Original dam was built in 1913 was made of earth and concrete resting on wood and steel piles. Demand for hydro power dropped in the 1960s, and the dam was abandoned December 31, 1966. Structure was taken over by the county park districts to be used as a regional recreation area. The dam itself and the overhead pedestrian bridge was removed and rebuilt in 1995 to 1997. While the old dam had 33 gates, the new dam has 10 gates, but they are much larger. Five of the gates are crest gates, which means that water flows over the gate, and the gate lifts up to stop the flow of water. Four of these crest gates are inflatable rubber bladders. The Coon Rapids Dam is the largest dam in the world that uses these rubber gates.

The Coon Rapids dam does not have a lock system for navigation traffic. That means that this is the true head of navigation for the great river. All dams south of this point have locks and are primarily for navigation, with the Keokuk Power Dam being the notable exception. The Coon Rapids dam is primary for recreation to maintain a constant pool depth. Dams north of here were installed for a variety of reasons from flood control, reservoir maintenance, and hydro power.