Welcome to the Nelson Creek Hatchery!
Unfortunately I cannot invite you inside to give you the guided tour but I can tell you a bit about it. This is a special place to me where I spent countless hours volunteering while I lived in West Vancouver, and it is a place that I think many people don't even realize is there as they pass nearby on their hikes up the Whyte Lake trail.
This hatchery is one of a number of community based hatcheries that are run by local groups of volunteers under the direction of a community advisor from Fisheries and Oceans Canada as part of the Salmonid Enhancement Program. This particular hatchery was built in 1991 and has been run by members of the West Vancouver Streamkeepers since 1997. The hope and theory behind community based hatcheries is that by raising the young salmon in local creek water there may be improved return of the salmon to the local creeks. There are four species of salmon that spawn in West Vancouver creeks, two of which are raised here.
Each year, this hatchery gets up to 130,000 fertilized (eyed) chum and coho salmon eggs from two larger hatcheries run by Fisheries and Oceans - the chum eggs come from the Alouette Hatchery in Maple Ridge and the coho eggs come from the Capilano River Hatchery in North Vancouver. The exact number each year depends on the number of returns in the spawning salmon runs that year. The parents of these fertilized eggs are wild salmon who have been harvested after returning to the creeks to spawn.
Once the Nelson Creek Hatchery receives the eyed eggs they are placed in tiers of trays inside the building you see straight ahead from the gate. The trays have a continual flow of creek water that passes through the trays and over the eggs, such as would occur if the eggs were in the gravel on the bottom of an actual creek. This water is pumped up directly from Nelson Creek, which is in the ravine directly behind and below the hatchery. Volunteers come in daily during this period to check that the systems are working properly and to check the health and condition of the eggs. After a number of weeks the salmon start hatching from the eggs becomin alevin. At this point they still have an external yolk sac they are feeding off so are very fragile. They are still checked on daily but very carefully and with less handling. In approx. 6-8 weeks the alevin will have absorbed the yolk sac and buttoned up the seam along their abdomen, turning them into full-fledged fry, ready to be ponded, which is their graduation to the bigger water containers outside. Here they have more room to swim, feed, and grow. They are still living in Nelson Creek water, which is pumped up from the creek, into one end of the containers, flows through, runs out the other end, and returns back into the creek. Daily volunteers now feed them, do inspections, including for mortalities, weigh them weekly, and clean the troughs. (It is amazing how much poo 100,000 tiny fry can generate in a day) A certain amount of mortality is expected and is a natural part of the salmon life cycle - many more eggs and fry survive in the hatchery than do in the wild, which is one of the reasons we have the hatcheries. When the fry have grown to a certain size, usually after about 3-6 weeks out in the troughs, they are released into a number of the local West Vancouver creeks, at locations chosen in consultation with the Fisheries and Oceans Community Advisor that the Streamkeepers work with.
The life cycles of the chum and coho salmon differ a bit from each other, so when they arrive at the hatchery and how much time they spend in each stage differs, which is why I have given fairly broad time estimates above. Also, their developement, particularly in the egg and alevin stages, is hghly temperature dependent - it takes them longer to develop when ambient temperatures, and particulary the creek temperatures, are colder. The fry of the two species also differ in their behavior once released into the creeks. Chum fry spend very little time in the creeks, typically going out to the ocean within a day or two. Coho fry, on the other hand, spend a year in the creeks before heading out to sea.
I hope you have enjoyed your walk up here and learning a little about the fishy work that happens here. For more information about the hatchery and about all of the other work done by the West Vancouver Streamkeepers, including spawning salmon surveys, creek restoration projects, and community education, please visit their website at
Home | West Vancouver Streamkeepers.
Some photos of the inside of the hatchery, including the egg trays, can be seen at
Nelson Creek Hatchery Gallery | West Vancouver Streamkeepers.
To earn this cache:
This cache has a higher terrain rating because the walk in, although mostly along a service road, can be a bit treacherous in the winter since it is fairly steep and can be covered in snow and ice. If you do choose to visit in the winter you might be well-advised to bring along micro-spikes and hiking poles, but of course that will vary depending upon current conditions. The D is a little higher because I am asking you several questions and to take a little wider look at what's around you, not just at the hatchery itself.
Please send me the answers to the questions below via the geocaching message center.
1 - Please post or send me a photo of you or something identifiably yours, such as a nametag, that is taken showing the hatchery or something unique in its immediate vicinity. Please do not post any photos with spoilers.
2 - What is the name of the branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada that operates the Salmonid Enhancement Program?
3 - There is a homemade name sign hanging from the fence near the gate - what is it made of/how was it made?
4 - How many troughs do you see on the hatchery grounds? These are the long rectangular containers the fry are ponded into.
5 - Stand with your back to the hatchery gate. A few meters away on your left there is a small trail. Walk a short way along it and you will see a structure covered by an awning roof. What do you think this is part of? There is a warning sign on it. What does it say? Why do you think it says that?
6 - Back to the hatchery, again standing with your back to the gate, In front of you on your left is a small cinderblock building with a big warning sign on the door. What is that warning about?
7 - Final question - nearby there is a large water tank. if you look, you will notice a measuring scale on its side. What is the largest number on this scale?
Thank you for doing my virtual and taking the time to learn about community hatcheries in general, and this one specifically.
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Important parking note - As of Feb 12, 2024, the District of West Vancouver is charging to park at the Nelson Creek Trailhead parking lot. Pay parking is $3.75 per hour plus taxes and fees, unless you are a WestVan resident with an annual parking permit. Substantial ticket for those who park there and do not pay.
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Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.