Who would have thought to put a hatchery as one of their stop on their vacay adventures???? WE DID and heck ya, i would recommend it. Not just information on the salmon, but the ground. In the garden, it is tucked in the woods with well manicured landscaping adorned with beautiful flowers. Inside the visitor center is a quick video of what they do. Very informative Highly recommend read more

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We love visiting hatcheries and Bonneville did not dissapoint. We came to help celebrate Herman the Sturgeon's birthday. Parking was plentiful despite the increase in people present. There were cupcakes to celebrate, birthday hats, Herman pictures to color, and a raffle. We enjoyed the coffee shop/gift store and picked up a new fridge magnet and some peanut butter fudge. Enjoyed viewing the rainbow trout and sturgeon ponds. The grounds are gorgeous and teeming with wildlife and gorgeous flowers. We would definitely go back! read more

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This is always on our itinerary when we visit Portland. The trek to Cascade Locks is a day trip where we can check out some parks/landmarks and then make our way to this lovely fish hatchery. There's plenty of fish to view here along with some larger ones in the aquarium area. You can also feed them for a small fee if you choose. Sometimes we do that with my nephews who love coming here. Getting a close up of the fish is a breathtaking experience. Not sure of the species of the large ones but you'll see it in the videos posted. They also provide tours (at a fee) if you want a more in-depth education on the history/purpose of the location. But we usually stick to self-exploring the area with a couple rounds of viewing the ponds and the aquarium. Best part, it's all free! read more

Bonneville Dam Fish Hatchery - Aquariums Near Me - Cascade Locks, Oregon

I have visited the dam many times. Lewis and Clark expedition camped on Bonneville Island. I recommend visiting including families. I had not visited the hatchery. We had a private tour of the fish hatchery. I would say look at my photo of when the fish are migrating. In December and January there is much less to see. At that time, the fish ladders are drained for cleaning and they are not gathering fish to spawn them. Of course we visited the sturgeon pond. There is a lot of misleading information today about the Columbia-Snake fish by special interests, so it is important to do your own research by visiting the hatchery and asking the staff. The fish hatchery also has a documentary movie to show what they do. What I learned was that the hatchery came before the first dam. The reason, overfishing. Sadly much of the ocean factory fishing is unmanaged. A factory boat is not individually checking for wild vs hatchery fish. On our tour we had an expert on lamprey eels at the hatchery and a young guide to the dam who after many federal locations, sees it as the place they will raise a family and retire. The Bonneville Fish Hatchery is a deep dive opportunity to learn about our local fish with beautiful well-maintained historic buildings and a big dam to tour on the same visit. read more

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Such beautiful grounds and buildings! Beautiful fall day in the PNW and a perfect day for a stop at the fish hatchery on our way to the Hood River Fruit Loop. So peaceful and clean, it's like you're in another world, one of fish and flowers and birds and quiet peacefulness. Wandering around the beautiful grounds, checking out the sturgeon in the "pond" and in the underwater viewing window, watching the salmon jump in the holding areas, admiring the meticulously kept plants (including huge displays of scented pelargoniums!), getting a coffee at the gift shop, following the fish painted on walkways for the self-guided tour, this feels like a place where you could sit for hours and just be. Herman the Sturgeon is now approximately 90 years old (nobody knows for sure), about 10' long and weighs 500#. Seeing him in his home with his other fish buddies (sturgeon, salmon, trout) just swimming around is mesmerizing. The fish hatchery is free to park & explore. The buildings are from another era, painted white, and make for a very scenic stop to stretch your legs. Bring some quarters to get some fish food! read more

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Get up close and personal with underwater wildlife! We took ourselves on a self-guided tour inside the educational center and around the ponds of massive sturgeon, salmon, and rainbow trout. The underwater viewing spot gave us a chance to spot the jumbo 80 year old fella, Herman the Sturgeon. Don't forget to bring quarters! There's machines that dispense fish food to feed the fishies - A fun activity for both kids and adults. This is definitely a family friendly place and a quick, easy way to pass the time and, most importantly, to relax. read more

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What a fantastic experience! The visitor center at the fish hatchery is so interesting! Many engaging displays and so much information. Then, go down to first level you can see the fish swimming. Go outside and you can watch the fish jump up the fish ladder. Back outside you can see the hatchery. There are fish ponds with large sturgeon and trout. There is a wonderful gift shop when you get done looking at fish. It's all free! A must-see when you are doing the Gorge. read more

