Nimbus Fish Hatchery

I have fond memories of the fish hatchery from when I was knee high to a grasshopper — whether with my Mom and Dad on an outing or a school field trip. Yah, it’s been around that long. As an adult, I introduced my kids to the hatchery and it has become a fond memory for them. The «kids» are now adults and the hatchery is a place of happy memories for them, visiting on occasion on bad days, tough emotional times, or even just to smile.
Even if you’re not really into being educated (via the visitors center or tour), you can walk amongst the raceways of young fish at various stages of growth. In the Fall when the water begins to cool, the fence is positioned across the river diverting the adult fish, swimming upstream to spawn, up the water ladder.
If you’re just in it for the fun swimming fish, this is where you might want to turn around and go back to the baby fish.
If you’re interested in the full cycle of the hatchery’s operations, and happen to be there at the right time, you can watch the adult fish … ummmm … termed. The eggs are removed and the process of new fishies begins (pretty much in 5gal buckets, to start).
It’s the circle of life. Nothing is happening here that doesn’t happen in the wild. Just done differently and done in a humane manner.

Excellent staff and volunteers. They are all very knowledgeable and happy to share that knowledge! A great place for kids, adults, fieldtrips, you name it! :)

A cheap, fun place to take the kiddos if your kids like fish as much as our son does. It’s free to go into the hatchery. If you want to feed the fish, you can get some fish food from the 25 cent machines. I recommend bringing a cup of your own or else you’ll have to cup the food in your hands.
NOTE: They will be closing the hatchery at the end of July until around November.

Came here on a school field trip with second graders and they loved it! I learned a lot about the local salmon and how the hatchery worked and enjoyed the river scenery as well. Great place to bring the kids.

We went to the hatchery during this memorial holiday around 1:30 pm. The person working at the visitor center was very nice; he answered a bunch of questions. We saw a lot of fish, tiny ones and the middle-​sized ones. There are several fish food vendor machine onsite, and 25 cent will give you a lot! We had a great time!

My family & I support the fishing industry. This place is just the ticket to solve your questions about it. The education is plentiful! Beautiful location & friendly staff.

Went to the hatchery on Sunday, easy access and plenty of parking. Great area to walk and see all the salmon being raised. That was all we saw though, no people from hatchery to help with questions at feeding area. I understand it was hot so I guess that would explain why we found four people inside the visitors Center sitting behind the desk. They didn’t say a word of welcome. They never offered help the four of them just set behind the counter visiting between each other. This was going on at 2:15 pm on Sunday. I know that everything is clearly marked and self explanatory but a simple hello or if you have questions just ask. With funding it is kind of a waste of money to have four people sitting behind desk doing a thing. Don’t get me wrong loved the visit but them never even saying a word to us was rude.

Wow. This place was really good. You get free parking, no admission, and theres more. They have a side dor the chinook salmon, the steelhead trout, then there’s the hatchery section, information room which has a lot of «information «about the river wildlife. There was a huge salmon outside, it was fake, but made a good picture option, kids and some family can fit inside. There little food machines to feed the fish with, for ONLY .25CENTS. They are open year round from 7am to 3pm. Mind that cause the doors open and close automatically, so if you go here and stop for a bike ride along the trail dont forget to be back by 3pm. We spent almost 2 hours here. And my kids asked to come back. It turned out great, will be back, note that fish are bigger towards October to December and are tiny during jan to may. The life cycle..

This place was awesome. We were on our way home from Tahoe and saw a sign for the hatchery. Hubby has been itching to check this place out so we stopped. It was great! Spent about 2 hours and 50 cents here.

Best 25 cent spent ever!!! My kids loved this place. How come I ever thought of this place. It’s free parking and admission. Lol. Will definitely return again

Be sure to call ahead and find out when they are doing the egg harvesting, amazing to watch the process. And if you are lucky they may be letting some Salmon up the fish ladder.

Spent the last two days, here and across the river at Sailor Bar enjoying the different views of the 2014 Chinook Salmon run! Lots of great salmon action out here on the American now. One of the most fun and free fall activities in the area. If your curious about this cycle of life I’d highly recommend getting out here before the migration ends. After 3 its worth parking across Hazel at the park n ride and walking across because the fish ladder is available to be viewed after hours, with less congestion.

