Winchester Dam Fish Ladder

Beautiful river and dam. GF and I had a very pleasant and great quality time here. We were calm and at peace amidst the beautiful river backdrop. A very spontaneous road trip with her creative planning made this get-a-way memorable, romantic and enjoyable.

Great place to stop and stretch your legs with the kids. We were lucky and the fish were running. I took a picture of a chart of when you are most likely able to see fish. And its free. There are quite a few stairs. Just a side note, there are no restrooms. There are also a few oversized parking spaces.

Usually love this place. Closed until further notice due to COVID

Visiting Oregon from California and happened to stumble upon this place. Never heard of it or seen a place like this! Pretty neat.. interesting! Its a little intense being down in a cave like area with water pushing against the windows! The stairs are steep but worth it. Beautiful scenery! Were glad we stopped.

A little drive off I-5 to the small town of Winchester. Be prepared to climb a lot of stairs down to the fish ladder and back up again. There is no handicapped accessible way to get down to see the fish ladder but you can get from the parking down to look over at the dam. Be aware there are a lot of little lizards sunning on the stairs and rocks, they are quick when they move.

This was a happy accident.My wife and I were driving back to California from Portland Oregon and need to stop to stretch our legs.We came across some signs for this place as we hit the exit. We decided to go check it out and have a little adventure.Theres a nice big parking lot, a little space with grass, and lots of information boards telling you about the area, the dam and the different types of fish.We took it all in as we made our way to the dam and fish ladder.Theres a little spot inside the dam that has an underwater viewing area but unfortunately at this time of year there were no fish running.This is a place we marked to stop again for sure.*New*Follow @WhatsEatingMoTwitter - IG - YouTubeSubscribe to our Podcast

Always a beautiful view to park & sit for a moment.Those steps down to the fish viewing area are a good leg workout too!

This place was really cool, seeing the salmon run was something Ive never done before.

Small, well-designed viewing area to watch large fish swim up a fish ladder. Great for kids and adults. Lots of stairs. Beautiful dam. I would rate it higher if fish had been more prevalent. If you stop during spawning season Im sure it would be a treat.

Very neat! Worth pulling over to see. Nice walk (is NOT fully accessible for wheelchair) down to the river. Educational and breathtaking views! Short walk but theres covered seating along the short trek. FREE!!

Always a scenic stop and a good place to stretch your legs during a long drive along I5.

Absolutely worth going to for the view even if fish dont seem to be as active. I dont think this is worth going out of your way because of how unreliable it may be to see fish, but if you like nature i think its worth the quick stop. We lucked out and saw some huge fish through the murky water and foggy glass, but others after us were not as lucky. As others have mentioned, there are a significant amount of stairs, but several landings with great views that make it bearable . For sure go if youre passing through!

Cool place beautiful scenery.... couldnt get into the dam itself tho to see the fish

Good viewpoint thats close to town and easy accessible

This is a delightful little spot to stretch your legs. Two minutes off the I-5 and about 50 steps down from the parking lot brings you to the viewing area. The signs are informative and interesting but I was disappointed to find that two of the fish specimens were missing from their shadow boxes and due to funding cuts, they’re no longer taking 100% accurate fish counts. Didn’t see a single fish but plenty of lovely views.

Very educational and fun. Big BIG fish you view as they go up the fish ladder, through windows in the ladder. Amazing. Not wheelchair friendly, a lot of stairs too.

Well I almost launched it in my raft a long time ago. Thankfully I was rescued by three nice gentlemen from across the river. I was ok and when I got back to where I launched from .. My husband was still there same spot. I will never forget the advice that was kindly given to me by one of the three men . he says next time you could try rowing up river and letting the current take me down river. Oh and dont forget to blow up the bottom of yur raft I forgot. Whoops. Im happy.

Beautiful view point. The fish ladder is a little tough for viewing with the clarity of the water, but we were able to see about five steelhead.

Great place to visit in Winchester the Fish ladder.

Super cool place to stop! I enjoyed watching the fish swim by in the viewing room. Definitely worth the stop.

The fish ladder is used to count fish and is located approximately 118 river miles from the Pacific. Throughout the year one can see summer and winter steelhead, spring chinook salmon and coho salmon.

Great stop to stretch and see the beauty to be had.

Would be better if it wasnt closed due to covid-19

While its still a wonderful view the ladder has yet to reopen so much disappointed for the grandson

Neat place to check out, just off the freeway.

Its a Dam fine place to visit if you want to see the fish climb the ladder from an inside view. Not much to do other than look at the fish, but still a Dam good time! Great way to kill an hour for sure~

Its free, theres a good amount of steps which I loved. Once you make it halfway down theres a beautiful view of the damn. Then when you get to the bottom its like walking in a cave and you can see the fish through the thick glass. Depending on the time of year you go there are really big steelhead ones that Ive seen before.

Nice everyone should go here my daughter loved seeing the fish

Make sure the water is higher because we went the other day and the water was low. We only saw a few small fish and a decent sized one. But other than that its really cool down there.