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This was definitely a Segway off of my original plans. And I am so absolutely glad that I did. If you are in this area there's two places that you need to view. The first one is the hatchery. Not your typical hatchery. The grounds are meticulously kept, it's impeccably clean and you can actually for 25 cents feed the fish and the ducks. They do ask that you please do not throw coins in the water. This could damage the sturgeons and the other wildlife. This is more than a couple acres and handicap friendly as well as all mostly flat. There's an underground water viewing area that's very impressive. The foliage and the Landscaping here is phenomenal. It's like walking through a Botanical garden. Do yourself a favor stop here and then go up to the dam. read more

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We were visiting friends in the area and they suggested we stop here. So glad they did. What the hatchery does is amazing and to see the whole process as well as the stages of the fish growth was very interesting. It is a great thing they are doing. You can see large sturgeon including Herman the Sturgeon who is 89 years old around 10 feet. The grounds are beautiful with lots of ponds and trees. Check it out for great information and a relaxing walk. read more

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It was good at the start. everything looked nice and pretty. Me and my family were cheerful, and excited to see the fish hatchery. And then we got there, half of my family stayed in the car because there was NO fish. I have one word to describe the Booneville fish hatchery. Horrific. Absolutely horrific. I find it ridiculous that a fish hatchery doesn't have ANY fish. None in sight. the only slightly good thing about this damn fish hatchery was the sad, lonely little coffee shop.Please fix the system and make it a place that people will enjoy to visit.1 star read more

Bonneville Dam Fish Hatchery - Fish hatchery With NO fish - Aquariums Near Me - Cascade Locks, Oregon

This place is super cool and a beautiful break from Portland downtown. I've brought my family and friends here and they've all enjoyed seeing all the fish and quaint buildings. This facility actually raise live trout and sturgeons and you can see them in various stages of life depending on when you visit. The best times to visit are between early summer and fall, when the fish have all hatched and are actively swimming around. Just last weekend, we could see all the baby trouts in their pens. SeeIng Herman (enormous white sturgeon) up close was also pretty neat. There's this lower observation room where you can see into the pond that's also accessible to wheelchairs. The gift shop is also super cute and has tons of slightly expensive gifts, jams syrups and also specialty hot beverages which I was super tempted to buy. This is well worth a stop on your Portland and Columbia / Hood River itinerary! read more

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What a great spot!! I had to been to a fish hatchery as a kid in New Mexico, very small. We found this one after stumbling upon Oxbow a few miles away. The layout is so nice. The grounds are immaculate. There are so many areas with fish in various stages of development. The Rainbow Trout are brought in and not raised here. 25 cents buys you a handful of food to feed them. White Sturgeon in several stages of development too! It was a beautiful sunny day to wander and enjoy. The gift/ coffee shop was amazing! I found so many cute things to buy (and did) The gals working there were so sweet! We had an amazing day! read more

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It's a beautiful place ! We stopped by on our way to Multnomah Falls, not too far from it. Nice place for family picnic ! Very clean and quiet. read more

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Fun excursion for adults and kids alike! We found it all very informative. We toured the fish ladders and saw giant sturgeon. read more

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Great stop to stretch your feet and have a little walkabout. The ponds are shaded and have lots of fish. There are dispensers for fish food, so you can feed the rainbow trout in the ponds. The sturgeon pond is cool too. The famous Herman the Sturgeon lives there, and you can read a bit about the history. There's a building where you can see how they handle the fish (depending on the season you go). There's a movie that plays with some of the history of the fishery. I would love to see this place a bit more modernized, especially with their exhibit indoors. Otherwise it's lovely! read more

Great place to take the family. Very well kept grounds and it's free to get in. It's fun seeing all of the fish at the hatchery and then at the Dam fish ladder. read more

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This is a 1/2 hour drive from Gresham. We went on a beautiful, sunny day. The grounds are beautiful! Lots of blooming flowers and sculptures throughout. There are ponds with different types of fish, rainbow trout, salmon & sturgeon. You can see their most famous fish: Herman the Sturgeon who is 85 yrs old! He's chilling out with a few friends in one of the ponds. You can buy a handful of fish food for 25 cents to feed the trout. A few freeloading ducks are there waiting for food if you'd like to feed them too! There is info all around telling about the history of the hatchery. In one of the buildings there is a continually running video about the process, from gathering the adult fish, spawning, growing & releasing fish back in the rivers. Very interesting! There is a gift shop and plenty of parking available. Overall, it's a nice place to visit, best part: it's FREE! read more

