Our first day on the road was full of travel and experiences, and
everything went exactly how we'd like it to... Click here to find out
how it all ended - Buena Vista and hummingbirds. The next morning, we decided to return to Leadville
to visit the museums and stroll the streets of old mining town. Then
we drove a few miles off the main road to visit the Leadville National
Fish Hatchery, which we'd never been to before...
The Leadville National Fish Hatchery was established in 1889 by executive
order of President Benjamin Harrison to increase the supply of fish to
inland waters. As the second-oldest federally operated fish hatchery
still in operation (right, it operates for 135 years and counting), it offers the opportunity to observe fish at various
stages of development both indoors and outdoors in holding tanks.
We started with entering the visiting center... well... it's not
exactly a visiting center... more like a hatchery, where visitors are
allowed to wander around and see fish at different life stages ;)
To meet the trout production demands, Leadville National Fish
Hatchery facilities include 16 raceways and 20 nursery tanks. We spent
some time inside, near the fish-rearing tanks, then went outside to
check out the raceways...
Well... that's where it all happens. Long fish reservoirs boiling
with fish... And visitors are welcome to stroll around, look at the
fish, and feed them if they can spare a quarter and buy a bucket of
treats ;)
It was quite impressive. Some of the reservoirs were empty, but others were full to the brim...
In fact, one-quarter of a million trout are raised here every year
and sent to lakes and reservoirs throughout Colorado. A quarter of a
million? I have a hard time imagining the amount of fish they release
each year... What about you?
But fish tanks are just a small part of what Fish Hatchery has to
offer. There are also miles of hiking trails winding through the woods,
leading visitors to lakes hidden deep in the shade of evergreens.
We wandered through lush forests and meadows for about an hour. We
chose the shortest and easiest trail, mainly because we still had some
other plans for the remainder of the day.
After making a loop, we returned back to the Visitor Center and headed off to our next adventure...
Click here to see the next part of our adventure - Chalk Lake and Salida - Labor Day weekend. Part 4.
Photos taken on August 31, 2025.
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