Friendly place. The place has good food. Very good portions for the price. Definitely worth stopping by to eat. The only problem is they have limited seating but worth the wait.

IN N OUT the best in the world

Fishy cool place to stop

Great place to go see some big salmon on their way up the North Umpqua. Beautiful area with nice views of the river and of the highway 99 bridge. The path down to the viewing area is well maintained, but its still slick when wet (pretty much all the time) so if youve got kids have them hold on to the railing or your hand.

Great view of many Salmon today.

Steep stairs to get down to the viewing room but so well worth it. Ive never seen anything like this where you can see the fish under water swim from lake above to river below or vice versa depending on the time of year.

Awsome place to take the kids to look at fish. Good exercise as well, 100 steps down and up.

Great place to see fish, but remember there are a lot of steps to get back up from there. You must be in decent shape to make it down and back up... worth the walk, some days, just a walk other days... all depends on the fish..

Beautiful sites to see. Awesome spot to see the fish up close (little bit of a walk down and a flight of stairs) but totally worth it!

Has train bridge and near by lighting system for Railroad enthusiasts

Interesting facts about fish migration. With a very high chance of viewing some really large fish

If you love fish you need to see this place. Fishermans dream.

Nice little place to look at fish.

So awesome seeing fish so close

The fish an just nice place to check out

Amazing place to view fish on their run back up the river but a fair warning there is a lot of stairs

Grew up coming to the fish ladder. Love it. Great stop.

I love taking my son to see the fish! He loves it!

Nice place to see Chinook and Steelhead going up stream.

Wonderful beautiful and a good work out....great family stop...

Beautiful location with a information-filled trail system

This is by far one of my favorite landmarks in douglas county. If your traveling I-5 and you have a couple minutes to spare, I recommend making the stop. Unfortunately its not wheelchair friendly. There is no public restroom and a looooooong staircase, but if your there at the right time, you can get up close and personal with some of the largest fish to inhabit our rivers. Nothing like it if your looking for free fun.

When it’s not flooded this place is awesome, the fish ladder is a great way to learn

Wonderful way to see the local fish up close and personal! I was truly amazed at how large the fish are, I had no idea!!! Very cool place to take visitors to the area, just make sure you have your walking shoes on.. LOTS of stairs! But worth the trek if you are not too old to take the stairs..

Must see when the fish are running. Underwater windows to see wild salmon, steel head, and other species. See if you can spot the misspelled words on the signs.

Interesting place to take kids interested in seeing fish when they are there. Lots of stairs but a very beautiful view of the river.

Grand stair case (5 min trek/steep for disabled) leads to gnarly huge fish jumping the ladder if you go when the time is right. Love this place.

Great views. Beautiful scenery

Beautiful

I love going here even when there are no fish to see

Free fun for the kids, ya cant beat that!

Easy to reach from the I5. Easy self guided tour stop. A great view is available just of the parking. If you are physically able you can hike down the stairs to the fish viewing area a watch them migrate.

Took my littlest and the excitement he had while seeing the trout was the best.

Worth the stop if youre interested in dams and the fish that are in the rivers

Very educational for my 8 year old. Helped him get a badge for scouts

Easy & quick detour off the I5 made this a great road trip stop. Pictures do not do the beauty of this place justice, highly recommend.

Beautiful! When fish are running lots of fun for the kids. Sometimes the salmon are just huge!!!

Really cool when fish are running.

Beautiful place to stop and show your kiddos!

It was raining hard and I didnt get out of the vehicle. Small but seemed nice.

Nice walk and interesting fish

Nice spot to sit and let the kids out

Love to see the fish.

Cool to see the history of the dam. But last time I went down there it was dirty and smelled bad. The time before that I walked all the way down to the fish ladder and there was a homeless person. So we didnt even get to look at the fish.

A must see great for kids

Beauty in your face, educational and relaxing!

Worth the stop pretty impressive

Great place!

Must see stop if you have a minute, amazing views if you feel like walking down the stairs. Kids enjoyed it immensely

I grew up coming here for 48 years and it amazing every time

Nice pit stop just off the freeway!!!

Great place to visit

Had a great time at the dam today! All though I didnt see any fish in the ladder

Nice place to look at fish

Amazing. My kiddos loved it.

Beautiful and relaxing view

Always a blast coming here.

Amazing view

Love the observation deck.

I love this place, I am just waiting for the fish to show up.

Beautiful spot on the North Umpqua. I got to see a couple Chinook Salmon

They need a bathroom badly thought it was a good place to stop to stretch our legs but the bathroom was a must have. Its a pretty stop otherwise if you dont mind walking.

Love this place

Beautiful place except that the fishes were not there.

Did not see any fish but had a nice walk

Omg, worth the time and all the stairs. Breath takingly beautiful, amazing

Great place to do stairs...the place has more trash on the ground than usual since they removed all the trash cans.L

Cool dam

Nice. Lots of stairs.

July is best time

Cool place to see fish using the fish ladder over the dam.