Platte River State Fish Hatchery

The Platte River State Fish Hatchery was established in 1928 as a satellite rearing station and converted to the state's main salmon hatchery in 1972. This facility raises coho and chinook salmon and is the main egg take station for coho salmon in the Upper Great Lakes. The interpretative facilities provide information on the importance of medium sized rivers to the Great Lakes, the salmon story, how watersheds work and how a hatchery operates.

The new interpretative facilities and trails, the new hatchery complex, lower weir harvest facility and the upper weir egg-take station will all be of interest to the public. The best times to see returning adult salmon in the Platte River are from mid September to late October at the lower weir (located off Lake Michigan Road 2 miles northwest of M-22) and late September to mid October at the upper weir located at the hatchery. The public is welcome to watch the egg take operations. Egg take operations generally happen the third week of October, but please call ahead to find out when egg takes will be conducted for sure.

The hatchery grounds are open to the public at no charge from dawn to dusk. The hatchery is open to the public from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. everyday.