Quiet place tucked at the riverbank, fascinating to watch the fish jump and a challenge to photograph. Also nice views of the river and some of the bridges.
This photo is a joke on you. This is NOT the fish ladder. I suggest you remove it. There is no picnic table in the middle of the water flow. And I don't know where the guy came from.The real fish ladder is fun to watch but especially in spawning season.You cannot trust whoever sent the photo. I may live in Wisconsin now but my family lives in Grand Rapids and I get that way at least twice a year. Please remove that photo! I'll get a better one next time I get there.
No cost .. family viewing.. and the fish are alway sight to watch.. Outdoors year round great viewing!
The most interesting thing for me in this visit was watching a young fisherman (probably about 10) land a nice steelhead which I would estimate at 12-15 lbs. I did not see any fish climb the ladder when I was there on a windy Saturday. A picnic table in the middle of the river doesn't add to the scenery.
Let me preface this review with this: I am from Grand Rapids, MI. I lived there from 1962 to 1988, so now you know how old I am. I've been to the fish ladder many times, most recently Memorial Day weekend 2014. The fish ladder is a sight to see when the salmon are running. It is a nice place to go to when it's nice out. And there's a little area to have a picnic, there are picnic tables there. There is also a park along the river on the opposite side of the river. Not much else. My husband and I did spent about an hour there, but we did have time to kill.Regarding the review by dorothy1121: the reviewer complained that a photo was not accurate and was a joke. I must correct her: the river does get low enough that allows fishermen to walked out into the river to fish. I've seen it many times. As far as the picnic tables, there were two within my sight on shore. When the river is low, I can well imagine fish men dragging it out there for a little rest.
Handy parking lot short walk from the fish ladder. Enjoyed the artistic nature of the fish ladder and saw some (big) fish even though it wasn't migrating season. For a longer visit head downstream along the riverside walkway.
One of the better fish ladder viewing areas we have visited. Nice walkway along the river too. Highly recommend seeing a fish ladder at least once in your life because it is so interesting watching the fish jump up the ladder. Free and you can take as much (or little) time as you want to watch the fish.
Just a great place to be out in nature but still right in the city. The river is so nice and there are paths to walk along.
Interesting attraction in GR. Definitely worth seeing. I will warn you that it usually seems down there. Nice path to take walk and enjoy the scenery. Free parking .
Used to be one of the only fish ladders in the country but not sure if that's the story today, but when the fish are climbing, it's a fun place to watch!! Hard to imagine them being able to do it but you can see it with your own eyes!!!