The site includes a small picnic area, interpretive center, amphitheater, and the observatory.

[3] The main 24-inch telescope is the reason for the existence of Goldendale Observatory and was the work of four amateur astronomers — M.W.

However, once built, the college sought a clearer, darker area to install the telescope due to light pollution from Vancouver and nearby Portland, Oregon, and the typically wet and cloudy weather on the windward side of the Cascade Mountain Range.

A local, non-profit organization was created to plan and support the observatory which was ultimately constructed one mile (1.6 km) north of the town center using donations, loans, and a $135,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration.

Unlike that facility, the intent of the founders and community college was for Goldendale Observatory to serve primarily as a center of public science education.

[5] Beginning in 2013, a multi-phase facility improvement project began at Goldendale Observatory using $6 million in funding allocated from the state government.

[8] In the spring of 2017 the reconstruction of the observatory, with new lighting and signs, was expected to be completed by the fall of 2017 and dark sky status restored.