Adams River Salmon Run

Adams River sockeye run on a four-year cycle, and in the dominant years, which fall in 2026, 2030 and so on, the return can reach several million fish; in the intervening years the run is a fraction of that. The fish hatch here, go to sea for two years and come back about four hundred kilometres up the Fraser and Thompson without feeding, turning deep red with green heads as they mature. They spawn in the gravel and die within days, and the carcasses feed eagles, bears and the forest itself. Viewing platforms and gravel paths run along the river through Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park, with an interpretive event, the Salute to the Sockeye, in dominant years.

What you actually see

• The red fish - sockeye in spawning colour packed into the shallows.
• The spawning gravel - females cutting nests and males fighting over them.
• The scavengers - eagles, gulls and bears working the dead fish.
• The riverside paths - platforms and gravel trails along the spawning reach.

When to go

October, peaking mid-month, and only worth a special trip in a dominant year; the next are 2026 and 2030. Off-cycle years still have fish but in far smaller numbers.

Honest expectations

Three years out of four the run is a small fraction of the spectacle, which catches many visitors out. Dominant years bring very heavy traffic and paid parking. The smell of dying fish is strong.

Nearby

Shuswap Lake lies east; Kamloops is west.