Capilano Salmon Hatchery is a great, worthwhile stop, especially since it's free and right down the road from the Capilano Suspension Bridge. It's a nice, quick place to stop by and learn a bit about the salmon life cycle and the hatchery's conservation efforts. A huge plus is that you don't even need to move your car after visiting--you can head straight out from the hatchery onto the beautiful, peaceful trails throughout Capilano River Regional Park. Definitely worth a quick visit if you're already in the area! read more

I haven't been here in ages and was fortunate enough to visit this place again! AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING This place is beautiful and fits in seamlessly with the natural surroundings. The hatchery was built to help with the declining salmon stocks, but it is still a working facility up to this day! On the visitor's side, this is an amazing place to visit, re-visit and bring kids, relatives, and friends. The hatchery is FREE and..... during the right time, preferably fall, you can see juveniles to adults. A lot of them! It is an amazing and wonderful sight to literally see the coho and chinook struggle against the current as they jump up each step to their final resting place. The surrounding water and just watching the salmon is very peaceful and relaxing......at the same time, you want to cheer for each salmon as they make it to the next step! There's benches around the place, washrooms, and a parking. There's also a trail from the Cleveland dam to the hatchery. Salmon Times: Chinook adults (October to November) Coho adults (June to November) Steelhead adults (March to April) Coho juveniles (all year) Chinook juveniles (March to May) I definitely will be back :) read more

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Such a cool spot to check. We visited in Mar h on a gloomy day. I must say it is self guided and there was not much going on at the time. That being said, the views are great and it is definitely educational. You can arrive by car or by foot if you hike down from the Capilano River Park read more

Capilano Salmon Hatchery - Parks Near Me - North Vancouver, British Columbia

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Great place to visit when you're done with the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Just up the road from there, this place is self guided and you can view the salmon ladder through glass and watch the salmon and trout swim up stream. It's a good 20 minute stay and so peaceful. You get the occasional tour bus but it still doesn't get crowded. read more

Highly recommend!! We saw some cute small fishies! I learned so much about salmon There's a hike you can do nearby too. read more

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Someone recommended we check this place out after visiting the Capilano Suspension Bridge. It a great little stop that the kids love. It's totally free and offers some information on salmon and the hatchery. Then you can see the different stages the salmon go through. You can watch the mature fish fighting the current. And see the babies swimming around. Pretty neat! read more

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Capilano Salmon Hatchery was a such a unique experience. It was not on our original itinerary for our time in Vancouver, but a local encouraged us to stop in as they knew we were already going to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park and we are very glad we did. Opened in 1971 to help strengthen the salmon population. There was so much information to read and, while doing so, we were able to view salmon in different stages. Naturally, everyone around was stoked to see the salmon jump! Definitely fun and informative for all groups. There are hikes in the area too! Kid friendly too! read more

Located at Capilano River Regional Park, the hatchery is pretty far down the hill with steps and gravel trails. Going down is easy for kids and seniors, going back up is another story and challenging for most, take your time. There is a road that is accessible by car at the hatchery and the best solution to pick up kids or seniors. Hatchery itself shows the history and how its used to help protect the fish species and future generations. Well worth the visit. read more

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We walked around the Cleveland Dam and found the hatchery. It was a site to see! The hatchery built an area to mimic the real life stage when salmon go to spawn and you can see salmon trying to get to the next "level". There was a bunch of salmon at the last "level" trying to make it to the spawning place. You can also see different stages of how the salmon looks like. Pretty cool little spot to check out while walking/hiking through the area. read more

Capilano Salmon Hatchery - Parks Near Me - North Vancouver, British Columbia

Would recommend this and the short hike nearby over the suspension bridge park any day of the week. It is free, parking is plentiful and free, the views are incredible and it wasn't crowded at all. We saw a ton of amazing wildlife, a wild river otter, slugs, birds, salmon. It was a truly incredible place without the hassle of the large crowds ruining the experience. read more

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What a cool place to visit!! The displays were very informative and they had stuff like the different fishing poles used for salmon fishing. The highlight was the salmon ladder! You can walk above the grate above the water run from the river and see the salmon jump the ladders thru the windows below. We had a blast watching the salmon jump up and cheering them on. The enthusiasm among the visitors was infectious! This salmon hatchery/ ladders is 100% times better than the Ballard one in Seattle!! read more

We showed up to the salmon hatchery at 8:30am today, a Thursday. No one else was here that we could see, but two men working behind the gates. We had the entire place to ourselves and got to enjoy the sound of the water rushing by. You basically go through a self-guided tour. We spent about half and hour here learning about salmon. And in May you get to see the baby salmon (about 3" long) in the tanks you can look right into. The bathroom facilities are clean. Parking looks limited, but if you go early like we did, the lot is empty. The turn off from the main road is hard to spot, but it's to the left right after you pass the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. read more

