What could be so interesting to hold the attention of these two guys I spotted from the bike bridge to the Cedar River Trail in Renton?
They're employees of the Seattle Public Utilities checking on the salmon weir placed across the river to capture migrating salmon for the fish hatchery.
With sunny, cool weekend weather in the forecast, it might be a good time to bike over to the 17-mile Cedar River Bike Trail and follow the migration of sockeye salmon upstream to Landsburg.
I hear a salmon naturalist will be on hand Saturday to answer questions about the salmon's fall ritual throughout the Pacific Northwest. There's a map below to direct you to the trail.
Weir
That temporary salmon weir was installed this fall by the Seattle Public Utilities to collect brood stock for their Cedar River Sockeye Hatchery upstream in Landsburg. In the past they've been collected upstream at Cavanaugh Pond, but the weir was moved downstream to get a wider collection of sockeye.
The weir is located right at the western entrance to Renton's Cedar River Park. From that bridge under I-405, I counted about a dozen bright red sockeye swimming against the current.
Trail
In the fall, you could rename the bike path the “Salmon Trail,” as you can spot salmon in the river from September through early December at every river crossing and wherever the river is visible from the trail.
They're mostly bright red sockeye heading upstream, and you can hear them splashing through the riffles in some shallow water. Later on, after they spawn, they die and their white carcasses float downstream and collect in eddies where birds feast on them. It's your basic circle of life.
The 17.3-mile Cedar River Regional Trail is great for bicycling. Twelve miles of the trail between Renton and Maple Valley is paved; further on its packed limestone, which is OK for all but the skinniest of bicycle tires.
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