Oak Springs Hatchery Visitors' Guide

Oak Springs Hatchery was constructed in several phases beginning in 1922 with the last major construction in 1996. The facility is currently used for egg production, incubation and rearing of rainbow trout, incubation and rearing of summer and winter steelhead, and maintains one resident rainbow trout and one resident cutthroat broodstock.

Oak Springs Hatchery

Best time to visit: June – October. Trout spawning occurs September – October

Visiting hours: office hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Fish raised: rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, and summer and winter steelhead

What to see and do: The hatchery egg incubation room is accessible for viewing by appointment October through March. Group tours are available by appointment to view and participate in trout spawning September through October. The facility also offers a picnic area, fountain, and show pond.
Good birdwatching during spring and summer with an amazing variety of finches, grosbeaks, orioles, kingbirds, wrens and woodpeckers. See kingfishers, herons and a nesting pair of golden eagle seasonally. Deer are a common sight.

  • Wildlife: birds of prey, fish, wading birds, songbirds, upland birds
  • Facilities: camp host, picnic area, hunting, restroom
  • Nearby: The Deschutes River is a premier trout and steelhead waterway. Good bird watching opportunities are available during spring and fall migrations.

Directions: 
From 1-84 turn onto Hwy. 197 at the Dufur exit and travel 37 miles through Tygh Valley. Continue to the top of the grade on Hwy. 197. Turn left at the hatchery sign and continue three miles into the canyon to the hatchery.
From Hwy. 26: Take the Bear Springs/Maupin cutoff (Hwy. 216). Turn left on Hwy. 197. Travel three miles to the hatchery sign. Turn right at the sign and follow the road for three miles into the canyon to the hatchery.

Address and Phone:
Oak Springs Hatchery
85001 Oak Springs Road
Maupin, OR 97037
(541) 395-2546