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Super fun place for a day field trip! Got to see all the different types of salmon swimming up the run. Also a beautiful little trail that isn't too intensive - a nice walk to get some fresh air. Overall, a lovely place to visit if you are in the area! read more

Capilano Salmon Hatchery - Parks Near Me - North Vancouver, British Columbia

Honestly we had more fun here than at the Capilano Suspension Bridge. And it's free to the public! It took us over twenty minutes to get here by walking up the trails and sidewalks (plus we even got to stop by Cable Pool along the way). There's an outdoor section next to the lake that's teeming with hungry baby salmon. For a while we watched the fry chase and leap out of the water to eat tiny flying bugs. Then inside it was fascinating to watch adult salmon fervently swimming against the strong currents and jump up the ladders! The rest of the hatchery has informational displays to learn more about the hatchery and salmon. I'd highly recommend checking out this place. It's conveniently located between Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain if you are driving between attractions. We spent almost an hour here. read more

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It's a great place, whether you are a native of Vancouver or a tourist from other places, is a place to spend half a day to have a good time. It is easy to see migratory salmon in summer and autumn, and you can see how they swim very close, which is also free of charge. 非常棒的地方，不管你是温哥华本地人或是其他地方来的游客，这都是一个非常适合花费半天时间好好逛逛的地方，在夏秋季节很容易看到洄游的三文鱼，可以非常近距离的看到它们是如何游动的，这也是免费的无需支付任何费用。 read more

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Had a great visit here yesterday. Don't miss this Free adventure when in town! The location is amazing and the river and Salmon fishing is wonderful. The exhibit is done very well of course but the best part we found was watching all the fisherman lined up on the cliffs just south of the hatchery. Sadly a fisherman (actually 2) fell in the river an hour or so before we arrived and they were in the middle of the recovery during our visit. Super dangerous but safe to be a spectator! read more

June is not salmon season, so we didn't see salmon. The hatchery is a nice peaceful place surrounded with waterfalls and natural beauty. No tours, no workers anywhere, no TV screens...just a few displays and plaques to read about the life of a salmon. We didn't even see juveniles or salmon eggs. Nothing. It was quite uneventful. However, I've been to this place before when the salmon were jumping and it was an amazing sight to see. This place is FREE, so if it is salmon season, and the fish are jumping, I'd recommend checking it out. If it's not salmon season, you could skip it and not be missing out on much. P.S. There are other hatcheries that allow you to catch (and keep) their fish, but this isn't one of them. read more

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Awesome to see live salmon hopping over the different levels of water. Plus awesome trail to hike very close by.

This was hatchery was beyond exciting for me. I had never been to a salmon hatchery before this and didn't know think I was going to be impressed. I followed the signs to the hatchery in the early part of the morning which was the perfect time to go. There was no one else there so I could really experience the entire hatchery. The sounds, the sights, and even the smells...which all were so pleasant. There is a small exhibit leading up to the main attraction; the fish ladder. The exhibits are very informative and you can also see the different stages of salmon growth prior to seeing them all jump for their life as well as the survival of the species in the ladder. The whole place is very well maintained and fairly safe as business tends to pick up once the tour buses come through. Anyway, after seeing the lil salmon in their lil tanks, I headed to the main attraction. I'm not sure why but seeing the salmon swim so strongly against the rushing cascade of water coming fiercely down the ladder emotionally drained me. I'm glad I was there by myself because, although I probably looked like and idiot, I was cheering them on and contorting my body from side to side as if I was jumping along with them maybe with the hopes that they would make it with my "salmon instructions". This was such a powerful thing to watch. It really is "survival of the fittest" which helps stronger and even stronger salmon populations to spawn from generation to generation. Not everyone is a winner, but this is life. I really enjoyed the whole experience and stayed for almost 2 hours mesmerized by the slough of fish power-housing it up the "steps" of the fish ladder. Really really amazing! There are also bathrooms on-site. The whole experience is FREE and if an you're adventurist or hiker there are hundreds of trails surrounding the hatchery, some that lead up to the Cleveland Dam, Capilano Suspension Bridge and other cool places. If you ever get a chance to see salmon fight for the life of their species in the salmon hatchery and up the fish ladders, please do some. I could almost guarantee you'll go through a lot of emotions as they jump out the water vigorously struggling to make it upstream. read more

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We wanted to walk the suspension bridge but didn't realize it was a 2 hour thing. We totally would have done it but we hadn't just walked up the grouse grind then yeah we would pay the $42 to walk the suspension bridge. So I looked at our 25 free things to do in Vancouver and saw the capilano salmon hatchery and we were super close to it we decided to go there. And wow. I learned so much about salmon from when they are born to when they die. Amazing. A must see if you visit Vancouver Canada read more

