Where to see fall salmon runs

Nov 2

Every fall, salmon return from the ocean to the Sol Duc River in Olympic National Park. Image: Love Our Earth, 2022.

Witness the wonder of Olympic Peninsula’s salmon

Salmon runs of pacific northwest are a wonder to behold. As maples in the forest shed their leaves, salmon return to inland rivers from the ocean to both start a new generation and lay themselves to rest. In dying, they feed forests and more than 100 species of animals.

You can watch their valiant return each fall at many sites in and near Olympic National Park:

Salmon Cascades on the Sol Duc River, Olympic National Park, off Hwy 101 near Lake Crescent
Railroad Bridge Park, Dungeness River Nature Center in Sequim. Check out the fantastic Dungeness River watershed restoration work of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe here. Dungeness Chinook are listed as threatened on the Endangered Species List.
Other sites: See North Olympic Salmon Coalition self-guided tours

For me, the salmon run is not just about fish swimming upstream and up waterfalls. Salmon overcome incredible odds to return hundreds of miles from the sea to their birthplace in streams and rivers. No one really knows how they navigate after years in the ocean. And so much depends upon the salmon’s return!

Lawsuit demands salmon’s ‘right to flourish’

Seeing the run is a chance to see this circular ecosystem in action, which, of course, we’ve threatened with climate change and habitat degradation. There are many protections now on fishing, and much mitigation (dam removal, estuary restoration, etc.) but fish are still threatened by summer droughts, logging, polluted run off, culverts and us. Fewer and fewer return.

Salmon’s remarkable odyssey is physical and spiritual sustenance to many Pacific Northwest tribes so this loss is devastating both culturally and economically to Washington state’s indigenous communities. How salmon should be protected is being challenged in court. In 2022 the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe sued the city of Seattle, advocating for legal protections for the salmon’s 'right to flourish.'

So go see the salmon– cheer them on! Then let’s work together to ensure they’ll be around for future generations. We can do this!