Mojave River State Fish Hatchery

Mojave River State Fish Hatchery is Great place to visit on any day of the year. It is a economical family outing that is rewarding and educational. Admission is free and fish food is available for a small fee (25 cents intervals) so that visitors can watch the Rainbow trout feast while displaying their unlimited appitite. There is also a small park with shade cover that is a relaxing oasis in the high desert. During your visit there is always on site staff to answer any questions. Constructed in 1947, This facility is State owned and operated by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Throughout California, there are 21 Fish Hatcheries spread within the state. These facilities specialize in rearing Rainbow Trout and Salmon seasonally and year round. Funded by fishing license sales, the Purpose of these facilities is to prolong the species of these fish that appeal to anglers. Unknown to most, Mojave River State Fish Hatchery is the most southern Californian facility producing over 1.5 Million rainbow trout each year. Located in a nestled section of Victorville’s High desert, the facility spans 18 acres on the campus of Victor Valley College.
Within the infrastructure, there lies six individual concrete raceways broken down into 10 one hundred foot sections; totaling 6000 feet of pond space. The facility is driven by a constant supply of Fresh water pumped by wells which feeds each series that is populated by trout. Every year, this facility takes on millions of eggs from brood stock Hatcheries and facilitates them in incubators (egg jars) until they hatch. In the beginning stage of life, the trout are sac fry and housed inside of a hatchery building for more attentive care. Once the fry have absorbed their yolk sacs and have acclimated to solid food, they are then relocated to the outdoor ponds.
After the fry are put out into the concrete raceways, staff work to ensure healthy conditions and a proper diet so that the fish can grow naturally. As they nurture up to size the task of the workers is to load up and transport these fish to bodies of water that span six counties (San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego, Imperial, and Los Angeles County). Mojave River Hatchery supplies rainbow trout to high mountain lakes, Rivers, Creeks and inner city lakes and regional parks that are accessible to the public. The mission of the hatchery is to produce a healthy half pound or better trout that can survive in the wild and help to replenish water with fish that sport fishermen love.
Overall, this is a great place to visit!

Interesting spot. Came on a field trip with my son and saw several different sized rainbow trouts. Also learned a little bit more about what they do and why they are there. It was fun to watch the kids have a great time feeding the fish. Some of those fish jump out of the water when trying to feed them, which is pretty cool to see. Definitely worth the time to stop by and check it out if you are in the area!

This is a great place to bring children to see fish, from tiny baby fish to full-​sized adult fish. Bring quarters and a few Dixie cups to buy fish food from the vending machines. It’s really neat to see the fish charge at the food as you sprinkle it in the water.

I never knew that the Mojave River Fish Hatchery was so close to my house. Now I found it I am always bringing my boys here to see the fish. The kids love to feed the fish and see the many different sizes of fish that they have.
They never have people around, but the gate is always open and bring quarters to buy the fish pellets to feed the fish. They have a small gumball type machine, but it is full of fish food. Take your time and walk around the different ponds, but please be respectful. I have seen kids trying to toss trash in the water and that will ruin it for everyone.
I normally take my kids here when they are bored and want something to do. It is a fun way to get out of the house, wont cost you any money besides a few quarters and you can have a blast.
If you are a fishing family it is so cool to teach your kids where the fish start out before they end up in all of the local lakes. We have been lucky enough to see them load and unload fish. We seen them unloading at Silverwood lake before the green moss took over. The kids loved it.

I’m a fan of the Mojave River Fish Hatchery. It’s a great place to take the kids on a sunny day and learn a bit about aquaculture. Feed the fish, learn about trout. A spiffy outing for the whole family.

California fishing fans, this is where it all begins!
On today’s visit, we saw tons of trout at various growth stages being farmed in preparation for lake plantings throughout California. The hatchery itself is a quiet and peaceful setting nestled between the Victor Valley College campus and the Spring Valley Lake community. It wasn’t crowded and we were able to take our time walking through row after row of knee-​high fish aquariums while feeding the fish and just marveling at their sheer volume. The hatchery is clean and doesn’t smell fishy at all (like I’d expected it to).
Paid staff members feed the fish at regular intervals (we even witnessed a feeding truck driving through the aisles while spewing fresh food into each aquarium), but you can literally create a feeding frenzy by tossing a handful of food into the water yourself. Clearly the trout aren’t underfed… just greedy, lol. Fun to watch, though, and young children will love it, I’m sure.
Wide open to the public (no guard gate or anything), parking is easy, admission is free and fish food can even be purchased on site. It’s a pretty neat, family-​friendly way to spend a half hour or so. Most of us eat farm-​raised fish, but how many of us will ever actually visit a fish farm? Yet, here one is right in our own backyard.