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We've absolutely loved this place for decades! I've visited here with my kids since they were toddlers and now years later we've visited with grand babies and little nieces and nephews. It's a wonderful place to walk around the paths, look at all the tiny fish, and feed the larger fish in the ponds. Bring your quarters and a cup! There are quarter machines to buy fish pellets to feed some of the fish. The ducks seem to really like the pellets too. There's also a really large sturgeon pond that you can view from both above and below the water line. Speakers in the underwater area tell info about the sturgeon. Very cool! There's a gift shop near the parking lot with fun things, artwork and even ice cream. Fun family outing that won't break the bank! read more

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This place is fun and interesting. It's free and just down the road from Bonneville Dam which is also an interesting stop. Absolutely be sure to visit the Sturgeon fish viewing area. Jaw dropping giant fish! The grounds are beautiful... different types of fish (ie. Trout) are raised and you can walk through those hatcheries with nets over top to avoid hungry birds. The gift shop is huge and you can find something for anyone there but they also had stuff I wanted for my home but had no room in suitcases. Overall, it's fantastic! read more

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Great place to touch base with learning a thing or two. Or just stroll around looking at the fish and such. Some very interesting things to see and/or learn about. read more

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Seeing the big sturgeon is cool. Feeding the trout is fun. Wheelchair accessible. Ducks too. High recommend. read more

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Surprise highlight of our trip through the waterfalls. The grounds are beautiful---it reminds me of a winery. The fish ponds are fascinating to see and have many scenic viewing areas. read more

Cute little historical spot in Oregon, nice views and there is a very old sturgeon, hugeeeeee! Fun for kids but be sure to go on a cool day as there.is not much shade. They have a cute little gift shop. Make sure to stop by Multnomah Falls before making your stop at the hatchery. Then stop by the Vista point to get an amazing view of the Columbia River which borders WA and OR. read more

Bonneville Dam Fish Hatchery - Trout pond - Aquariums Near Me - Cascade Locks, Oregon

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Make sure to bring some quarters to feed the salmon! Such a fun stop on my way to Portland. I went with my partner to relive his childhood memory with Herman the Sturgeon and we had the best time. We spent some time watching the ducklings swim around the salmon pond and got to feed the fish before we went and found Herman who is in a pond with a few other massive sturgeons! My boyfriend had been there last over 15 years ago when he was little and Herman was significantly smaller. The friendly volunteer that we ran into told us he had just celebrated his 80th birthday and was roughly 10ft long now. Afterwards we stopped in the little shop before heading out. Since we don't have kids, we only spent about 45 minutes here but it was cute and scenic. read more

Bonneville Dam Fish Hatchery - Sturgeon - Aquariums Near Me - Cascade Locks, Oregon

Met Herman, the sturgeon... Second stop of our tour was this sturgeon viewing pond located at Bonneville Hatchery next to Bonneville Dam. There is no fee to get in and we were free to roam around the grounds. Flowers were in bloom during our visit on Memorial Day weekend making the grounds colorful and pretty. We enjoyed seeing the sturgeon both from the top of the pond and also in the underground glass viewing area where we can see them right up close. You get a better idea of how large they are in the viewing window... here is where Herman, the 11-ft sturgeon resides. Herman is the star attraction of the Sturgeon Viewing Interpretive Center at the Bonneville Hatchery. Herman is 81-years old and he is huge, weighing in at almost 500 pounds! He looks like a sea monster compared to the other fishies. Herman comes from a long line of prehistoric bottom-feeders and he is impressive to see. Fun to look around and get a bit of history. This place is great for kids! Educational too. Spawning season is during the late summer and early fall and visitors can witness the spawning operation. I would've enjoyed to have witnessed as I've never seen anything like it yet. That would've been cool. Review #1412 (85th business review) read more

