Do you like going to see the salmon run!? There is a fantastic place to see them in Squamish, so not too far from Vancouver. We visited last September and saw sooo many salmon! We saw some in the Mamquam River fighting their way upstream as well as others spawning and splashing about in the spawning channels. The Mamquam river normally has spawning coho and chum, as well as pink salmon in odd-numbered years.

If you have never seen a salmon run, and you live in BC’s lower mainland – this is a great option. Squamish is less than an hour from Vancouver and the Mamquam Spawning trail is easy and child friendly.

Salmon Run in Squamish – the basics

Distance: 4.5–6.5 km depending on the route you choose.
Elevation gain: Minimal.
Time: We were there for 2.5 hours, and recorded 1.5 hours moving time on strava
What to bring: The 10 Essentials and bear spray if you have some.
Facilities: There is a loo at the trailhead.
Dogs: Great for dogs, but on a leash. Don’t let your dogs play in the channels or river when the salmon are spawning.
How hard is it? Super easy
Extra note: We went on September 24th.

Mamquam Spawning Trail map

This is the trail we followed (with some detours – see my route here.)

Where to Park

The Mamquam Spawning Channel trailhead, is just after Squamish Valley Golf Course on Mamquam Road. At the start you need to follow a trail along the edge of the golf course before following one of the many trails to the river.

After a few hundred meters you’ll be able to see the Mamquam River through the trees. The main trail stays this distance from the river, but there are multiple places where you can clamber down to get closer to the water.

We had fun getting up close to areas of the Mamquam River where the salmon were resting before they jumped up the rougher waters slightly further upstream. Areas of the map that look like they are *in* the river are gravel-covered river banks at this time of year. The river is much wider in springtime or after rains.

Even if you visit when there are no salmon spawning, this is a beautiful area to walk.

What does it smell like?

Erm, well, it smells like dead fish. When salmon swim upstream to spawn, they stop eating and start to consume their own body tissues for energy. This intense process means that they do not live for long after they have reproduced. Most people don’t mention all the rotting fish, but you’ll smell them as soon as you get close to the river.

Types of salmon in Squamish

The five types of pacific salmon are chinook, coho, chum, sockeye, and pink. I found it interesting (and cool) that there seemed to be different salmon species of salmon in the different sections of the river. We thought the bigger fish in the main section of the river were chum. The calmer spawning channels were full of pink (humpy) salmon.

All these photos don’t really show how cool it was to see all the salmon splooshing around, so here is a mini video from this adventure.

 

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Loads of mushrooms!

After exploring the main Mamquam River, we headed back into the forest to look at the smaller spawning channels. We found hundreds of red, yellow and orange amanita muscaria mushrooms along the trail. As well as puffball mushrooms.

Watch out for wildlife

We did not see much wildlife (other than salmon) when we visited the Mamquam River BUT bears and eagles like to hang around when the salmon are spawning. So make plenty of noise while you walk, so you don’t sneak up on a bear.

Spawning Channels

Once you get back into the forest there are loads of mini trails in and around the Mamquam Spawning channels. There are even bridges so you can get pretty close to the salmon to watch them splash about as they spawn.

The fish we saw here seemed to be super energetic pink salmon.

Once you are ready to head back, you can walk the way you came, back along the Mamquam River. Or go back along the dyke via the golf course. If you take the shorter route, you get a lovely view towards the Chief, Slhanay Peak and Mount Habrich.

Salmon links:

• This site is really interesting to show the lifecycle of Pacific salmon
• I love this one for showing what each species looks like

We have visited quite a few salmon spawning sites since we moved to Canada, admittedly often a week too early, or too late! The Mamquam Spawning Channels and Mamquam River has been my favorite place to see the salmon run so far. I love that this is such an easy to reach area, but that it’s not crowded aaand you get to see the salmon spawning along a relaxing hike.