| Page Springs Fish Hatchery |
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Nestled among the cool pines of the Coconino National Forest, the Page Springs Fish Hatchery offers a cool retreat from the desert during hot summer months. Families enjoy hiking the nature trial bordering Oak Creek, and kids like visiting the show ponds to see the hatchery's finest and largest trout.
At 82 acres, this is the state's largest coldwater fish production facility, producing nearly 700,000 trout a year. The property also includes a smaller warm water hatchery, Bubbling Ponds. In recent years, Bubbling Ponds produced sportfish such as bluegill, largemouth bass, and walleye, and sensitive species such as razorback suckers and Colorado pikeminnow used by the department in native fish conservation and recovery efforts.
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| Recreational
Opportunities - Day Use Only |
 The hatchery includes an interpretive center and a self-guided hatchery tour, finishing in a visit to the show ponds. These amenities are accessible to the disabled. The hatchery is open 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., seven days a week (closed Thanksgiving and Christmas).
A recently completed nature trail, with signs describing riparian habitat and wildlife, meanders through the hatchery grounds and along Oak Creek. The trail is a great place to see wildlife and view birds.
Camping: There are no
camping facilities at the hatchery. However, camping areas are available nearby
on Forest Service lands, or at Arizona
State Parks such as Red Rock State Park near Sedona or Deadhorse Ranch State
Park in Cottonwood. For camping information, a park map, or weather data, click
on Red
Rock State
Park
or Dead
Horse
Ranch State Park.
Bird-watching and photography: The
Audubon Society recently identified habitat at the hatchery and surrounding
riparian area
along lower Oak Creek as an
Important Bird Area. For detailed information, check out the Tucson
Audubon Web site or the Northern
Arizona Audubon Web site.
Fishing: While the
hatchery is closed to angling, trout produced there are stocked in surrounding
streams and rivers, including
Oak Creek, Verde River,
West Clear
Creek, and Wet Beaver Creek. Generally, trout are stocked for anglers at many
access points along each creek during fall, winter, and spring months when water
temperatures are cool. To find out where or when a river or pond will be stocked,
click on the stocking schedule
or where
to fish
on the department's Fishing Web page.
CAUTION: Temperatures
vary from 15°F in December
and January to over 95°F in June and July.
Restrictions:
| a. |
The hatchery is closed to fishing. |
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| Location |
Page Springs Fish Hatchery is located on scenic Oak Creek five miles north of Cornville in Yavapai County. Bubbling Ponds Fish Hatchery is located less than ½ mile
north. The hatcheries are a quick drive
from either Cottonwood or Sedona. Surrounding
lands are a mix of private and federal
holdings. Page Springs Fish Hatchery is
located within Game Management Unit 6A.
Directions: The hatchery is located on Page Springs
Road just south of where it crosses Oak Creek. Page Springs Road is located west
of I-17, between State Route 89 and Cornville Road.
- View a map of this location |
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| Wildlife |
 The unique setting of Page Springs Hatchery provides habitat for a diversity of wildlife species.
Fish: Rainbow trout is the main fish species raised
at the hatchery. A small number of brown trout are also produced. At Bubbling
Ponds Hatchery, sportfish include largemouth bass, bluegill, and walleye. Native
fish raised include Colorado pike minnow and razorback sucker.
Birds: Some common birds in the area are the black-crowned
night-heron, great
blue heron, belted kingfisher, and Clark's grebe. Along the nature trail, numerous
migratory species have been seen.
Invertebrates: The Page springsnail is found only at
the Page Springs spring complex, from which several main springs and other minor
springs arise. This
snail typically occurs on firm substrates such as rocks, vegetation, floating
algal mats and submerged woody debris, in association with slow to moderate flows
of head springs, seeps and lateral spring runs.
Mammals: A few fish-eaters are known to stop by and
try to sample trout. Skunks and raccoons have been seen at the hatchery. Employees
rescued a skunk a few
years ago when it attempted to swim in a raceway. In the surrounding uplands,
mule and whitetail deer, elk, javelina, and black bear occur.
| Special Status Species - Species
Abstracts | Status Codes |
| Common Name |
Scientific Name |
Status |
| Amphibians |
| Lowland leopard frog |
Rana yavapaiensis |
SC, S, WSC |
| Arizona toad |
Bufo microscaphus |
SC, S |
| Birds |
| Western yellow-billed cuckoo |
Coccyzus americanus occidentalis |
C, S, WSC |
| Fish |
| Desert sucker |
Catostomus clarki |
SC |
| Gila chub |
Gila intermedia |
PE, S, WSC |
| Longfin dace |
Agosia chrysogaster |
SC, S1 |
| Roundtail chub |
Gila robusta |
SC, S, WSC |
| Sonora sucker |
Catostomus insignis |
SC, S1 |
| Speckled dace |
Rhinichthys osculus |
SC, S1 |
| Mammals |
| Allen's big-eared bat |
Idionycteris phyllotis |
SC, S1 |
| Arizona myotis |
Myotis occultus |
SC, S1 |
| Cave Myotis |
Myotis velifer |
SC, S1 |
| Fringed myotis |
Myotis thysanodes |
SC, S1 |
| Pale Townsend's big-eared bat |
Corynorhinus townsendii pallescens |
SC |
| Spotted bat |
Euderma maculatum |
SC, S1, S, WSC |
| Yuma myotis |
Myotis yumanensis |
SC |
| Plants |
| Hualapai milkwort |
Polygala rusbyi |
S |
| Reptiles |
| Northern Mexican gartersnake |
Thamnophis eques megalops |
SC, S, WSC |
| Invertebrates |
| Balmorhea saddle-case caddisfly |
Protoptila balmorhea |
SC |
| Page Spring micro caddisfly |
Metrichia nigritta |
SC |
| Page Springsnail |
Pyrgulopsis morrisoni |
C, S1, S |
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| Management
History, Objectives and Goals |
The Page Springs property has been operated by the department primarily as an aquaculture facility since 1938. In the beginning, fish production was quite extensive in numerous ponds throughout the property. Since the 1960s, production has been consolidated in raceways. In 1993, Page Springs was renovated, making it a showcase facility, with state of the art raceways, a wonderful information center complete with fish tanks and interpretive signs, and a self guided tour path.
Management goals of the Page Springs Fish Hatchery property are to provide for
the continued operation of fish culture activities, protect endemic invertebrates,
and provide recreational opportunities. |
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