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Idaho Fish and Game

Fish Hatchery
Niagara Springs
Before you go

Niagara Springs Hatchery is located in the Snake River Canyon 10 miles south of Wendell, Idaho. 

Niagara Springs Hatchery is owned and financed by Idaho Power Company, and operated and staffed by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.  With a capacity to rear nearly two million steelhead smolts annually, it is one of America’s largest privately-owned steelhead rearing facilities.

Related Location

2131 Niagara Springs Road
Wendell, ID 83355
United States

Driving Directions

From Interstate 84, take exit 157 and head south towards the Snake River.  Follow the signs for Niagara Springs State Park into the canyon and watch for the hatchery entrance road.

Overview
Quagga and Zebra Mussel
Quagga Mussel Larvae Detection on Snake River near Twin Falls

Access to the Snake River is closed due to the Idaho Department of Agriculture confirmation of the presence of quagga mussels at larval life stages in the Centennial Waterfront Park area of the Snake River. These findings mark the first time a rapid response plan has been put into action for quagga mussels in Idaho.

More information »

Location Facts

Niagara Springs Hatchery was built in 1966 as a rearing facility for steelhead.  In 2013, Idaho Power completed a two-year renovation of the hatchery. The project included construction of a 23,000-square-foot hatchery building, a modern water filtration system, an improved feeding apparatus and predator exclusion equipment.  The new hatchery building includes an observation room that allows visitors to get a good look at the indoor rearing operation.  

Niagara Springs Hatchery is named after the spring that serves as its water source. The water is clean, clear and, most importantly, warmer than the water in which naturally-spawned steelhead grow up. The spring water creates the ideal environment for the fish to achieve the equivalent of two years’ growth in just one year.

Each April and May, eggs from adult steelhead spawned by crews at Idaho Power hatcheries in the Snake and Salmon river basins are delivered to Niagara Springs Hatchery to begin the rearing cycle.  Fish are initially reared indoors and then finish their rearing cycle outdoors in concrete raceways.  In March, crews begin hauling the year-old fish back to Hells Canyon and the Pahsimeroi River, where they will begin a journey of more than 500 miles to the ocean. The spring fish haul takes about six weeks to complete.

Niagara Springs Hatchery has proven to be a tremendous asset in the rearing of steelhead. In the wild, less than 5 percent of the eggs hatch and survive to migrate to the ocean. At Niagara Springs Hatchery, more than 80 percent of the eggs received from Pahsimeroi and Oxbow hatcheries survive to make their ocean journey.

Location Things to Know

Niagara Springs Hatchery is one of four hatcheries which IPC owns and IDFG staffs and operates to fulfill IPC's mitigation requirement for the IPC dams on the Snake River. The goal of Niagara Springs Hatchery is to rear 400,000 pounds of steelhead smolts annually to sustain steelhead trout runs in the Snake River below Hells Canyon Dam and the Salmon River and its tributaries.

Access Information

Please call the Magic Valley Regional Office at (208) 324-4359 for visitor information. Anglers can access the two-acre park on the east-side of Niagara Springs Creek that is owned by Idaho Power. This small park includes a restroom, picnic tables, barbecue grills and refuse containers.