Wow! What a lovely day. Pack with a lot of patience because parking was tough. We arrive not that late, but ut took us a bit yo get to a lot even when we already got a map for the available parkings. Slow movement but we got there.Some stress are closed. There are lots and lots of booths. Plenty of things to see, purchase, and eat along. We had some dumplings, lactose free dole (yaaay!), and cotton candy. Everything was great! I wanted some BBQ but lines were huge!!! We lost an hour for the cotton. Candy. Kids were playing in the meantime, but I suggest to keep an eye because there's gazillions of people! It is a fair! read more

Issaquah Salmon Days - Festivals Near Me - Issaquah, Washington

Salmon Days!! Always a fun time while we watch our salmon friends move through the area (and you can eat them). This is the first year I've got in many, many years and I'm glad that I did. Like any other festival that shuts down a large area, the parking is pretty crazy. I got there nice and early to find a good spot and walked about a mile. Overall good selection of vendors! Most of them were artisanal and not something you can buy from a direct-from-China shop. The food court had a lot of great options, and, of course the Kiwanis salmon BBQ. They also had a large field section with games for the kiddos and a water dog competition! There were lots of salmon going through the ladder, so that was nice to watch for awhile. Overall Salmon Days is a great festival to get out and do something a little different! read more

Super fun day for toddlers and adults! We enjoyed looking at salmons from the hatchery, watching the parade on Saturday morning (starts at 10AM), and visiting all the vendors. There were a large variety of food vendors in the back near the kid's play area. Food is not cheap, but it's expected from a fair. Tips: 1) Look at the event map ahead of time, and check out where you want to park. We parked at a church up this big hill, and paid $10. I saw some places charging $15 or more. 2) Beat the rush/line by purchasing food before 11AM. Almost every stall had a long line after 11:30. read more

See all

We missed the parade but we were able to see jumping salmon and learn about salmon hatchery from the expert volunteers. We also enjoyed looking around and saw different vendors. It was a nice experience for first timer. read more

See all

Always a fun time- salmon ladder with living viewing, docents who answer your salmon questions, examples of salmon they have coming to the hatchery, booths and freebies, live music, beer garden, tons of food trucks, dock dogs and other entertainment.... The list goes on. read more

See all

This is the 1st year for this 501(c)3 nonprofit org and while some members could not attend - everyone who did wants to return and make this event part of our calendar. Later in the day, my family and I went back to walk around and enjoy the great weather (less the wool uniform). A great many booths with almost anything you might want. Lastly we always go to the Kiwanis for their Salmon BBQ for dinner. Always very good! read more

Issaquah Salmon Days - Spirit of 76 Living History Assoc - Festivals Near Me - Issaquah, Washington

See all

My dad looked up things to do before our trip to Seattle and this came up during his search. It's a 2 day festival in downtown historic Issaquah that has a mix of artisans, food, and local vendors. There are a variety of options for parking - all of them charge various amounts, but the money goes to help certain organizations or groups like the Boy Scouts. My dad chose a lot by the center of the festival that supported the Boy Scouts and it was very close - under a few seconds to get into the festival. (Festival itself is free.) You can watch the salmon jump/leap at the Hatchery if that interests you. There is also an area that explains what they do at the Hatchery if you want to learn more about salmon in Issaquah. You can find a mix of artisans who make gourmet food, accessories, pet items, home goods, art, and other things. As for food, someone noted there wasn't a lot of salmon dishes/food vendors present. There is a smoked/grilled salmon station, but it was located at the Kiwanis building. Everything else was a mix of cultures and types of food. My folks bought some cookies from a local bakery and I bought a bubble tea in a panda reusable tumbler. The latter was sweeter than I liked and the pearls were a little too chewy/seemed overcooked, but the container was cute to use for later. I feel the food pricing is a little high, but that seems to be the norm for festivals or events - food vendors charge a bit more. If you go when it opens, it is possible to finish the event in a day. I would say it took about 1.5 hours to walk the entire festival and be satisfied with what we saw. read more

This annual event has gotten bigger over the years. Given the past couple of Pandemic years, this one is huge in comparison. So many booths this year with all sorts of things to see, buy and eat. The weather was awesome this year too. read more