Been going here since I was a kid and it’s one of the greatest environmental and wildlife conservation places ever

Great place to come when I was a kid to learn and to see first hand. It is very nice to that they do not charge you to park in their parking lot. When you park in their lot there is great river access and you can also get right on the bike trail.

I pass this place every single time I am in Sacramento. I was in town for the holidays and instead of watching a movie or going to the outlets in Folsom, I wanted to do something new. Unilocal led me to the Nimbus Dam and I am glad I went because it was fun, FREE & educational!
First of all, park off of Gold Country Blvd (on the opposite side and across the street from the aquatic center). There is a small parking lot to the right. Beware of cyclists, runners and hikers!
If you look straight from the parking lot you see the Vistor’s Center behind a gated area. At first, I wasn’t sure how to get there, but I saw a small enter sign and you walk into the gated area, lift the gate up to enter and close it behind you (so birds and other wildlife don’t get in). The area is fenced off on the sides and top; it looks like a restricted area, but it isn’t. Walk in! There, they have several raceway ponds where they hold fish, specifically, steelhead trout and Chinook salmon. You can see small, young fish in one area and in the raceways by the visitor’s center are slightly larger fish. You can buy fish food for 25 cents! I suggest you bring a napkin or cup to carry the pellets. It is pretty cool to see the fish jump and rush to eat. And don’t worry they don’t survive off the visitor’s feeding them. While I was there, we saw the workers feeding the fish row by row via a truck that sprayed fish food out.
The center has a lot of educational material explaining he egg cycle, salmon journey from the sea and impacts of pollution. There is a video you can watch and I suggest seeing it as it gives a good explanation of why hatcheries are needed nowadays. My husband sat through the video which is saying a lot as he is easily bored. This place is prob more interesting and action-​packed when it is salmon run time! Still, even in the calmness, I enjoyed it a lot.
HOURS:
Visitor Center open Monday-​Friday 8 a.m. — 3 p.m.
and Saturdays/​Sundays 9 a.m. — 3 p.m.
(Closed Christmas Day)
Raceways (fish rearing ponds) open daily 7:30 a.m. — 3 p.m.

I went to this place as a kid and I missed coming! I haven’t been in ages. It’s a cool place to take the kids and go out for a stroll. I remember way back when the fish food was a nickel for a big handful of the stuff… Now it’s a quarter!
My family is big on fish, so they loooooooooooooove when anything fish is involved. They also have a little «center» where you can go in and learn all about fish facts! I enjoyed it quite a lot.

Pros: Fun for all ages. Educational and FREE!
Cons: Parking can be a pain.

A great place to to take the family for some free enjoyment. In the visitors center they display the different kinds of fish that swim through the Sacramento water ways. They also have toddler time in the center on Tuesdays and Wednesday from 10:30 — 11:00AM for music and hands on crafts. Outside you can observed the fish in the large canals, and can feed them by popping in quarters into the fish food dispenser. I highly suggest bringing a cup to hold the fish food, because its stinky. They have plenty of picnic tables, so you can pack and lunch and enjoy it outside. Also the views from the hatchery are simply beautiful, like the running trails, green hills, and the flowing river water. Overall a wonderful place to take the family and relax!

I would’ve enjoyed my visit much more if the fish ladder was open. I must come back again. I did get to see the fish that were in the raceways. Salmon and steelheads grow in the ponds until they are released to ocean waters. For a quarter, you get to buy food to feed the fish. The fish were jumping up trying to get some. It’s a good place to take kids. There is also a visitor center, so you can learn more about the fish and the hatchery.

Did you know this hatchery raises 4 million salmon and nearly 500k steelhead trout annually? Because I had no idea!
Today was my first time visiting the hatchery and I can tell you it will definitely not be my last. I look forward to returning next weekend when the gates are open so I can watch the salmon go up the ladder. The gates open tomorrow 11÷5÷12 at 10:30 AM but they close at 3. (I’m told the salmon will still be coming home through mid-​Decemberish).
I love this part of the river and if I’m not at work I am either kayaking Lake Natoma, hiking Sailor Bar or riding along the American River bike trail — the hatchery is smack dab between them all.
Parking is free, the visitors center is free (including a brief, informative video about the lifecycle of Pacific salmon), walking through the hatchery is free. There is a wealth of information about salmon, steelhead trout.
If you have kids, or are just interested in learning about our river you should definitely check out the Nimbus Fish Hatchery.