Family feeding and watching fish at the San Joaquin Hatchery.
Picnic grounds on site at native vegetation gardens.
A major producer of trout and inland salmon, San Joaquin Hatchery is also a great place to visit. Along the San Joaquin River, just downstream of the Friant dam, San Joaquin Hatchery has picnic grounds among the garden of California native vegetation. Take a photo with the enormous wood-carved rainbow trout!
News and Special Events
Fall 2024 Volunteer Opportunity: Gardening and Re-Planting along the FINS Trail
- Join us as we re-plant the FINS Trail with native plants and pollinators!
- Come out and help with ground preparation, irrigation, and planting.
- For more information contact Victoria.Knight@wildlife.ca.gov
Salmonids in the Classroom program now accepting applications for 2024-25 school year
- Teacher training classes will be held in October and early November. Register Now
Visit
Location: 17372 Brook Trout Drive, Friant, CA 93626
Hours:
- Grounds and restrooms: open daily, 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- FINS parking lot, trails, open spaces: open daily, sunrise to sunset
Contact: (559) 822-2374, sanjoaquin@wildlife.ca.gov
Mail: PO Box 247, Friant, CA 93626
Directions/Parking:
- Located 1 mile below Lake Millerton Dam, about 12 miles north of Fresno. MAP(opens in new tab)
- Upper parking lot: Open sunrise to sunset. East of Highway 41 in Friant. From Friant Road, turn west onto Parker Ave. Vehicle must be removed before Sunset. No Over night Parking.
- Lower parking lot: Open 7:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Additional parking and ADA parking to access the hatchery grounds is available. East of Highway 41 at Friant. From Friant road, turn west onto Flemming Road and follow the road to the small lower parking lot. Vehicles must be removed from the lower parking area by 3:00 p.m. daily.
Downloads:
Nearby
- Friant Interactive Nature Site
San Joaquin Hatchery is part of Friant Interactive Nature Site (FINS). After visiting the hatchery stay and explore the rest of the site, which includes: The San Joaquin River Parkway Trail, The Small Fry Children's Discovery Trail, picnic areas and outdoor classroom; view the California native vegetation gardens, behold San Joaquin River watershed tile mosaic and be on the lookout for wildlife flying overhead while on site. At FINS not only can you see salmonid life stages up close and feed the growing fish, you can enjoy nature by taking a stroll or picnicking along the trials. Kids can learn through play experiencing the life of a trout in themed play areas imaging they are a fish finding prey and hiding from predators in natural habitats. The 59 acres of state property is about a 15-minute drive from Fresno.
- Coming soon: Salmon Conservation and Research Facility
Construction of the facility is resuming on May 31, 2022, and is estimated to be completed by June 2023. Completing construction of this facility will allow reopening of the San Joaquin River Parkway Trail connecting to Fresno County Lost Lake Recreation Area and access to the San Joaquin River. For public safety, a portion of the San Joaquin River Parkway Trail is currently closed due to construction of the new facility.
More about this Facility