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Just finished a visit here. It was very cool! Liked that we could see the salmon trying to swim to the next level. Wish they could clean the viewing window better but it was fine. We went on a rainy day & kind of off season but it was still fun to go check it out. It's free & I don't have anything like this back home, so why not take a look-right? No ranger/worker to ask questions- so self tour. A lot of displays to see & that was good. We got close to the river & that's awesome. It made us hungry for fish! Sorry no food on the premises. We had fun though. read more

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An educational and all around cool experience! Came here during salmon season (our visit was mid October) and got to watch the salmon swim up the ladder in the hatchery. Visiting the hatchery is free, and you can walk around at your leisure. There's a few plaques and cases to teach you about the salmon lifecycle, and the hatchery's mission to help boost the population. The hatchery also provides a nice view of the park's river and dam read more

Capilano Salmon Hatchery - Viewing area of the ladder - Parks Near Me - North Vancouver, British Columbia

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I love this place!! The Capilano River Park looks like it has great hiking & camping spots, but for me, the highlight is the hatchery! Here, salmon eggs are collected, fertilized, hatched, & released into the wild to help preserve the salmon species. You can see they baby salmon, aka fry, stored in pools until they are old enough to be released into the wild. And if you come during the right season, you can watch the adult salmon jumping up the fish ladder as they return from the ocean to the river to spawn. Totally awesome! I visited in late July & there were about a hundred Coho Salmon making their way up the ladder. It's the most amazing thing ever! Totally worth a visit on your trip to Vancouver & even better if it's during the migration season! Best time to view adult salmon migrating (as written on their website): Chinook: October - November Coho: June - November Steelhead: March - April TIP: Free parking & free entrance into the facility where the hatchery & fish ladder are! Oooh yeah! Drive as if you're heading to the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, then keep driving past it Capilano Rd & follow signs for "Capilano Hatchery Entrance." The entrance will be to the left down a hill on Capilano Park Rd. read more

Capilano Salmon Hatchery - The fish ladder! - Parks Near Me - North Vancouver, British Columbia

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This was such an awesome place. I usually go to Ballard or Issaquah in WA - they don't compare. The education boards, walking route, and grand view was amazing. My family thoroughly enjoyed it and they hate this kind of stuff lol. 4 stars. Really nice Salmon Hatchery. read more

Learning is fun... and free! We stumbled upon the fish hatchery yesterday after hiking around the jungley trails along to Cap river. A pretty cool place to bring the kids, or out-of-towners for a visit. I could see this being a total gong show on the weekends in the summer, especially when the tour buses arrive. But on a random weekday morning it would be quite tolerable. Resist the inappropriate urge to bring a fishing rod. Apparently that's frowned upon. And it is a federal offense! read more

Capilano Salmon Hatchery - Parks Near Me - North Vancouver, British Columbia

My daughter and I took the trail route to the hatchery and it was worth it! Along the way we viewed old and fallen trees as well as fishermen casting their poles into the river. I was a great walk! read more

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Beautiful, serene and full of natural life, the salmon hatchery is amaze. It's a good hike into the forest from the street where the bus drops you off or you can drive through the dirt path and arrive. Surrounded by nothing but trees, streams, and beautiful waterfalls, this place is a magical escape. At the hatchery you can study and see the process of how salmon grow, gets farmed and finally released into the wild. It's pretty amazing to see how big and ugly the salmon fish is when you look at it up close :p read more

This was one of my must dos in Vancouver , and it surely didn't disappoint !! It is free and self guided, and one of the prettiest places in a city of pretty places !! I enjoyed watching the salmon jump from the glass wall enclosures , there weren't many when I visited , but the thrill was there nevertheless ! My friends , who were visiting with me poo poo'd the idea of coming here at first , but I was adamant about wanting to see it ( after all it was my vacation too !) at the end they thanked me !! And said it was one of the highlights of their trip !! Which is saying quite a bit being that they love their television and getting them out in fresh air and sunshine takes quite a bit of work !! read more

Capilano Salmon Hatchery - Salmon jumping ! - Parks Near Me - North Vancouver, British Columbia

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Absolutely worth a visit if you haven't already! I'd be glad to go again! We were here last summer with my family. It's good for strolling, exploring, and learning! Everyone learned something new about salmon after the visit, and we got a good walk out of it too. Clear your schedule for this visit, because you don't know where those trails will take you. What was suppose to be a quick visit turned into a day long trip. We spent a few hours here before driving down to Lynn Canyon for more adventures! P.S. It's all FREE! read more

