Open Monday - Friday from 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. and Weekends and holidays from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Buford Hatchery allows visitors for self-guided tours to view five hundred thousand trout, both brown and rainbow, being reared to stock into Georgia’s designated trout waters. Located on the banks of the Chattahoochee River in Forsyth County just north of Atlanta. Trout anglers can park outside the hatchery gate along Trout Place Road and walk Bowman’s Island trail around its perimeter to fish in the Chattahoochee River behind the hatchery.

Guided Tours for groups of 10 or more are available by appointment only. Please call to check schedule availability. Buford Hatchery (770)–781-6888

Buford Hatchery continuously pumps water from the Chattahoochee River immediately below Lake Lanier’s Buford Dam for its trout production, and returns all hatchery water to the river. Natural processes in Lake Lanier throughout the year can affect the water quality downstream of the dam, especially in the fall. This, in turn, can affect hatchery operations and public access during the months of September through December.

Read a description of the annual water quality changes that occur in Lake Lanier (and many other Southeastern reservoirs). Former WRD biologists Bill Couch (Buford Trout Hatchery Manager) and Reggie Weaver (Lake Lanier Fisheries Management Biologist) developed this information.

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