Hot Creek Fish (Trout) Hatchery Review: Mammoth Lakes, California

Going to a goddamn fish hatchery probably isn’t on most folks’ itinerary while on vacation, but we had time to kill and having been in this area countless times, and never made it a point to stop here. So this time, we did.

Location and hours:
Hot Creek Fish Hatchery is located right off 395, near the Mammoth Yosemite Airport. It is open from 7:30am – 4pm. I’d say give yourself about 30 minutes at this site.

Admission:
The Hot Creek Trout Hatchery is free!

So what is it?
This is an excellent place to learn about trout hatching and fish stocking. The fish here are supplied to nearby streams and lakes in the Eastern Sierra area of California for fishermen to enjoy. There are interpretive signs all around the hatchery that explain this process, but you can also get a free tour from the rangers, which we did.

Inside the building is where all the tiny minnow-sized trout are kept, in large holding tanks. As the fish grow through their life stages, they’re moved onto a series of holding tanks outside, until they’re ready to be released in the wild.

The holding tanks stock 3 kinds of trout, many of which are gigantic! Outside, the tanks are set up like a river, with dams to help control and regulate the water and the fish, until they’re ready to be released into the wild.

You can buy fish food for a quarter and I highly recommend that you to, as it’s very entertaining to see the feeding frenzy when you toss a pellet into the water. Pro tip: Bring a paper cup or something to hold the fish food in it or your hands will get all smelly and brown!

It’s also interesting to watch the trout follow you ask you walk alongside the tanks. The fish can hear your footsteps and because they assume you have food, they follow you. Kind of like my dogs…

As we were having, a ranger came out (more visitors had arrived at the hatchery right after us — there were about 15 people here now, including us) The ranger seemed really excited to see all the people here — he said he hasn’t had this big of a crowd in years! So, despite that it was close to closing time, he gave everyone a special tour of the hatchery.

Hot Creek? Is the water hot?
Now, you might be wondering what’s up with the name — “Hot Creek” — and is the water hot? OMG how can the fish survive in hot water??!!!! Well, Hot Creek is the name of the nearby hot spring that provides the water for this hatchery. However, by the time the water reaches the hatchery, it’s cooled off tremendously. Out of curiosity, and because I just refuse to believe the interpretive signs, I had to dip my hand in the creek to see if it was hot. Nope. Ice cold. (If you want to see the hot springs, Hot Creek Geological Site is located just up the dirt road).

Hot Creek Fish Hatchery – Bottom line:

Pros:
Free
Rangers seem to love their jobs
Interesting enough to make a quick stop
Kid-friendly

Cons:
No gift shop
This is basically the entertainment equivalent of feeding fish in your local pond. If that doesn’t sound fun, don’t go here.
If your time is limited in the Eastern Sierra, there are better places to go.