Silverdale's salmon season has one official date, Saturday, November 7. On that day WSU Extension runs Kitsap Salmon Tours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at eight stream sites around the county, with guided walks, biologists, and trained docents. The fish don't keep to that date. Guidance published with an earlier Kitsap Salmon Tours handout says chum come back in fall and peak in late November, and coho arrive a little earlier and also peak in late November. So the tour day opens the season, and the busiest stretch of creek usually comes a few weeks later. Clear Creek also runs through the middle of Kitsap County's largest retail center. That means whether you can see the late run depends on which trailhead has parking on the day you go.
The Tour Day Puts Silverdale at the Pavilion
Silverdale's stop on November 7 is the Clear Creek Ridgetop Pavilion at 9228 Ridgetop Boulevard. Great Peninsula Conservancy and the Silverdale Library lead it. The Kitsap Sun's 2024 tour coverage described the pavilion's platforms as overlooking Clear Creek. That's why this site works well for anyone who wants a raised, dry view of the water instead of a muddy bank.
The same Saturday covers much of the county. Several of the eight sites are a short drive away:
- Chico Salmon Viewing Park, 3150 Chico Way, Bremerton, led by Kitsap County Parks and the Chico Salmon Park Stewardship Group
- Chico Estuary, 4270 Kittyhawk Drive, Bremerton, led by Great Peninsula Conservancy and the Suquamish Tribe
- Keta Legacy Foundation Rhododendron Preserve, 2401 Seabeck Highway, Bremerton, where Keta members give tours that include the site's history
- Poulsbo Fish Park, 288 NW Lindvig Way, Poulsbo, led by the City of Poulsbo and KPUD
The full partner list includes the Suquamish Tribe, the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, WDFW, Washington Sea Grant, Kitsap Regional Library, and Kitsap County, among others. The tour is a one-day showcase put on by a coalition. The rest of the run is up to you.
After November 7, Parking Depends on the Day
Great Peninsula Conservancy's Clear Creek Trail visitor page was updated at the end of September. It lists eight public access points, and their parking rules vary in ways that matter once the tour is over. The page also asks visitors to use business lots only outside business hours unless they're customers.
| Access point | Where | Parking |
|---|---|---|
| Silverdale Waterfront Park | Southern end of the trail | Along Washington Avenue NW |
| Old Mill Park | Bucklin Hill Road, between Silverdale Way and Tracyton Boulevard | Near the restroom |
| Clear Creek Sa'qad Interpretive Center | Red barn at Creekside Office Park, via Bucklin Hill Road to Levin Road | Office lot on weekends; Old Mill Park on weekdays |
| Ridgetop Pavilion | Next to 9228 Ridgetop Boulevard | Lot open weekends only |
| All Star Lanes Trailhead | Northeast corner of the bowling alley lot | Loops toward Silverdale Way, Myhre Road, Hospital Hill |
| Silverdale Skate and Dog Park | Also called Silverdale Rotary Gateway Park | Public lot; overflow onto Silverdale Way at peak times |
| Schold Road Trailhead | Silverdale Way to Schold Place, then onto Schold Road | Gravel shoulders; turnaround at the dead end |
| Trigger Avenue | Northern end of the trail, near Petersen Farm | Road right-of-way |
The table shows the trade-off. The pavilion's elevated view, which anchors the tour, has a lot that's open only on Saturdays and Sundays. The Sa'qad Interpretive Center lets you park at the barn on weekends and sends weekday visitors to Old Mill Park at 2901 NW Bucklin Hill Road. If you're walking on a late-November weekday, near the expected peak, Old Mill Park and Silverdale Waterfront Park make the most dependable starting points. Saturday and Sunday walks can use the Ridgetop lot again.
What the Creek Is Holding
According to Great Peninsula Conservancy, Clear Creek supports chum and coho salmon, cutthroat trout, and steelhead, with the steelhead runs historically limited. In November, the chum and coho are the fish to look for.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife salmon-viewing guidance applies to a trail that sits right on the water:
- Watch from the bank and stay out of the stream.
- Leave redds alone. These are the gravel nests where salmon lay their eggs.
- Keep quiet.
- If you don't see fish, try again after it rains.
The last tip explains why one Saturday can't cover the whole run. Rain can change what's visible in the creek, and the tour date was set long before anyone knew this November's weather.
Why a Creek Behind the Mall Can Hold Fish at All
Salmon spawning a few minutes' walk from Silverdale's shopping district is the result of twenty years of rebuilding. Before 2016, Clear Creek passed under Bucklin Hill Road through two 72-inch culverts. Kitsap County replaced them with a 240-foot, four-lane bridge built to improve fish passage and tidal exchange. The same project added bike paths, wider sidewalks, scenic overlooks, and trail connections, according to project engineer Otak.
Upstream, the county's 2016–17 restoration brought back the channel's meanders across 30 county-owned acres north of Waaga Way. It created seven acres of wetland, restored 20 acres of habitat, and placed nearly 700 logs and stumps along with native plants and three trail bridges, the Kitsap Sun reported in 2017. Those logs and bends give spawning fish somewhere to hold, and the bridges are the places where walkers can watch them.
Volunteers have been doing this work much longer. The Clear Creek Task Force formed in 1993 as an all-volunteer group with a mission to restore, protect, and preserve the Clear Creek ecosystem. In June 2025, Great Peninsula Conservancy and Kitsap County announced an agreement to coordinate trail maintenance and a volunteer network along the route from Silverdale Waterfront Park to Schold Farm, including the spur east to Ridgetop Boulevard.
The Next Chapter Is Already in Motion
The north end of the trail is where the creek's story is still unfolding. In 2025, Great Peninsula Conservancy bought Petersen Farm for $1,790,700. The 142-acre working farm off the Trigger Avenue exit on State Route 3 includes 3,000 feet of salmon-bearing Clear Creek. Gerald and Dorothy Petersen bought the land in 1948 and ran a dairy and beef cattle operation there for decades.
The conservancy's published plans call for working with the Suquamish Tribe to remeander the mainstem and remove reed canary grass and other invasive species. They also describe extending the trail north to Kegley Road to link Central and North Kitsap. Both are still plans. For now, the trail ends at Trigger Avenue, where it curves around the farm's southern edge and stops along its western boundary.
The conservancy has also published a new interactive walking tour with notes on the trail's features, natural history, and past, so you can bring the context along on your phone.
Two Ways In Before the Fish Arrive
There are two volunteer opportunities in the weeks before the run. The first is this Saturday, October 10, from 9 a.m. to noon. Great Peninsula Conservancy's October work party will remove invasive plants and clear leaves off the boardwalks. That's the same wetland boardwalk that November visitors will use.
The second is WSU's 2026 salmon docent training. It runs in person on October 18, on Zoom on October 20 and 22, and as field excursions on October 24, and trainees are asked to attend every session. The registration deadline is October 10. Trainees who sign up for a two-hour shift on November 7 receive a free 70-page waterproof Kitsap Salmon Field Guide. WSU describes docents as the volunteers who answer visitor questions and explain salmon migration and stewardship. A docent at Ridgetop Pavilion on tour day would be explaining the same creek they could walk again later in the month.
None of the sources reviewed for this piece included a 2026 fish count or a current closure notice for Clear Creek Trail. Before you go, check the conservancy's pages and any signs posted at the trailheads.
At The Agency Bainbridge Island, we pay close attention to how a place's seasons actually work, from which trailhead lots open on which days to where the creek has been rebuilt to hold its fish. If you're thinking about life near Clear Creek and Silverdale's restored green spaces, we'd be glad to schedule a private consultation.
