‘Salmon SEEson’ returns: Where to spot fish as they come home to spawn in King County rivers and streams

Salmon are coming home to spawn in King County’s rivers and streams – find details on self-guided and interpretive viewing opportunities on the Salmon SEEson website.

Pacific salmon – including sockeye, Chinook, coho, pink, and chum – have begun the journey from the open ocean to their birthplaces to spawn in streams and rivers that feed into Puget Sound. Lake Sammamish kokanee, which are landlocked sockeye salmon that spend their entire lives in freshwater, will soon move into streams along the lake to spawn.

The Salmon SEEson program helps people witness the amazing migration salmon make each fall at locations around King County.

Find viewing locations as well as virtual viewing opportunities on the Salmon SEEson website. These salmon-viewing locations offer the best chances of seeing salmon. Some sites are self-guided while other locations have opportunities to interact with volunteer naturalists on specific dates to help visitors spot fish and learn about the salmon’s life cycle and efforts to protect and restore salmon habitat.

Each year, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife count the number of salmon returning through the Ballard Locks fish ladder from mid-June to early October. Sockeye typically migrate through the Ballard Locks from May to August, followed by Chinook from July to September, and coho from late August to November.

In recent years, sockeye numbers have declined substantially in the watershed. Chinook returns remain well below population recovery goals. Lake Sammamish’s native kokanee population has been in decline for the last few decades, and King County and partners continue to take actions to avoid possible extinction.

Salmon are sensitive to the changing climate, including warming water temperatures which stresses salmon and can increase salmon susceptibility to disease and increase predator metabolism and consumption of juveniles as they migrate out to saltwater in Puget Sound and the ocean.

Salmon are a Pacific Northwest icon and a vital cultural, economic, and environmental resource for our region. Local governments and community groups around King County and Puget Sound are working to recover salmon populations by protecting and restoring habitat, managing stormwater runoff from streets and other hard surfaces, and educating the public about what they can do to help.

Working to recover salmon is about more than salmon – it is fundamentally about caring for our home and making our communities sustainable for the long-term. Protecting and restoring salmon habitat also improves water quality, reduces flood hazards, protects open space, helps manage stormwater, sustains and improves our quality of life, and promotes a proud legacy of stewardship for future generations.

Practicing water conservation and pollution prevention year-round helps salmon thrive, which means more fish can survive and continue their journey to the ocean and back to local streams and rivers.

Salmon SEEson is sponsored by the WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council as part of its effort to recover salmon in the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish (WRIA 8) Watershed. Additional sponsors include the Saving Water Partnership, Duwamish Alive Coalition, the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed, the Snoqualmie Watershed Forum, and King County.

The WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council is a partnership between 29 local governments, community groups, and state and federal agencies in the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish (WRIA 8) Watershed, working to recover salmon populations by protecting and restoring habitat, applying best available science, and educating the public about what they can do to help.