Durango State Fish Hatchery

About

The Durango State Fish Hatchery is a working cold-water facility and wildlife museum located near the Animas River in Durango, Colorado. Operating since 1893, it is the oldest state-owned fish hatchery in the state. The site offers moderate fishing opportunities with parking available and allows pets. Visitors typically spend about two hours at the location, which is accessible from April through October. The hatchery produces approximately 150,000 catchable rainbow trout (8 to 12 inches) and 1.3 million sub-catchable fish annually for stocking in southwest Colorado. Species raised on-site include rainbow, brown, Snake River cutthroat, and native cutthroat trout, as well as kokanee salmon. The property includes a wildlife museum housed in the 1927 main building, and visitors can feed fish using quarters.