Where to see salmon spawning on the Eastside

Chinook come in late summer, then coho. The hatchery, the Cedar River, and Bear Creek are where families go to watch.

The Issaquah Salmon Hatchery at 125 W Sunset Way is open dawn to dusk, and admission is free. Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery say chinook show up in late August, with the bulk of that run from mid-September through mid-October. Coho run from late September through late November, and a few sockeye appear from late September through October. Fish are visible from the bridge over Issaquah Creek and through the glass on the ladder. The indoor windows, aquarium, and theater are generally open about 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday morning spawning, when staff take eggs from the fish, is not a stop for small children. Watch from the bridge and the windows instead. Hours and the visit plan are on the hatchery site.

Salmon Days is the downtown Issaquah festival during the fall run. The festival site posts this year’s days and hours. The hatchery is still the place to see the fish.

The City of Bothell’s Salmon SEEson page gives the wider timing for these creeks: chinook from late August through September, sockeye from late September through October, kokanee from mid-October through early December, and coho in November. King County’s Salmon SEEson map marks viewing spots.

The Cedar River in Renton is a fall viewing river. The Seattle Aquarium stations naturalists along it in October, including at the Renton Library and Cedar River Park. That page has this year’s days. Do not treat one weekend’s schedule as the whole season.

Bear Creek in Redmond holds chinook, coho, sockeye, and kokanee. The city says the places to look are the Sammamish River, Bear Creek, and the tributaries. The state’s fish trap on Bear Creek, below Redmond Way, runs from January through June. That trap is monitoring, not the fall viewing.