When did the salmon actually get back to Issaquah Creek? The top of the Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery homepage reads "The Salmon Have Returned 8/29," with no year printed next to it. The group's 2026 viewing page puts the fall run at late August through November. Either way, the run had weeks of head start on the 57th Salmon Days, which fills downtown this Saturday and Sunday, October 3 and 4, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The festival is free and huge. Organizers describe roughly 600 booths and more than 70 food vendors. For anyone who lives here, it is also the weekend when the streets around the hatchery are closed, the bus map works differently than it did a year ago, and the creek bridges are crowded. The fish run on their own schedule, and that schedule continues well after the booths are packed up.
What closes, and what stays closed overnight
The City of Issaquah posted its closure notice on September 24. It asks residents to "plan on additional travel time throughout the weekend in Olde Town." The closures come in three groups, each on its own clock.
Daytime, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on both October 3 and 4:
- Front Street, from Gilman Boulevard to Newport Way SW
- Sunset Way, from Newport Way to 2nd Avenue
- SE Andrews Street, from 1st Avenue SE to Rainier Boulevard S
- SE Bush Street, from 1st Avenue SE to Rainier Boulevard S
Parade morning only, 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday:
- Rainier Boulevard N, from Holly Street to Dogwood Street
- NE Gilman Boulevard, on a revised traffic pattern
Continuously, from 6 a.m. Saturday through 6:30 p.m. Sunday:
- Rainier Boulevard S, from E Sunset Way to SE Bush Street
- 1st Avenue SE, from E Sunset Way to SE Bush Street
That last group affects you on Saturday night too. If your usual way home or out of a driveway runs along Rainier Boulevard S or 1st Avenue SE, it stays closed after the crowds leave Saturday evening and doesn't reopen until Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
One stretch has two different answers. The festival's own information page says Front Street between Sunset Way and Dogwood Street is "closed all day and overnight" from 6 a.m. Saturday to 6:30 p.m. Sunday. The City's dated alert lists only the daytime hours for Front Street. If that block matters to you on Saturday night, assume the longer closure. The City's closure map shows detours in green, but it's titled 2026 while its embedded closure notes still say October 4 and 5, which were last year's festival dates. The written alert is the version to trust.
Saturday's parade runs under the theme "Stars, Stripes & Salmon," with Nick of Nick's Magnificent Indoor Playground as marshal. It starts at Confluence Park and follows Rainier Boulevard North, NW Dogwood Street and Front Street. Then it turns along the south side of NE Gilman Boulevard and disperses near Boehm's Candies. That's why Gilman's traffic pattern changes until noon, even though Gilman isn't on the all-day list.
This is the first Salmon Days on the new bus map
If you've used transit on festival weekend before, last year's reroutes no longer apply. King County Metro's October 2025 bulletin described Salmon Days detours for Routes 208 and 271 and Sound Transit Route 554. All three were discontinued in the August 29, 2026 service change.
Sound Transit eliminated the 554 between Issaquah and Seattle and points riders to the 2 Line or Route 556. The 556 now serves Bellevue Transit Center and Bellevue Downtown Station instead of the University District. It also has added stops in Issaquah and runs every 15 minutes. Its schedule lists stops at E Sunset Way & 1st Ave NE and at Front St N & NE Crescent Dr, both close to the festival blocks.
On the Metro side, Route 208 was deleted. The new Route 215 serves Mercer Island, Eastgate, Issaquah Highlands, Snoqualmie and North Bend, and Metro names the 556 as the link between the Highlands and Issaquah Transit Center. Route 271 is gone too. Route 203 still covers Issaquah to Eastgate by way of Newport Way. Route 218 now starts and ends at Mercer Island Station, where riders connect to the 2 Line for downtown Seattle.
The Sound Transit alerts checked this week list a 556 reroute around Bellevue Transit Center for construction. None of them mention Salmon Days in Issaquah. The 556 runs along E Sunset Way, and part of that street is closed both days, so check before you leave. The City points riders to King County Metro's Trip Planner.
The shuttle stop behind the hatchery
The most useful transit option this weekend is the Metro shuttle. Buses marked "Special" run between Issaquah Transit Center at 1050 17th Ave. NW and the festival every 15 minutes. Service starts at 7 a.m. and the last bus leaves at 8 p.m. on both days. The fare is standard: $3 for ages 19 to 64, $1 for seniors 65 and older, and free for ages 0 to 18. Metro and Sound Transit passes and transfers work on Metro-operated service.
