Tours Of Table Rock Dam Begin This Saturday!
Tours of TR Dam have been off-limits since 9/11, but will return this week-end thanks to a partnership between the Corps of Engineers, Ride the Ducks and the new Ozarks Rivers Heritage Foundation. All tours will be sold by RTD and conducted by RTD drivers. You can buy a combo ticket for a regular Duck tour which ends with a 45-minute tour of TR Dam, or you can buy a Dam tour ticket only. The full Duck/Dam tours start at RTD on Hwy 76 and the Dam-only tours start from the Dewey Short Center on the south side of the dam... from there you'll ride a special trolley to the dam for the tour.
If you've never been inside Table Rock Dam it's something to see! Special security cautions will be strictly adhered to (no cameras, cell phones, purses, etc. inside the dam... not even Wacky-Quackers!) plus you have to be a U.S. citizen with proof of citizenship (drivers license, passport). Very strict, as it should be.
A great new 'attraction' for Branson. Call Ride the Ducks for tickets & pricing.
Here is a TripAdvisor member's review of the tour written when tours were being conducted before 9/11:
If in Branson, take a ride to the Table Rock Dam. You can take a tour inside the power house and inside the dam. It was a great tour and we learned many things about generating electricity and Table Rock Lake. Both of the tour guides were very friendly. Kids will love this tour.
While you are at the dam, be sure to go by the Fish Hatchery. It is a free attraction and is very popular with old and young alike. Here are a couple more reviews from TripAdvisor.com:
“Neat!
CTZS 20 contributions
Aug 6, 2009
You get to go down by this on your Duck Ride...but go back to see the rainbow trout. Best time we had and it only cost us $2.00 in fish food. Kids love it! And it's a free tour!
“Fun”
lovetravel2 96 contributions
Apr 10, 2005
We loved table rock dam. One big reason is the fish hatchery. There are lots of tanks with so many fish in all of them. The range from very small to very big. There are food tanks you can buy food and feed them. My children loved this. The fish would jump up out of the water to get the food, and just swarm it. It was very fun. Inside the center is a movie and some snakes, fish etc. you can see. I would suggest you take a few minutes out of your day to go here.
We haven't ridden the Ducks or visited the Fish Hatchery yet. In fact, we haven't really explored The Dewey Short Visitors Center, either. They are now all on my "To Do" list along with a tour of the Table Rock Dam, but I think I'll wait until after the 4th of July weekend when everything should be a little less crowded.