Where is the salmon?? We wanted to eat salmon but couldn't find any booths.......?? So don't go to this festival planning on eating salmon! There are a gazillion other food booths but the lines were LONG for almost all of them. Plenty of homemade crafts and merchants. On both ends of the event there is love music. Check the weather because we went on an over 80* day. The kids and dogs walking around were obviously miserable! read more

I've been coming to Salmon Days for years and recently came for the first time in awhile. It just continues to get bigger and bigger. We were able to find handicap parking quite close to the main areas. They do a great job of publishing parking maps and such ahead of time if you need to plan for accommodations. The whole event is extremely dog friendly. Personally, I always have to go by the hatchery to see the actual salmon but I'd also recommend checking out all the art and getting something to eat. I was able to find gluten free crepes which were pretty good - I'd particularly recommend the savory ones (versus the dessert ones). read more

Always a pleasure attending salmon days! We come every year and it usually falls on my birthday. I enjoy the booths and all the treats sprinkled throughout. Wish the greyhound rescue was here this year! read more

First time at Salmon day, I went on Sunday. No problem finding parking around 10:30. There were a lot of vendor, food vendors, several tents games and give away. There was a McDonald's food truck that gave away free fries. I got maple filled donut and carrot cake from North Bend bakery, yummy and moist. There were people around to answer questions if you go to the Fish Hatchery. It does get crowded in the afternoon. It warm and sunny. read more

See all

Was told that this festival is a must at least once so I went. Did not disappoint. I cannot even accurately estimate how many booths there were - so so many booths. Food booths and craft booths. We headed straight to the beer garden upon arrival and enjoyed a local brew from Elysian Brewery. It was a hot day so my wish was for shade but the shade in the beer garden was limited. Needless to say we quickly moved on to the salmon BBQ which thankfully had shade. There are food booths for whatever you're craving, so many talented artisans selling their crafts, young musicians sharing their talents - a super talented cellist was one. The town of Issaquah is gorgeous and I took some time to visit local shops before I left. I felt very safe. It was well-policed but safety was never a concern. I would say that we parked quite a ways away and walked about 2 miles to get to the festival. read more

See all

Issaquah Salmon Days are awesome, a huge parade, lots of booths, awesome entertainment, a working salmon hatchery close by, Kiwanis Salmon Bake, always popular, salmon spawning, tons of them in October, well worth the trip for all ages. The festival's sense of humor shows up in their volunteer T-shirts, often saying things like Spawnsored by (local business), or O=Fish-el, check it out, you won't go wrong. And the Village Theater (and I love live theater) often shows productions during the Festival at very reasonable prices too. I say go for it Having lived in Texas for ten years, one of the highlights is checking out the fall colors in the trees read more

How weird does a Salmon Days festival sound to someone not from the area? It's worthwhile to visit this annual festival...it's like a classier carnival with actual culture vibes spanning lots of street blocks. There's TONS of different food vendors (bring cash), music, entertainment, art, local vendors and more. And of course the main attraction is the adjacent salmon hatchery, open for a walk through to see all the live salmon along the creek bed and ladders. Side Note: get to the curly fries station early! Wait times for order can be at least 45mins or more. read more

See all

Fun, annual event that the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce puts on. I tend to go ever year, as it's always a good time and is a great way to explore more of the city of Issaquah. The Issaquah Salmon Days is usually a weekend celebration and is the biggest event in the city. Front Street/Old Issaquah is closed to cars, as the vendors and events are set up in this vicinity. There is a full weekend schedule always posted online for planning purposes, in addition to alternative transportation because you do not want to attempt to drive to Issaquah during Salmon Days! Fortunately, the event always has public transportation/buses set up with three popular pick-up locations around Issaquah. It's normally only four bucks, round-trip. Events range from a parade, a tour around the salmon hatchery, DockDogs where dogs leap/jump in the air into the water, a carnival and this year, there was a wine tasting event. There are several vendors, selling a range of crafts and items and lots of food vendors with a variety of different cuisines. I encourage anyone who has not been to the Issaquah Salmon Days to at least go once, and enjoy one of the most entertaining eastside festivals that occurs every year. Always a fun time, celebrating the return of the salmon into the creek and reflecting on Issaquah's history! read more

It's OhFishal! We love Salmon Days! I've come here for years since I was a little kid and this festival never gets old! Just celebrating a bunch of spawning Salmon with 200k + of our closest friends! Salmon days is kicked off on Saturday morning by a family fun run 5k. Then the masses gather along Gilman Blvd, Front Street and Rainier Avenue to watch the parade! This is an especially good parade to watch as its one of the last of the big festivals in the area of the season. "Best of" parade floats from events like the Wenatchee Apple Blossom Festival and Daffodil days in Puyallup are featured in between high school bands, dance groups, scout troops, etc. Its a lot of fun! After the parade there are two groups of people: those that go home, take a nap and come back on Sunday. And those that slowly waddle the rest of the way towards Front Street and Sunset to the actual Salmon Days Festival. Bring a lawn chair or two otherwise your choices for seating are cement curb or wet grass. The parade starts at 10am Saturday morning. But be patient... It takes a while for the parade to make its way down the almost 2 mile parade route. Plus Issaquah is still a small town... Everything happens in its own time as it needs to. The festival is made up of arts and crafts booths on Front Street and along Sunset. The food booths are scattered along Sunset but mostly concentrated in the parking lots that line the back side of Front Street towards the park. Veterans Memorial Field turns into "Field of Fun!" With lots of games and activities especially for the kiddies and those young at heart! Favorite fair foods: Smoked Salmon Bagel, Elephant Ears and Boehm's ice cream bars! read more

See all

Overall: Well worth the visit, if only to see the salmon swimming upstream This event runs on the first weekend of every October. This year was my first, living near downtown Issaquah I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. Apparently this festival draws in 150,000 people every year! The festival is based on... yes you've guessed it - SALMON. On West Sunset Way towards Newport Way there's a bridge which runs above the stream where the salmon swim upstream to get to the hatchery. You can count how many you can see, but these numbers are tiny to what's in store at the hatchery! You can wander around the hatchery (24/7 normally), however on these days there are guides who you can question if you wish. It's truly amazing seeing the salmon up close, they're so big and some just look damn mean. There are many viewing areas to watch the salmon swim upstream, battle the currents to make that final leap into the calmer waters above the stream. However, the hatchery makes this impossible initially, but you can still watch them try. It's initially impossible because they put a high gate which makes it highly unlikely that any salmon will get across - they do this to make sure that they get their quota. When the quota is obtained, they open the gate and the rest of the salmon can go through. There are Chinook, Sockeye and Coho swimming around and make sure you don't miss the windows where you can watch their frantic race to spawn at eye level. There's a display of large "fresh" salmon at a stand where you can compare what they look like etc. It was a bumper year this year with approximately 25,000 salmon. There's a parade, arts & crafts, foods of the world section, the Kiwanis salmon and beef barbecue (the line for this was exceedingly long and they say the British like to queue), a silly little train plus 4 stages of entertainment and lots more. The Foods of the World included foods such as - Cajun blackened salmon and burgers, wiener schnitzel, Reuben sandwiches, strawberry shortcakes, chocolate dipped ice cream, espresso, funnel cakes, corn on the cob, smoked salmon, lemonade, egg roll, barbecue pork/chicken skewer, stir fry noodles, crab cakes, pot stickers, teriyaki chicken, cookies, crepes, Caribbean food, Kenyan food, corn dogs, hamburgers, curly fries, fried cheese, chicken nuggets, frankfurters, ice cream, piroshky, kettle corn, halibut, cod, shrimp, clam, chicken strips, gyros, Greek salad, baklava, spanokopita, hummus, pizza, Philly steak sandwiches, roasted cashew nuts, elephant ears, seafood gumbo, root beer floats, fudge, candy floss/cotton candy, chocolate & candy skewered fruit, tacos, apple dumplings, bratwurst, polish sausage and German wieners. We didn't try any of the foods or buy anything. The trip was simply made worthwhile by seeing the salmon. This is highly recommended and there's lots of entertainment for the whole family, but PLEASE use the park & ride shuttle services if you're visiting from out of town and DON'T park on our private roads! This is highly frustrating! read more

Issaquah Salmon Days - Front Street on a salmon day (taken from www.salmondays.org) - Festivals Near Me - Issaquah, Washington

