The kids and other parents had an amazing time! My expectations were definitely exceeded, Thank you read more

Here fishy fishy fishy... I am so glad to have found this place and I hope you will take the trip out to enjoy this facility as well. This is a trout hatchery. It rears about 75,000 trouts for the rivers and lakes in Georgia. Try to come on a Saturday, as they have a tour starting at 1pm. The kids loved the tour. This is up and close to the fish and they even get to feed the fish. The fishes goes into a frenzy.. and so do the kids In addition, they have a family fishing pond. Its a small pond and its is stocked with a LOT of fish. A fantastic way to get little ones hooked on fishing. The fish will bite and you will catch a fish very quickly... there was a LOT of squeals of delight when a kid hooks a live one. You can bring your own gear, ( hook#6 , bread + hotdogs) or use their free loaner poles. The area is well shaded, with benches and picnic tables. Truly awesome for the little ones.. you can hook a fish in 15-20 mins.. read more

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This is what I call a true hidden gem - and it's FREE too! I had asked friends for fun activity ideas for my 5-year old nephew and one of them told me about this place. At this particular hatchery, they raise rainbow trout and brown trout which later get released to the lakes. We unfortunately missed the Sat 1pm tour where you can watch them feed the fish. But even if you miss the tour, it's still interesting to walk around and watch the fish. I talked to one of the workers and he said they separate the fish by type and size. I also watched him remove the dead fish and then record it in his notebook, keeping track of # fish-in, fish-out. Seriously there's a lot of fish - Luke T's review mentions 75,000 fish. They also have fishing incl. free cane poles for the kids. Next to the hatchery, just follow the signs to the pond. It's a short walk thru the woods and then surprise, you'll see this big green pond. It looks like it's covered by algae but it's duckweed, and when you look at duckweed closely, it's just a bunch of really tiny tiny leaves. WEAR COVERED SHOES NOT FLIP FLOPS - THERE IS GEESE POOP EVERYWHERE AND SOME ANT HILLS TOO. WATCH YOUR STEP. Next to the pond you'll see a set of cane poles for the kids. You do have to provide your own bait - the worker suggested even taking pieces of white bread and rolling it into a ball works. So do hot dogs and earthworms. Sadly we forgot to bring bait but my nephew managed to catch two sticks :) I think they only have catfish in this pond. This is a "catch and release" pond so don't expect to bring home any fish :) Also while young kids can fish for free, person 16 years and older must have a Georgia fishing license. Open daily 7:30-4:30. They're located up in Cumming near the intersection of Windemere and Buford Hwy - you'll drive into a neighborhood and wonder if you missed the entrance but no worries, you'll see the signs. Have fun! read more

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One fish Two fish red fish blue fish Okay, forgive the Dr. Seuss reference, but while you likely wont see any red or blue fish, you'll certainly see at least one or two. As other's have mentioned, the Buford Trout Hatchery is a hidden gem, hiding in a subdivision! Granted, there are a couple of street signs that tell you the hatchery is hiding in plain site, so if you're paying attention to the street signs and you're curious, you just may stumble on what I stumbled upon. The actual trout hatchery is at the end of Trout Place road, with minimal parking and a small welcome center that hosts tours on saturdays. Everything on the grounds is surprisingly free of charge! Just behind the welcome center, you'll see several long rows of tanks filled with water and fish. Those fish are specifically brown and rainbow trout, which they are then released back into water bodies nearby. There's a lot of fish. I'm talking thousands upon thousands of these guys. From small babies to almost fully grown, they have the trout organized in sizes from larger (closest to the parking lot) to smaller (closest to the bubbling waters at the far end of the area) They don't have them marked often enough, but there are several little metal wires that act as a fence for the rows of trout, and this is important because those are electrified. If you have kids who are handsy, you may want to keep an eye on them unless they want to get shocked. There is a small trail (Lincoln's Sparrow Trail) to the right of the hatchery, which leads to a family fishing pond, as well as a boardwalk to a wetlands observation deck, but we didn't do this trail since we were heading to another location afterwards. Restrooms are inside the small welcome center, and if you just so happen to need it, there are showers in the restrooms as well. We spent about 25 minutes here, walked a few of the rows, inadvertantly scared the fish and got a kick out of just how many there were. Bring your kids, or if you're curious and have 20 minutes, bring yourself! I enjoyed it. Hope you do too! read more

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This is an interesting place to visit especially if you are interested in trout fishing. It's free. Can't beat that.

