Cruise Ships Will Dock in Burbank Next Spring. Their Passengers Will Spend the Day in Walla Walla.

The Port of Walla Walla's high dock sits at 544 Grain Terminal Road, near the spot where the Snake River meets the Columbia. It's a cargo dock 60 feet wide and 250 feet long. It has 14 feet of water alongside, a 1.5-acre storage apron and a river-mile marker of 320, according to the Port's own spec page. The Port's history at Burbank goes back to a 1958 lease for an 800,000-bushel grain elevator. The Tri-City Herald called the dock "vastly underused" this spring. Its best-known recent tenant was a parked ship. American Cruise Lines' 180-passenger American Song spent winter 2024–25 tied up there, across the Snake from Sacajawea State Park.

That's changing. American Cruise Lines will start dropping off passengers here in late May 2027. Most of them won't stay in Burbank, though. Their shore day happens about an hour's bus ride east. In Burbank, the change people would see is the road, the lights and the pipes the Port has proposed to get those passengers onto buses.

The Ship Stops Here, and the Day Goes to Walla Walla

The cruise is American Cruise Lines' Grand Columbia & Snake Rivers Cruise. It's a 16-day, 15-night round trip from Portland on the new American Anthem. The 2027 departures are listed for May 14, June 25, July 23, Aug. 20 and Sept. 17. The May 14 sailing is advertised from $15,280 per person at its discounted fare. The ship heads upriver with a stop at Richland, turns around at Lewiston, and calls at Burbank on the way back to Portland, as the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business reported in April.

On the cruise line's itinerary, Day 14 is "Burbank, WA / Walla Walla, WA." The text says it plainly: "Docking in Burbank, spend a full day exploring Walla Walla." These are the listed excursions for that day:

• Fort Walla Walla Museum and Whitman Mission National Historic Site, a complimentary excursion
• Walla Walla Valley Wine Experience
• Downtown Walla Walla Shopping District, a complimentary excursion
• Behind-the-Scenes at Gesa Power House Theatre, the restored 300-seat venue in a 120-year-old building

Richland works differently. The line's ships already tie up at Howard Amon Park, right beside downtown Richland. The company has three itineraries in this region, and two of them stop at that dock. Burbank works more like a bus terminal for Walla Walla County. The Herald described the plan the same way. Passengers will use the dock to board buses for Walla Walla wineries, parks and other stops.

What Burbank Gets Is the Infrastructure

Burbank's visible change is the infrastructure the Port wants in place before the first ship arrives. On Sept. 29, 2026, the Port filed a shoreline permit application with Walla Walla County, file SHR26-09. The county's notice of application lists what the Port wants to build at its Burbank Industrial Park.

The Port has also planned a drop-off loop near the dock, reached from Second Street. In October, the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business reported that the dock and road-access work was estimated at about $1 million.

So for Burbank, most of what this cruise deal would produce is pavement, lighting and a wastewater connection at a dock the Herald called underused. The streetlights would light key spots along the road and at the dock. The wastewater connection would let boats offload septic waste at the dock. Port staff have said from the start that the dock will keep working as a cargo facility. Jay Hester, then the Port's economic development director, told the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin in March 2025: "There's going to be extreme changes in appearance out there, but we're still looking to make sure we can conduct commerce."

How a Parked Ship Became a 20-Year Lease

This project has been building for two years. Each step made the cruise line's role larger.

1. Winter 2024–25. The American Song winters at the high dock. The Port and American Cruise Lines have been working since late 2024 on long-term land and dock use.
2. March 27, 2025. Port commissioners vote 2-1 to upgrade the high dock, the nearby parking lot and the roads, part of a project estimated at $2 million, with $500,000 for the dock itself. The plans at that point include landscaping, stormwater work, a pump-off station and electrical upgrades so docked boats can charge, as the Union-Bulletin reported.
3. March 2026. The Port Commission unanimously agrees to the terms of a 20-year lease, pending final legal review, the Tri-City Herald reported.
4. April 2026. The draft lease, as reported by the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, covers the dock and about two acres around it. Rent starts at $58,141 in 2026 and rises each year to $84,700 in the final year. American Cruise Lines would also receive 25% of the dock fees other users pay.
5. Sept. 29 to Oct. 29, 2026. The Port files the shoreline application. The county finds it complete on Oct. 27 and issues public notice on Oct. 29.
6. Dec. 14, 2026. The Walla Walla County Hearing Examiner holds the public hearing.
7. Late May 2027. The first sailing leaves Portland on May 14, and the Burbank call comes near the end of the trip.

In 2025, Port executive director Pat Reay told commissioners that the cruise line eventually wanted to act as Burbank's dockmaster and share the dock with other operators, such as Lindblad Expedition Cruises, according to the Union-Bulletin. The Herald's report on the 2026 terms also described day-use provisions for third parties, with fees split between the Port and the cruise line. The five 2027 departures are only the first schedule at a dock built to take more than one operator.

Dec. 14 Is the Date Residents Can Act On

The Walla Walla County Hearing Examiner will decide on the Port's application. The public hearing is set for Dec. 14, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. The notice set a 14-day comment period ending Nov. 12. It also says the decision maker will accept comments until the record closes at the hearing. Anyone can comment, ask to be notified of hearings, take part in the hearing or request a copy of the decision.

To become a party of record, the notice says to send written comments to [email protected], or by mail to Walla Walla County Community Development, attention Don Sims, Associate Planner, at 310 W. Poplar Street, Suite 200, Walla Walla, WA 99362. Until the hearing examiner rules, the road, lift station and streetlights are still a proposal. The cruise line's own calendar already counts on them.

Why Walla Walla Wants the Passengers to Land in Burbank

Walla Walla County's tourism agency sees Burbank as a front door. Guy Glaeser, executive director of Visit Walla Walla, told the Tri-City Herald that cruise passengers are valuable visitors:

"River cruises tend to attract curious and engaged visitors who are eager to explore communities beyond the dock, and that often leads to return visits and longer stays."

Mark Freeman of American Cruise Lines made a similar point when the lease came before Port commissioners. He told them the region is "a very popular area for people around the country," and added, "For many, this is a scouting expedition for visitors for future trips," as the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business reported. He also said the company wants to work with the Port on filling out what passengers can do when they get off the boat in Burbank.

For now, the published Day 14 sends visitors to Fort Walla Walla Museum, Whitman Mission, the downtown shops, the wineries and the Gesa Power House Theatre. In Burbank, the first visible change would be about 2,750 feet of new road and streetlights near the dock off Second Street. Construction depends on the county hearing examiner's decision after Dec. 14.

If you live near Second Street or anywhere along the Burbank riverfront and want to know how the high dock project could affect your home's value, Shana Brown follows projects like this as they move through the county. Get your free home valuation, and Shana will walk you through what's planned near you.