Spawning Salmon. Every fourth year is a “dominant” salmon run, with millions of fish to be seen from late September through to the end of October (2018 is a dominant run).
Since 2018 was a dominant run, 2022 and 2026 will be dominant years as well and would be the best years to visit. 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024 and 2025 are considered sub-dominant years, meaning fewer fish, however plenty of salmon can still be found if you happen to be there then.
During a dominant year, it’s not uncommon for over two million Sockeye to return to the area. In the year after a dominant run, you may see 300,000 or more so it’s still not a bad time to visit.