Fall-run Chinook salmon are swimming through downtown Olympia on their annual migration up the Deschutes River to the Tumwater Falls Hatchery.

The City of Olympia announced Aug. 20 that Stream Team Salmon Stewards had spotted the first returning fish. The Olympian reported salmon still congregating near the 5th Avenue dam as of early September, pushing upstream.

The dam is the salmon's first obstacle. The fish climb a fish ladder there to reach Capitol Lake, then continue up the Deschutes to Tumwater Falls, according to the Experience Olympia visitors guide. Some will be held in hatchery ponds for artificial spawning. Others will be released to spawn naturally farther upriver.

Stream Team Salmon Stewards, volunteers who share salmon and water-quality knowledge with passersby, are stationed at the 5th Avenue bridge near Heritage Park, the city said. City staff asked the public not to disturb the fish and to report sightings to the Stream Team, according to ThurstonTalk.

In late August and early September, the best time to watch at the 5th Avenue walkway is about three hours before high tide, according to Experience Olympia. The walkway can be reached from 5th Avenue where it converges with Olympic Street West. Paid parking is available at Capitol Lake on the corner of 5th Avenue and Simmons Street Northwest. Parking is free after 5 p.m. and on weekends in downtown Olympia.

By mid-September, most salmon will have moved past the bay and into Capitol Lake and on toward Tumwater Falls, where they can be viewed through mid-October at Brewery Park.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife first planted Chinook fingerlings in the Deschutes in the late 1940s, according to the agency's Tumwater Falls Hatchery page.

The state built a concrete fish ladder in 1952 to help salmon bypass the falls. A 2020 upgrade added new holding ponds, modified the ladder and created a public viewing area.

The annual run also intersects with a long-term infrastructure project. The Deschutes Estuary Restoration Project, which includes plans to eventually remove the 5th Avenue dam and restore tidal flow, carries an estimated price tag of about $416 million, The Olympian reported in July 2026.

In 2024, Washington received more than $3 million in federal grants for salmon habitat restoration, KOMO News reported. Of that, $1 million went to restore the Deschutes Estuary and $499,500 went to wetland restoration and reforestation in the lower Deschutes River.

Residents interested in volunteering as Salmon Stewards can find information at streamteam.info.