North Vancouver hidden treasure. We happen to stumble upon this because we thought it was ridiculous to pay almost $40 CAD to walk the Capilano suspension bridge. If you drive past the suspension bridge about .3 mi there is campground you park your car there. It will be on your left side be careful not to drive past it, as it is easily to miss it.There will be some camping signs, so dont be fool. All you have to do is pay for parking and the experience is free. After the hatchery, we were able to walk some of the trails and saw the second scenery point of some folks that paid to walk through the suspension bridge. There were few people there who had dogs on a leash, which means the trails is easy to walk. You will be able to see breathtaking views and nice trees along the walk way. It is a easy walk so good for all ages and must do when in Vancouver. read more

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It's free and it's great! We get to see lots of salmon trying to jump up the stream.. It's fun! the surrounding is beautiful too.. Love the trail too.. read more

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Fantastic place for easy hikes, gorgeous views and environmental education. If you can withstand the endless flow if noisy children unleashed and bored. Go early to beat the herds of tourists with dangling monster cameras, sensible but lurid pantsuits and trying to soak up 'nature' while puffing on cigarettes. read more

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We visited late in the season so there were not too much salmon. What we did witness was very cool though. There are also some paths which lead to some nice picture spots. If you want to have an education about salmon and do something that's free, then come here! read more

I came here on a Wednesday when I had a day off work and wanted to do something out of the ordinary that was on my bucket list for a while. I was intentionally avoiding weekends cause it is always busy with kids. I didn't bother with the tour. I just paced at my own rate and did all the reading. I felt it to be very relaxing and hypnotic. The hatchery is free which is a bonus for tourists. I came here since I was in the area as well for the bridge so doing something else for free was a good call. I did an extra walk as a hike in the area. read more

The hatchery ended up being a stop on a hike up the Capilano River from a starting point on Rabbit Lane to lunch at Cleveland Dam then back. We looked for salmon in the river at different points along the trail where there was a view. It's neat that it's open to the public (and free! as other reviewers have mentioned) and as a lifelong BC resident, I felt it was finally time to check it out! The friend that I went with hikes in this area regularly and she said that there were a lot more salmon in the river the week before I went. There were plenty of salmon in the fish ladder to see and the jumping is really cool to see (Nov 2013). It's pretty easy to spend half an hour here. We watched the salmon in the fish ladder until a school group arrived then moved outside to look at the fry pools and the grated area where the salmon enter the hatchery. Again, my friend told me that when she was there a week ago, there were many fish waiting at the entrance and fewer of them in the ladder. Lori N's detailed review includes the information about the best times to view the salmon migration. If you can spare the time, I'd recommend parking your car at a point along the network of trails in this area, pack a lunch and spend a good half day or more to hike and look around. Perhaps consider visiting Lynn Canyon suspension bridge in the same day, although that would involved a little driving. read more

I didn't expect this walk!! We walked from the Suspension Bridge to here, a good 25-30 minute walk for my short legs. I'm not a hiker... The walk towards the Salmon Hatchery was mostly downhill, but the walk FROM was uphill!!! The Hatchery is amazing, FREE, and interesting to see! It closes at 6pm and we got there at around 5:30. No one was here so we had the entire place to ourselves! The window to see the salmon jumping (from bottom to top of the man-made river) is fantastic. We saw a few brave ones jump all the way -in one go! (Not to be mistaken with "in one jump") This is an amazing farm. They have many different types of salmon (swimming together). And further into the Hatchery, you'll find the salmon eggs and baby salmon! Look closely and you'll see literally CLOUDS of them!! I thought it was just murky water! It's like we walked into a Discovery TV episode!!! Though I wish the "education" part was more complex. The info about salmon is very shallow and, I guess, geared towards kids/teens or quick reads. I totally wouldn't mind an academic (written) lecture on salmon! I'd read it! I mean, I'm all the way here already! read more

Such a fun thing to do with the kids, and it's free! It's no frills. No guided tours, old looking dioramas, but it gets the job done and the price is right. It's not uncommon to have the whole place to yourself. We usually hike down from Cleaveland Dam, which is another cool spot to visit, but they do have accessible parking too. It's such a fun little adventure and getting here is easy on the bus from the Quay. The hiking trails in this area are beautiful as well, so it's easy to make an entire day of it. read more

This was better than I expected! I enjoyed looking through the glass and seeing the salmon jumping to swim upstream. The kids enjoyed it. There was a lot of information on the walls. read more

Wow!! Amazing park, hats off to B.C. Canada. its mankind giving nature a helping hand to increase salmon reproduction, which offsets (to some degree) over fishing and pollution also from mankind. They have a man made bypass for the salmon, with Windows so you can watch them swim and jump up!! Some educational displays and a lot of walking trails. It's a really fun place and completely free read more

I have been hiking the trails coming off of Rabbit lane for years. I always head up to the Cleveland dam and on my way back pass the Salmon Hatchery. Sort of took it for granted until hiking with a friend. Actually spent some time viewing the materials. Very well done. I believe you can park on the North Van side and get there quite quickly. Great for kids' education I think. Price is right too! read more