Annual salmon run underway at Carkeek Park

The annual salmon run in Piper’s Creek has started in Carkeek Park, where hundreds of chum and coho battle their way upstream to spawn each year.

The Piper’s Creek salmon run is a big attraction in November, when the numbers of salmon are typically at their peak in the creek. Most days, you can see salmon thrashing in the creek as they swim to spawning grounds, a process that starts in late October and finishes in early December.

Salmon Stewards Volunteers will be at the park every weekend from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Wednesdays from 2 to 4 p.m. through December 6 to answer questions and educate visitors about salmon lifecycles, habitat needs, and more. They’ll also host a big Salmon Celebration Day event later this month.

The event, co-hosted by Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project, Seattle Parks and Recreation, and Seattle Public Utilities, will be at Carkeek on Saturday, Nov. 21 from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with live music, salmon dissections, education booths and activities, and tree nursery tours with Cedar City Tree Nursery. They’ll also have food and other treats from food vendors.

Parking at Carkeek is limited, so they’ll have a free event shuttle picking up from three locations: The first stop will be Cedar City Tree Care Facility (711 NW 100th St), followed by NW 100th Place behind QFC, and at Viewlands Elementary School. The shuttle will run from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will come every 20-30 minutes.

King County Metro routes 28, 40, and the RapidRide D Line all have stops within one block of the free event shuttle.

You can also park near the Carkeek Park Environmental Learning Center (950 NW Carkeek Park Rd), by the school, or in the surrounding neighborhood and walk into the park along Piper’s Creek Trail through the Eddie McAbee entrance.

Photo by Carkeek Park Salmon Stewards