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This was literally my favorite thing I did on my trip to Portland. We wandered here on our way to Bridge of the Gods. So so neat to see all the holding ponds of baby rainbow trout and sturgeon along with the adult full sized ones. There is a viewing area with a window to view under neath the water in the large pond. It was fascinating to see these HUGE sturgeon and rainbow trout just lazily swimming around. Lots of interesting facts to read about and a super neat gift shop too :) read more

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This was the best dam fish hatchery I've ever seen. Look, it's free. There's plenty of parking, outside the gift shop you can pose with a Bigfoot (who, comically, a little girl kept calling Daddy), and it's a nice shady garden and lawn area full of fish ponds. You can even feed the fish. They like stale bread and cigarette butts. KIDDING- you can buy pellets there. Bring quarters. They like to play quarters. KIDDING- it's for the pellets. It's kind of like a Japanese garden without the Japanese. The highlight is the big fish. I like the sturgeon, *singing* touched for the very first time!! His name is Herman, he's 70 years old, 450 lbs, and he lives in a big tank with glass windows for viewing from a small, cave-like enclosure full of infographics. If you're lucky he will swim by so you can get a photo op with all 10+ feet of him. Unless you're wearing a suit made of lures, you'll have to be patient. [Bonneville Fish Hatchery is a great part of a road trip that includes the beautiful Multnomah Falls (13 miles west), giant ice creams of Eastwind Drive-In (9 miles east) and the quirky Train Appreciation Park (13 miles east)] read more

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A very fun place to go for a day trip. Beautiful flowers and fish to feed and watch. It's also near the Dam so you can check that out as well. We had a very nice employee save my Dads favorite hat when it blew off his head into the Sturgeon habitat. He was ready to give up, but I wasn't and we got it back! My kids got a big kick out of the experience. read more

Bonneville Dam Fish Hatchery - Aquariums Near Me - Cascade Locks, Oregon

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This Hatchery is part of the Dam Construction that block the path way of the fish along the Columbia River. The Hatchery is big and during the September to October, salmon spawning can be seen here. The Hatchery has done a good work on the Chinook and Coho salmon. They also raise steelhead trout. The visitor center can walk to the pool and see the little to big salmon is being raised. We are here for non of that. We are looking for for their special collection at sturgeon pond. They have raise a few sturgeon that has about 6 feet long. The glass underground viewing can see the sturgeon swim about. This is a pre historic fish that date back million of year. I like the sturgeon they kind of eating the item below the pond bed. In Florida, we have the gulf sturgeon near the Panhandle area. Very rare and protected species. read more

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This has been an annual thing for me for the past 35 years. Very nice grounds and lots of color almost year round. Bring your camera! A must do is a stop to visit Herman, the 100+ year old sturgeon. You'll also want to go out back to watch the salmon jumping a couple of feet away from you. There are quite a few hatcheries along the Gorge but this one is far and away the best. And the most active. read more

The trout and feeding ponds were closed when we visited. But the main attraction was still there! We had such a great time, especially since it's a self guided tour. Bring money for the gift shop. There is lots of amazing things! Great place for kids to explore. read more

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This is a nice place overall to bring kids to teach them about fish and their lifecycles, but it was a little disappointing overall for us. It's free, so that's a big plus and parking was easy. It was neat to see the sturgeon, but that was about it. The Bonneville Dam was more interesting overall and I would recommend that over the Hatchery! read more

Bonneville Dam Fish Hatchery - He caught a big one! - Aquariums Near Me - Cascade Locks, Oregon

This is a pretty cool place to check out, please note it is a few miles east of Multonomah Falls. This is great because you see all types of fish they have and best of all, it's FREE! You can just park for free and then enter and walk around and check out all the fish ponds and you can also feed the fish too! read more

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Kids loves feeding the fish and the sturgeon viewing window. Make sure to bring some quarters for fish food to feed the rainbow trout. read more

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drove all the way out here only to find out it was closed because of covid. So if you are interested in doing this, look before you go. I thought my mother in law had taken care of research but either the information wasn't there or she didn't see it. read more

Great family friendly destination!!!! Totally free except the quarters you'll need to feed the fish if you'd like. They have a gift shop with great coffee and handmade whipped cream that was amazing!!! They have several different buildings to explore with all steps of raising fish from eggs and On, is displayed in an informative and fun way. If your in the gorge, stop and visit Herman you won't be disappointed read more

