashers, and western grebes.
Fishing and hunting “This is a beautiful spot. I rarely see anyone down here, but I like it like that,” said Gary from Ellensburg. It was early April and desert wildflowers were just beginning to bloom amid the flatland grasses as he got ready to climb into his Chevy pickup and ease a trailer bearing his flat-bottomed fishing boat down the concrete boat launch.
With no accompanying dock at Buckshot, Gary used a long rope to tie his boat to the back of the trailer to anchor the craft when it was afloat and drifting. When the boat was free of the trailer, he piloted his truck higher on the ramp, hopped out, untied the rope and reattached it to a spot along the nearby shoreline before driving with the dripping trailer up the ramp to park.
Gary said his 84-year-old dad often joins him on the boat, but on this beautiful, clear day he headed out alone to hook a bass or two.
For hunters, WDFW releases pheasants in the area’s northern sector. Other game birds there include chukar, quail, mourning dove and band-tailed pigeon. Non-toxic shot must be used in either shells or loose for muzzle loading.
To get there, take Road 26 SW off Highway 243, just north of the community of Desert Aire. There’s no stop sign (or directional sign of any kind – thank you, Nature). Turn toward the river and head straight, past orchards of trellised and traditionally planted fruit trees. When the pavement ends, cross over onto a well-maintained gravel road. Continue straight until you get to Buckshot.
For more info:
Borrow a gate key: Call the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Ephrata district office, 509-754-4624, during business hours, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.. Dial zero to skip the long recording. Let them know ahead of time that you’d like to borrow a key and coordinate a time to stop by the office, 1550 Alder St. NW, Ephrata, to pick it up. Drop boxes for the keys are labeled with “ADA” signs. One drop box is the parking lot at the agency’s Ephrata office and the other is at the Columbia Basin Hatchery, 6785 Road K NE, #A, in Moses Lake.
Discover Pass needed for parking – Buckshot is part of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department’s Columbia Basin Wildlife Area. As such its part of state-managed land that requires the Discover Pass to park. Learn how to get one here.
Helpful links:
Buckshot Recreation & Wildlife Area – 509River.org
Priest Rapids Wildlife Area Unit | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife
Welcome to the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area (contains maps)
Columbia Basin Wildlife Area | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife
