Carson
Plan Your Visit
We're open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:00 am - 3:00 pm. Tour groups of all size are welcome; for large groups interested in a tour, please call the hatchery at (509) 427-5905. Fish hatcheries are generally located in beautiful locations and the Carson National Fish Hatchery is no exception. We're located in the heart of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, approximately 60 miles east of Portland, Oregon, in Washington State. The Wind River Highway, which you drive to the hatchery, is loaded with recreational opportunities. Hiking, biking, camping, fishing, and more will keep you busy; or there are plenty of places for a quiet picnic...including the hatchery! Did we mention we're also on the way to the Spirit Lake entrance of the popular Mt. St. Helen's National Volcanic Monument?
Activities
Featured Species
Get Involved
Carson National Fish Hatchery offers many ways to be involved! Whether you want to further conservation, learn more about nature or share your love of the outdoors, you’ve come to the right place. National fish hatcheries provide many opportunities for you to help your community and fish and wildlife.
Services
Carson National Fish Hatchery provides 250,000 spring Chinook eggs to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Lyons Ferry Fish Hatchery for the Touche River Program and up to 400,000 spring Chinook eggs to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Walla Walla Fish Hatchery Production Program for reintroduction into the Walla Walla River.
About
Carson National Fish Hatchery was established in 1937 to mitigate for Tribal, sport, and commercial fishery losses associated with hydroelectric dams. We currently produce 1.52 million spring Chinook salmon annually for release directly into the Wind River.
Carson is part of the Columbia River Gorge National Fish Hatchery Complex.