The annual Salmon Days in Issaquah did not disappoint. The folks who put this event on did a great job organizing almost every downtown street into a festive celebration. Display stands of every kind was on the streets, showcasing their arts and crafts. Every street was packed with people, food stands, even the local restaurants joined in to make this a very nice event. And the main attraction which was the return of the salmon back to their nesting streams and creeks to spawn wa an exciting scene to watch. It was a great to spend a Saturday. read more

See all

Down home fall fun! Over the years it has grown a lot! Now it's very peopley!! If you don't like crowds this is not for you! Lots of awesome vendorsf.. my favorites are ace leather and the lady artist that makes painted metal birds sand insects!! Prices have increased but for a Once a year event I save up for the weekend of salmon days ! Good food... my favorites are the gyro truck and strawberries on a stick and roasted corn! read more

Issaquah Salmon Days is Fun Fall Festival that I try to attend every year! Seeing the Fall Colors and watching the Salmon swimming upstream. Lots of craft vendors to see and food booths! :) read more

See all

Fun little town festival. Loved walking around and seeing all the cool art. And of course the salmon swimming upstream. Due to us having a flight back to California we had to leave early and didn't get to spend alot of time. Would definitely recommend it if you are in the area when this is happening. read more

It's a fun local festival within the Eastside to go to. Lots of vendors and activities for kids. Parking is a bit far unless you want to pay for closer parking. Not a lot of Salmon selling booths but still fun. Look out for the walking Salmon. read more

What a fun plethora of vendors....food, games, accessories...try the apple dumplings! I am now a big fan! Also, music going in 3 areas for your enjoyment. Fun Fun Fun! read more

Issaquah Salmon Days is Top 3 for my favorite festivals here in Washington State, I try to attend every year. :) There are so many great artisans during this festival. There's also a lot of food vendors and music on several stages. It's also fun checking out the spawning salmon during the Fall Salmon Season! read more

Exceeded my expectations. Just be prepared for very stiff crowds. So much to see and do and we didn't even visit the carnival area. We did go to the kid play area, the hatchery area, Kiwanis BBQ, and saw a lot of the booths. The kid play area is really impressive as most of it was free (there is also a free mini train ride). At what other festival do you find free bouncy houses? We were glad we were there early as the crowds became worse and worse (and lines longer) as the day went by. But fortunately, my daughter was satisfied with going on each thing once. There are also quite a number of booths where the kids can spin a wheel or play games and win little prizes. So fun! The hatchery as always is great to visit (we love visiting it and watching the salmon jump). This area is where a lot of the more educational/nature booths are set up. Again, with kid games etc. The international food court is impressive. Lots to eat. There are quite a number of seafood options, which makes sense considering the theme of the festival. The Kiwanis BBQ is not recommended (except that it is for a great cause). Not worth the money although the BBQ salmon was pretty tasty. We also tried a place that offered a mixed seafood pita. Delicious! A lot of the vendors have free samples. All in all quite a bit of fun except for the crowds. At times it was almost impossible to walk. read more

It's crazy how much this festival has grown!! I use to be able to see everything in an hour now it takes half a day! Coming to salmon days brings back great childhood memories! It starts with a parade!! Who doesn't love a great parade!! I love all the vendors!! And there is such a wide variety of vendors!! You have everything from food to arts and crafts! One of my favorite artist is always there which is great bonus for me! There is no way you can't find something you need/want! Great place to find gifts!! They have so many ready to eat food options! Normal festival food items as well as unusual ones! Also this year they have a carnival, which I think is an amazing idea! And wonder why took so long to have one! Parking is kind of crazy as well as traffic around the event is slow. There are lots of places that offer $5-$10 for parking. There are also shuttles to take you from free parking to the festival. This is a great free festival for the whole family! read more

This is a great fall festival, held in October every year to celebrate salmon. Plenty of food and fun, with a parade and music and artist booths and fun runs and lots and lots of salmon stuff. You'd be surprised what salmon can be incorporated into. Keep in mind that the only reasonable way to get here is to park in one of the shuttle locations. I use the Issaquah Park 'n Ride and pay the $1 for a shuttle ride. It's not too inconvenient and the festival is worth it. read more

One of our favorite festivals. Great vendors and you've got to love watching the salmon try and swim upstream.

Such a fun day in Issaquah. There is something for everyone. A big parade, food galore, booths full of great fun local things to buy. And Salmon. My son went for a pony ride and watched the salmon climb the fish ladder. I look forward to it every year. read more