durango fish hatchery and wildlife museum

Be aware of what this is and isn't. This is a working State of Colorado fish hatchery that has a small wildlife museum. It is much more a working biological facility than a tourist attraction. But tourists are very welcome, the staff is very friendly and can answer any question, and it's a fun place to spend a half hour.This is the oldest working hatchery/fish rearing facility in Colorado - more than 100 years old. It's interesting to walk along the raceways and see the fish of different sizes (all rainbows at the moment) swimming against the artificial current. They are quite beautiful.Bring along quarters and buy fish pellets to feed the fish. The kids particularly will love this. You will create a short-lived feeding frenzy. Don't miss the separate pool for the big guys. These are a variety of very large, older fish. They must weigh 20 times the weight of the small fry.The hatchery is on your right headed out of downtown on 550 toward Silverton, just after you cross the bridge over the Animas River (which forms a backdrop to hatchery).

Took our family and grand baby up to visit. Our sons have always loved this place, know our grand kids will too!

If you like trout it is interesting to see the different tanks loaded with trout that are getting ready to be deposited back into rivers and lakes. They even have a few that have not been released that are huge and you can feed. Inside is an area showing the harvesting and hatching of the fish eggs.

I took my son and my friend's son to the hatchery. It was cold and the museum was closed which we were very disapointed aboWut.

New Year' eve so the museum was closed so it was only an "Avg" event. The breeding pond (big ones) was open as were the growing runs(small-mid sizes). Take a few quarters and feed the fish and hope they remember you out in the wild.

Enjoyed this more than expected! Bring quarters to feed the fish. Beautiful Animas River next to hatchery and walking trails. Free entry and lots of fun for our family. Took beautiful pictures by the river and saw a couple of mule deer in the natural preserve. Informative and enjoyable!

We went on a day when the Wildlife Museum was closed so we just went to the fish hatchery and saw all the fish and my son had a great time feeding them!

Neat lace great views of the river. Interesting raceways and the different sizes of the fish. Museum is closed for the season September 15 but you still see the Displays outside.

I gave 4 stars because the museum was closed both days we stopped by, on Sunday and Monday. It was still fun, bring your quarters to feed the fish!

This is another of our "must stops" in Durango because the kids love to feed the fish. On this trip we decided due to time to not go into the museum but we have enjoyed it many times in the past. I don't know why I always forget a cup or plastic bag (or something) to keep the fish food in so we don't have to use our hands and drop it all over (plus the smell), but we always forget. So, bring something to keep the fish pellets in would be our advice. There is also no shade in the fish "raceways" so be sure to have sun protection.

The fish hatchery is a joy and it's FREE!!! We took our 5 year old grandson there last year and I think my husband and I enjoyed it as much as he did! Besides getting to feed the fish, they have a wonderful little hands on wildlife museum! I am not usually in to museums but this one was very interesting!

The rangers aare very informed and can tell you all about the animals that they have in the Museum and you can go outside to the fish hatchery and feed the fish while learning about their habitats We had a great time and will try to make it back again.

It is free, located right along a nice walking/riding path and it is quite interesting. Glad we went

Our children loved seeing and feeding the fish. There are some monster sized trout in one of the areas and it is fun to watch the fish. Museum is small but the people there were very friendly.

This is a very small museum, so don't expect to kill an afternoon here. The indoor part is mostly taxidermy of local wildlife , but the ranger on duty was happy to provide more details. I liked the various rooms dedicated to all the ecosystems in southwest Colorado. There were also many animal pelts. It is not advisable to pet a mountain lion or bear in the woods, but you can at least pretend here. The actual hatchery part of the Fish Hatchery was limited because some of the tanks were being cleaned, but there were lots of happy (and stinky) trout jumping in the water.