Ennis
Plan Your Visit
Ennis National Fish Hatchery is in Madison County, 12 miles southwest of Ennis, Montana, along the northeastern foothills of the Gravelly Range. Visitors are welcome to take a self-guided tour of our visitor center and walk through the hatchery building where eggs and small fish are reared. There is a kiosk in the parking lot with visitor information and tour directions. Families and groups are always welcome to visit our hatchery at your leisure. There is also a display raceway with rainbow, blue and albino trout that weigh up to 10 pounds! With over 3,000 visitors annually, the dedicated staff at the hatchery will normally be available to answer your questions. The visitor center, raceway, picnic tables, restrooms, and drinking fountains are accessible to people with disabilities.
Contact Ennis National Fish Hatchery at (406) 682-4847 for additional information.
Featured Species
Get Involved
For several years Ennis National Fish Hatchery has been providing community members and students the opportunity to work as a volunteer at a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Hatchery. The volunteers work in all aspects of the hatchery and play an important role in day-to-day operations.
Services
Ennis produces about 20 million rainbow trout eggs annually for research facilities, universities and federal, state and tribal hatcheries in 23 states. As a result of the Ennis Broodstock Program, economic benefits weigh-in at 5 million angler days, generating $50 million per year. To meet the trout production demands, Ennis NFH facilities include 38 hatchery tanks, 48 circular tanks, and 36 raceways.
About
The Ennis National Fish Hatchery, authorized in 1930 and operational since 1933, is the largest facility in the Service’s National Broodstock Program. Unlike production hatcheries, it operates as a broodstock facility specializing in rearing rainbow trout to adult size to provide eggs for other hatcheries. As one of only two such federal hatcheries, its mission is to conserve and enhance aquatic resources for the benefit of the American people.