Coleman National Fish Hatchery

Coleman National Fish Hatchery, located in Anderson, California, is the largest salmon hatchery in the contiguous 48 US states. Imagine feeding 842 metric tons of fish food per year! The Coleman NFH was established in 1942 to mitigate the loss of natural salmon spawning grounds as a result of the construction of Shasta and Keswick Dams.The two major species the hatchery raises are Chinook and Steelhead. The hatchery needed a counter that was passive and could count fish upstream and downstream. Their counter spends part of the year installed in a fish ladder on Battlecreek.The hatchery is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to dusk

The hatchery is located beside Battle Creek, about 11 miles SE of Anderson, California. Turn E off Interstate 5 at Deschutes Road, then drive 2 miles, turn right onto Balls Ferry Road, drive 3 miles, turn left on A-17, drive 1 mile to Balls Ferry Bridge on Sacramento River, turn right, drive 1- 1/2 miles then turn left at the next road and drive to the station entrance sign.