Spot Salmon Spawning along the Cedar River

The free Cedar River Salmon Journey program will be celebrating and highlighting the return of salmon this month.  Volunteer naturalists will be stationed along the Cedar River during the last three weekends of October at five salmon viewing locations in Renton, Maple Valley, and Ravensdale, Washington.  Highly-trained naturalists help visitors spot spawning salmon and share information about the annual journey that salmon make through Lake Washington and up the river to spawn.  Salmon viewing sites include the Renton Library, Cedar River Park, Riverview Park, Cavanaugh Pond, and Landsburg Dam.  A map and directions to each site can be found at www.cedarriver.org/programs.

Visit one or all five sites. Each site is unique. At Renton Library stand directly above the salmon and see many human changes to the Cedar River. At Cedar River Park, see the fish "weir” and learn about how some salmon are removed for the hatchery. At Riverview Park, stand on a bridge to spot salmon and learn about the importance of trees and shrubs along the river. At Cavanaugh Pond, take a 30 minute tour past wildlife viewing areas, the pond and habit restoration project areas. At Landsburg Park and Dam, take a 30 minute tour up to the diversion dam and fish passage facility, where you will learn about the new sockeye hatchery, water supply and how some fish are allowed to pass into the closed boundaries of the municipal watershed.