In Issaquah, the salmon come right through downtown. Each fall they return to a hatchery on West Sunset Way, and the town holds a festival to greet them. OFM’s April 1, 2026 estimate counts 41,590 residents, up from 40,051 in the 2020 Census. Buyers find a downtown salmon hatchery, a fall festival and a state park on Lake Sammamish.
The hatchery and the creek
The Issaquah Salmon Hatchery is at 125 W. Sunset Way. The Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery publishes visitor information and offers free general admission. The nonprofit teaches people of all ages about Pacific salmon and clean watersheds, and it offers guided tours. Its final 2025 spawning statistics, dated November 18, 2025, counted 4,955 chinook arriving in August through October and more than 5,200 coho arriving in October. Salmon Days organizers also point visitors to viewing spots at the Newport Bridge on Newport Way and the bridge on West Sunset Way.
Salmon Days
The Issaquah Chamber of Commerce presented the first Salmon Days in 1970, replacing an older Labor Day celebration and marking the annual return of the salmon. It became a Seafair-sanctioned event in 1980. The festival brings booths and the Grande Parade to downtown Issaquah. In 2026 it ran October 3 and 4.
Lake Sammamish State Park
Lake Sammamish State Park covers 531 acres with 6,858 feet of waterfront, according to the Washington State Parks brochure. The brochure describes deciduous forest, wetland vegetation and three salmon-bearing streams, and Issaquah Creek runs through the park. Sunset Beach and Tibbetts Beach have playgrounds and picnic tables. Washington State Parks identifies the park’s boat launch as Lake Sammamish’s only public boat launch. Kayak, paddleboard and pedal-boat rentals are offered at Tibbetts Beach.
From Gilman to Issaquah
Hop farms came first to the valley at the south end of Lake Sammamish, HistoryLink writes, with loggers and coal miners following in the 1880s and 1890s. The town incorporated as Gilman in 1892 and was renamed Issaquah in 1899, the English pronunciation of a local Native American place name. HistoryLink notes that sources differ on its meaning: “snake,” “little stream” or the sound of the northern crane. A library reading room opened in 1908 in the back of a barbershop on Front Street; the current Issaquah Library opened in 2001.
Getting around
Interstate 90 runs through Issaquah. As of October 2026, Sound Transit’s long-range plan forecasts the South Kirkland–Issaquah Link project for 2050, with early planning scheduled to begin in 2027.
Living here
Salmon returning every fall, a downtown parade to welcome them and the beaches at Lake Sammamish State Park set Issaquah apart. Chase Hedin is a Managing Broker who works out of Woodinville. Thinking about Issaquah alongside Sammamish or Bellevue, or about selling here? He’d be glad to talk it through. Start a conversation · What’s my home worth?