The shuttle takes I-90 east to Exit 18 and then runs west on E Sunset Way, 2nd Avenue SE, Front Street S and Newport Way SW. The stop you want is #65092, behind the Hatchery Education Building on the east side of the street, south of Newport Way SW and W Sunset Way. You get off a few steps from the creek.
If you'd rather bike, the City runs a bike valet at Rainier Boulevard N and NW Dogwood Street, staffed by Cascade Bicycle Club. Parking is less certain. The festival lists paid lots run by nonprofits at $15 or $20, but its parking map is still labeled 2025, and the City's alert links to a 2025 parking page. Confirm a lot before you count on it.
Where to stand when the hatchery bridge is full
The festival's visitor page calls the hatchery the most popular place to watch salmon. It also names four other spots along the creek:
- Newport Bridge
- The W. Sunset Way bridge
- NW Dogwood Street, west of Rainier Boulevard N
- Confluence Park Bridge
Confluence Park is also where Saturday's parade lines up, so the other three should be quieter on Saturday morning. The hatchery itself was built in 1936 and raises Chinook and coho. Both species come back through Lake Sammamish and up Issaquah Creek. FISH says adult Chinook and coho can both be seen from the creek-viewing bridge in the fall.
October's weekday mornings belong to the spawning
FISH's 2026 salmon-viewing page says the fall run lasts from late August through November. It also says "Tuesdays & Wednesday mornings in October feature salmon spawning." It describes Salmon Days and the September 12 Salmon on Sunset Celebration as events that "draw crowds." The spawning program is a weekday program, separate from the festival.
The species timing narrows the window further. Chinook arrive first and spawn through mid-October, and coho arrive from late September through November. On the calendar, the October Tuesday and Wednesday mornings after the festival fall on these dates:
| Week | Tuesday | Wednesday | What the timing suggests |
|---|---|---|---|
| First week after the festival | Oct. 6 | Oct. 7 | Chinook still spawning, coho arriving |
| Second week | Oct. 13 | Oct. 14 | Near the end of the Chinook spawning window |
| Third week | Oct. 20 | Oct. 21 | Past mid-October, coho continuing |
| Fourth week | Oct. 27 | Oct. 28 | Coho continuing into November |
That makes the first two weeks after the festival the overlap, the mornings when both species should still be in the picture. FISH offers volunteer docent tours for $10 a person. They last about 50 minutes, run rain or shine, and should be requested at least a week ahead so guides can be scheduled. A request sent today, September 30, gives about a week of notice for Wednesday, October 7, the first spawning morning after the festival. FISH doesn't publish a dated docent schedule, so the date you ask for is a request, not a confirmed slot.
For the trip itself, the grounds at 125 W. Sunset Way are free and open every day from dawn to dusk. Restrooms, the aquarium and the theater are open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The same page also lists the theater as open until 4:30, so plan around the earlier time. From August through October, the gift shop is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. If you can't get there, FISH links to its Issaquah SalmonCam livestream on YouTube.
There's no 2026 count yet. The run numbers on FISH's homepage are the final 2025 figures, dated November 18, 2025. That season, 4,955 Chinook arrived from August through October, and more than 5,200 coho arrived in October. Those are last year's numbers, but they show coho arriving in force in October, after the festival is over.
The creek's longer schedule is also moving. A City update posted today says the Lower Issaquah Creek restoration is complete. A Squak Valley Park South project is still in design and is projected to finish in the late 2020s at the earliest.
After the booths come down on Gilman
Once Gilman Boulevard is back to its normal pattern, there are a few new storefronts to check out. Sunny & Co., a patisserie, bakery and café, is open in the former Crumble & Flake space at 317 NW Gilman Blvd., Suite 7. Gilman Glasses, an optician in Suite 45 of the same complex, appears on the City's "Now Open" list in its September 30 business roundup. Bellevue Rare Coins opened a showroom at 1145 NW Gilman Blvd., Suite G-1, and held a ribbon cutting on August 12. The same roundup lists Rivian, Evergreen Ford, Issaquah Alps Coffeehouse/Ben & Jerry's and Dave's Hot Chicken as opening soon or moving, and Petco as closing.
If you're picking an October morning at the hatchery and wondering how the closure map affects your own street, Abby Quinto would be glad to talk through Olde Town block by block. That works whether you plan to stay put or are thinking about a move within Issaquah. Schedule a Consultation, and bring your questions about the creekside neighborhoods.
