Entiat National Fish Hatchery
Entiat, WA 98822-9737
Plan Your Visit
Visitors are welcome to tour our hatchery! During the summer our hatchery hosts may be available to share information. Information, maps, and a self-guided tour brochure of the hatchery grounds can be found year-round at the kiosk on the lawn in front of the hatchery building.
A kids fishing pond was installed on the property in 2012. The pond is open for fishing only during the Entiat Outdoor Skills Days program, when local students make field trips to the hatchery. Many trees were planted around the pond, too. Visit each year and see how this reclaimed landscape changes over time!
Behind the hatchery’s main building and nursery, a trail crosses the outlet from our abatement pond and leads to the river. Follow the graveled riparian trail through a stand of cottonwood trees and enjoy sightings of birds and other wildlife.
Our hatchery is six miles up the Entiat River Valley. From Entiat River Road, turn left onto Roaring Creek Road and then right on to Fish Hatchery Road. Drive past the hatchery sign and park to the left of the gate, outside the fence. Check our outdoor kiosk for information or take a stroll on the Red Willow Trail along the Entiat River.
Activities
Featured Species
Get Involved
Interested in becoming a volunteer? Enquire on site!
Services
Currently, we raise and release up to 400,000 summer Chinook salmon every year. Our fish complete a 490 mile journey and pass through eight dams during their life. Twice!
Of the hundreds of thousands of smolts we release each year, some 2,000 adults will find their way back to their "home" here at the hatchery. Many more are harvested in commercial, sport, and Tribal fisheries from the Entiat River to Southeast Alaska. Adult salmon that we don't need for spawning in the fall are harvested by Native American tribes that have been impacted by Grand Coulee Dam.
Track our salmon as they return via the Fish Passage Center's website and access daily weather data collected at the hatchery through the NOAA website (links below).
About
Entiat National Fish Hatchery was established in 1941 as a mitigation facility for the Grand Coulee Dam. Originally used as a research facility to study fish health, it transitioned from raising spring Chinook to summer Chinook salmon in 2008. As part of the Leavenworth Fisheries Complex, it releases up to 400,000 smolts annually to support regional fisheries and fulfill Tribal trust responsibilities.