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I love sushi... ...but a fish hatchery is probably just too - oh I don't know - biological, I guess, for me to appreciate without a little wasabe and shoyu. Understand that Chuck, the avuncular Gray Line tour guide, left this place to the next-to-last stop of a very long trip up the Columbia River from Portland. Timing is everything, and unfortunately, this came after the impressive spectacle of Multnomah Falls, so the sedate nature of the hatchery seemed rather anti-climactic. That aside, we did get to see Herman, an 11-foot, 500-pound, seventy-year-old sturgeon, who swims by in the underwater tank. He doesn't seem to mind the teeming crowds staring at him. Other than Herman, there are the various rainbow trout and younger sturgeon swimming about. I'm the first to admit that the intricacies of fish breeding are beyond my limited capabilities, and I'm sure there is an appreciative audience for the passive observation of the rearing ponds (what a name!)...but is it time to get back on the bus, Chuck? read more

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This place is like Disneyland for the fish crowd. Which would make Hermann the Sturgeon the Mickey Mouse of this operation. I have a son obsessed with fish. And because of his obsession, I've visited my share of fish hatcheries in several states as well as spent hours upon hours along rivers while he casts a line and talks endlessly about fish. OK, that second part is mostly with dad. I've been bored to tears at other hatcheries, but this place is pretty cool. The setting is gorgeous with manicured grounds and roses so it is just a tranquil place to visit even if you don't care a whit about fish. They have an above ground tank to display large fish next to dozens of breeding pools so you can see the fingerlings grow into small fry before they are released into the Columbia River. They also have several pools of rainbow trout where you can pay $.25 to feed the fish. The star attraction is Hermann the Sturgeon who has a special underground viewing area. Just follow the painted fish on the pavement to his 'house.' There is something prehistoric about this 10' gentle giant. It was interesting to find out that he only eats dead fish (Mickey is a cannibal!), except for his favorite morsel, fresh shad. So I've started calling my son Shad and I think he digs it. It is free to visit the hatchery, so it makes a great stop on a day trip to the gorge. Since it is free you can stay five minutes if it's not your thing or stay an hour if you are entranced like our family. One of the things that we enjoyed most was driving past the Visitor's Center, crossing the bridge and parking by the fishing area. You take a short path down to the river where you can watch the fish heading up stream during spawning season. They also had lots of berry bushes for one of our family's other favorite pastimes, berry picking. There is a nice gift shop and coffee shop, which I believe may only be open during the summer months. Some may think I'm crazy for giving this place five stars, but woo-hoo, this might be the best fish hatchery there is. And besides, if you fish, you are prone to exaggeration. read more

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I was actually surprised I would enjoy a fish Hatchery so much, but it's a bit more than just a fish hatchery. This place is more like a giant park with ponds of fish. Feed the fishies for only .25 cents...or the ducks, whomever gets the food the fastest. Sure, this place does have a few buildings that actually raise the baby fish, but even those are interesting. They are like little fishy museums that explain the process of raising the fish and how they grow. Very interesting. It's a great place to bring your kids. Don't forget to see Herman the Sturgeon. read more

Bonneville Dam Fish Hatchery - Herman the Sturgeon - Aquariums Near Me - Cascade Locks, Oregon

You rolling eyeballs... "Wow", you might be thinking. "A fish hatchery. Let's go look at a fish hatchery on our vacation... Uhhh, no." But wait, dear Yelp reader! This is no normal fish hatchery! Oh no, this is a beautiful, bucolic, garden filled, estate looking, ridiculously delicious fruit smoothie slurping odyssey where you'll even be able to view a living creature left over from the Triassic! Meet Herman the Sturgeon. Herman is about 11 feet long. He's a big boy. He lives with his buddies, some big, some small, in a large, beautiful fishing hole that looks like it's been ripped out of virgin forest. You'll also see beautiful gardens, forest ponds filled with huge rainbow trout, a nice gift shop which serves delicious smoothies, a small theater with an interesting informative movie, gorgeous trees, and of course, a fish hatchery with literally millions and millions of small fry just waiting for their chance to swim down river. And it's all free. It's an interesting, peaceful, fun for kids and nice for adults place to get away from the ridiculous waterfall crowds. And BTW, they also have some of the most beautiful, green, lush, thick lawns I've seen anywhere. A great place for a picnic. so go! read more

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