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Health & Fitness

It's Salmon Season at the Issaquah Hatchery

Salmon are in the stream & visitors are flocking to the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery. Take a tour, visit our gift shop or come see the spawning on Tuesday mornings.

Our days are busy here at the hatchery. Not only are fish filling the creek and the holding ponds, but school tours are in full swing. Each day about 250 school children plus accompanying adults, tour the hatchery and learn about our amazing salmon.

Weekend tours are also available. Our volunteer docents meet visitors at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays by the bridge over Issaquah Creek. No reservations are necessary. These are drop in tours. We see hundreds of visitors a day when the salmon are running in the creek. The hatchery is open dawn to dusk. It is a public park and admission is free.

And don't forget to stop in our gift shop. The "FISHop" is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through November 18th. We've stocked up on salmon themed books for children and adults, hatchery t-shirts and ball caps, salmon pins, post cards, and salmon art. Stop by and see what's new.

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And, if you can make it, beginning next week, you'll want to stop by on Tuesday mornings between 8 and 10 a.m. to see the spawning process. Hatchery staff and volunteers count, sort and spawn the fish in the holding ponds. It's a fun and educational activity to watch and docents will be on hand to help visitors understand fish culture.

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