We set out to see Buford Dam, but didn't have any cash to pay the parking fee, so I looked up the closest unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, and found that it wasn't too far. Passing the parking area (all on the street), we drove past the chain-link fence into the Trout Hatchery (which is actually easier to find the address for than the CRNRA unit). There's a gravel parking lot in front of one main building. There are a few display signs on and near that building. There is a free tour at 1pm on Saturdays, but we were there around 9am. So we found a paper self-tour on the second signboard (the one closer to the bonds) and walk around ourselves. They've got 4 main ponds, with different sizes of different species in portions of each pond. There's also a nature walk through the woods with signage for the wildlife, a boardwalk, and an elevated stand that overlooks the marshland beyond the fence. There's a family fishing pond, complete with a few cane poles (no bait) that can be borrowed for fishing. The pond is covered in duckweed, and there's even a sign explaining that. The only disappointment: no water fountains or bathrooms if the building is locked... In short, a great free place to bring the kids! read more

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Nestled inside the Chattahoochee River Club subdivision is a hidden gem. Since the Buford Dam was completed in 1956 creating Lake Sidney Lanier, people have been using the lake for all kinds of recreation from boating to fishing. The Buford Trout Hatchery breeds both brown & rainbow trout to restock not only Lake Lanier, but other nearby bodies of water. Each concrete pod houses hundreds of trout in various stages of development from just a few inches long to 10 pound behemoth whoppers! On the far end of the concrete pods are huge water aerators to keep the thousands of growing beauties healthy and well. Although they no longer offer pellets to feed the fish, the park rangers will allow you to gather any remaining spilled pellets from earlier feedings to toss to the fish. Trust me when I tell you this is a huge (and kinda scary) thrill for the littlest members of your family. Our three year old was terrified when the rambunctious fish would nearly jump out of the water to be the first to eat the food pellets. But then he would scream with excitement knowing he just fed a living creature. There is also a nature trail, scheduled tours on Saturdays (1 pm) and a family catch and release pond for kids to experience fishing... maybe for the first time. Simple poles are available in the main office. Children (under age 16) may fish for free, but adults and teens (age 16 and older) must have a valid Georgia Fishing License, which are obtained easily online. Anglers must bring their own bait. VERDICT Honestly, this experience is more suited for families with small preschool sized children who are more easily impressed than say middle school aged kids or older. It certainly is not a full day activity, but you can easily burn an hour here (maybe two) if you walk the trails and stop to fish in the family pond. Also, watch the skies for Osprey who occasionally get bold enough to swoop down and grab a fish! Definitely recommended for families with children 10 and under. 2016/97 read more

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I liked this place. Its a hidden treasure i side a nice subdivision. Parking is free and its a pretty big hatchery. So many trouts to see but its recommended not to feed the fish or put anything in the water. There is electric wires to protect the fish but I think they turn it on during the night so the birds don't get. There is a small and cool breeze trail to the fishing pond. You can fish from 10 AM to 3 PM. There is about 3 to 4 kids fishing poles you can use and fishing is free for kids but you need a fishing license if you are an adult. Bring your own bait. The pond has a few picnic tables for you to sit and there is a small pier where you can fish out of. Today, there was too much vegetation in the pond you couldn't see any trout. This place is a catch and release which is nice and its recommended that Overall this is a place that I can definitely come back to you with the kids they enjoyed seeing the fish and fish in the pond. read more

Buford Trout Hatchery - Fishing Near Me - Cumming, Georgia

For a free outing with the kids, or just a day out of town to see something new. This is a fairly small hatchery as far as hatcheries go. I believe they have 4 employees. There is a tour each Sat at 100p and its free. During the tour they will show you the food, and feed the fish, and scoop a few out if you have small kids so they can touch if they want. You learn that these fish here are fed a better diet than many hatcheries, and they have less waste in the bottoms to clean out by spending more for better food. They also don't use color enhancers on their fish like some hatcheries do. They call this a hatchery but it really doesn't hatch anything anymore. They buy fingerlings from another hatchery in a neighboring state and raise them to stocking size. There is one tank with extra large fish. In 2014 season they put in one for every 19 normal 8-9 inch stockers. These were 13-16 inches mostly. You catch one and people say oh you got a "holdover" fish. That means a fish that survived at least one winter to grow larger. Maybe it is, but it might also very well been thrown in last week from this tank. You will see the electric fence to keep the birds of prey out of the tanks. In the river they dive after these trout all the time. You might even catch one in the river with bird claw marks, a lucky one that got away. Few do though as these birds are pros. There is a family fishing pond on premises. There are cane poles back there, I guess first come gets those. The hatchery is for trout only, but in the pond are panfish and others. You can also see the truck used to load up fish and drive out to do the stocking. Its worth a visit if you just want a free trip with the family or friends and you find fish raising of interest. Its located in a residential area so when your in an area you thing is only homes, keep going and its at the end on your right. read more

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Nice little spot and really nice people. FYI there is no longer a fishing pond for the kids which was

The kids from our church love this place. They get to see how trout are raised and can fish in the back with the hatcheries catch and release pond. They picnic tables and benches as well as restroom facilities. Make sure to bring food and drinks as none are available here. read more

Fun place for kids. Only wish the fishing pond was cleaner. The staff at the hatchery is very friendly.