We just returned from a great day trip to the Page Springs Hatchery. What a hidden gem! It seemed like it would be a good place for the kids based on the other reviews, but I figured we'd spend an hour or so and then go to Montezuma's Castle or Tuzigoot. We ended up spending over 3 hours at the Hatchery! We had the place to ourselves for most of the time, too, which was really nice. And it's free! How can you beat that?!
When you first arrive you enter a visitor's center that has info about the hatchery and fishing in Arizona. There are fish mounted on the wall, including some monster catfish, and some mounted birds and ducks. The kids were curious about the fish and birds (were they real?), but they thought they were cool, nonetheless. There is a few ecology-themed magnetic puzzles for kids by the front entrance, too. There are brochures about the hatchery, fishing and wildlife in Arizona. Make sure to grab a hatchery brochure, as there aren't really any info boards around the area.
When you exit the visitor's center you are directed to the first bank of fish, A bank, where the smallest fish are kept. There are numerous fish raceways, as they are called, where the fish can swim back and forth. There are literally hundreds of fish in each raceway, and there are probably ten raceways in the A bank. When we were there they had one raceway open for viewing in the A bank, on the very end. After the A bank you skip the B bank, because the fish are in a delicate state, and proceed to the C bank of fish, which are the biggest in the hatchery that are slated to be shipped out for stocking. They had a middle gate open, which allowed us to view raceways on each side of us. Again, there are hundreds of fish in each raceway. The C fish seemed more active, as we saw them jumping out of the water numerous times, which the kids really liked. It was neat to see the early afternoon sun shining on the raceways through little slits in the ceiling. When it hit the fish you could see how beautiful they are with their spots and patterns.
After the C bank the next big attraction is the show pond. The biggest fish are actually located in the show pond, but from what we understood these were leftover fish. This pond is also where the water from the raceways is pumped to let the plants clean it before it flows to the creek. There is an observation deck where you can buy a handful of fish food pellets for 25 cents and feed the trout. We put a quarter in and twisted, but nothing came out. I found a helpful employee and he said he'd fill the dispenser. He came down with a 5 gallon bucket of fish pellets, filled the small dispenser container and set the rest of the bucket down in front of my kids, saying "here you go"! There was probably more than a hundred handfuls of pellets in there! Instead of my kids getting six handfuls with the six quarters I bought, they threw out probably 15 handfuls each. They had such a great time feeding the fish, as they would jump and thrash the water whenever the pellets hit.
There's a nature trail that you can take that shows the old hatchery ponds (since dried up) and it borders Oak Creek for a while, which was nice. There is supposedly a lot of wildlife to be seen, but it was pretty warm by the time we walked the trail, so I think all of the animals were seeking shade. There were plenty of anthills, though, so watch where you stop to admire the scenery. If you take the trail all of the way around, be advised that it dumps you out at a different parking area. You have to walk on Page Springs Road for a few hundred feet to get back to the main hatchery parking. When we got back we checked out Cave Springs, which is right above the parking area. This is where the water for the hatchery comes from and it's impressive how strong it gushes out of the side of the mountain.
At the end of our tour we decided to eat our lunch at their picnic area. There are many tables and they're all under big, shady trees. It was very peaceful, as you can hear the burbling water from the raceways and the wind through the trees. We lingered here for a long time, enjoying our surroundings, until we were informed, very politely, that the hatchery was closing for the day.
If you're in the area this is definitely worth a stop, especially if you have kids. In fact, it's worth driving up from Phoenix for the sole purpose of going to the hatchery, as we ended up doing. You may want to budget some extra time, though, as you may end up spending an afternoon enjoying everything that the hatchery has to offer. read more