Leaburg Hatchery Visitors' Guide

Leaburg Hatchery was built in 1953 to mitigate for lost fishing opportunity because of the many dams on Willamette Basin rivers. These dams include Cougar, Blue River, Carmen-Smith, Lookout, Dexter, and others. The hatchery rears rainbow trout, summer steelhead and Chinook salmon, and has a staff of four employees. Come visit our show pond and see huge white sturgeon and rainbow trout.

There’s a viewing platform built by the McLaren School for Boys in 1993 to allow visitors to get a close up look at spring Chinook salmon spawning in the creek below.

Leaburg Hatchery is temporarily closed to comply with Oregon Department of Environmental Quality permit conditions. Visitors should be aware that no fish are present in the facilities' production raceways and show ponds. Fish have been transferred off-site but there has been no change to trout stocking in Willamette Valley waterbodies nor any reductions in production of trout or salmon from the facilities as a result of this shift. Trout and Spring Chinook for release in 2025 will be returned to the facilities in November 2024 and operations at the hatcheries will return to normal. Anglers can continue to park in designated visitor parking areas at Leaburg Hatchery and drive through the facility to access fishing spots.