Back
Coulee Corridor, Grand Coulee, Washington
Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped

Drives Washington Central Washington

Coulee Corridor

SR 17, SR 155, US 2 · Soap Lake → Grand Coulee

Leisurely50 mi55 min1,900 ft climbHigh point ≈ 1,900 ftOne way
Scan to drive it in CarvePoint a phone's camera here. It opens ready to drive.
Drive it in Carve, free

Opens this route in the app, or where to get it.

Drive this road
in the appOpen

The drive

The Coulee Corridor follows SR 17 and SR 155 through the Grand Coulee, a channel cut by Ice Age floods. This drive starts in Soap Lake and runs north, past the Lake Lenore Caves, where a short hike leads to basalt caves and overhangs, and the Dry Falls, a former waterfall about 400 feet high and 3.5 miles wide.

At Coulee City the route uses a short stretch of US 2 and then turns onto SR 155 along Banks Lake, a reservoir about 27 miles long. Steamboat Rock, a 650-foot basalt butte on the lake, is at Steamboat Rock State Park. The drive ends in the town of Grand Coulee.

The road itself is straight and easy, with almost no climbing. The basalt walls and the history of the floods are why people take it, and the byway has been a National Scenic Byway since 2005.

Along the way

  1. Soap Lake
  2. Lake Lenore Caves
  3. Dry Falls
  4. Steamboat Rock
  5. Grand Coulee
Elevation
1,900 ft of climbing · high point ≈ 1,900 ft
Soap LakeGrand Coulee
Curves
Mostly gentle curves
Soap LakeGrand Coulee
GentleHairpins

Good to know

  • Steamboat Rock State Park and Lake Lenore Caves are state lands; Washington State Parks says a Discover Pass is generally needed to park at state park day-use areas, but the Dry Falls Visitor Center lot does not require one.
  • Services are in Soap Lake, Coulee City and Grand Coulee; the stretch between has few.
  • Past closures on SR 155 have followed storms and slides, so check WSDOT before you go.
  • Banks Lake and the state parks are busiest on summer weekends.

Open all year, weather permitting. Roads close for snow, fire, storms and repairs: before you set off, check WSDOT travel map and alerts.

Questions about this drive

How long does the Coulee Corridor drive take?

Soap Lake to Grand Coulee on SR 17 and SR 155 is 49.8 miles and takes about 55 min.

What is there to see on the Coulee Corridor?

The route passes the Lake Lenore Caves, Dry Falls, Banks Lake and Steamboat Rock, all features of the Grand Coulee carved by Ice Age floods.

Is the Coulee Corridor twisty?

No. SR 17 and SR 155 are mostly straight, with gentle curves, and the climb over the whole drive is small.

Do you need a Discover Pass on the Coulee Corridor?

You need one to park at most Washington state parks along the way, such as Steamboat Rock State Park, though Washington State Parks says the Dry Falls Visitor Center does not require it. Driving the highway itself needs no pass.

What you get in the app

Turn by turn, on this roadSpoken directions along the exact route. Carve never reroutes you onto a faster one.
Preview it in 3DFly the whole drive over satellite and terrain before you go.
Drive it with no signalAPEXDownload the map and every turn before you go.
Live Group TrackingAPEXEveryone on the route, on the map, by name.
Road conditionsAPEXWet or dry, ice, fog and wind along the road before you go.
Record your drivesAPEXRecord a drive and turn it into a route to drive again or share.

Free on iPhone and Android. CarPlay and Android Auto come with Apex.

Download on theApp StoreEarly access onGoogle Play

More drives near here

All 35 drives in Washington ›

Distance, time, elevation, curves and intensity are from Carve's route. Checked 2026-10-28.

+ Plan a new route
Map of Coulee Corridor, from Soap Lake to Grand Coulee