On a sunny afternoon, the coho on top of the kiosk at the east end of the Bucklin Hill Road bridge turn red and orange. They are glass, made by Lisa Stirrett of Glass Art Studio in Silverdale, and they sit above 200 glass "eggs" and a body of stainless steel scales. Stirrett described the effect to the Kitsap Sun in plain terms: "It's stunning; it's on fire."
According to the Kitsap Daily News, tens of thousands of chum and coho have started returning to Kitsap County streams, and both species peak in late November. Clear Creek is one of those streams, and it runs straight through what Great Peninsula Conservancy calls the heart of Kitsap County's largest retail center. Salmon can be watched there, among the shopping centers, because of two projects that took infrastructure out of the creek's way. The best places to see them follow where that work happened.
The bridge that replaced two pipes
Until the mid-2010s, Clear Creek reached Dyes Inlet through two 72-inch culverts under a road embankment. Kitsap County's Bucklin Hill project removed the embankment and the culverts and built a 240-foot multi-span bridge in their place. According to the state's salmon recovery project record, the goal was better fish passage, a working estuary, and healthier nearshore habitat where the creek meets the inlet. The bridge and the widened road were finished in 2016, with bike paths, wider sidewalks, and scenic overlooks. The road had to go up about 5 feet to give the estuary more clearance. The whole project cost $19.4 million.
The kiosk cost $45,000 of that, and it came from the community. The Kitsap Sun reported that after the project designer suggested adding a lookout at the east end of the bridge, the Clear Creek Task Force brought Kitsap Public Works the idea for a kiosk. Senior project manager Tina Nelson said the county wanted a gathering landmark, "like the Space Needle," just on a smaller scale. The short wall at its base is engraved with "saqad." Dennis Lewarch, historic preservation officer for the Suquamish Tribe, explained that this Lushootseed word refers to a seasonal campsite at the mouth of Clear Creek and to the creek's floodplain in general. The county had asked the Tribe to suggest the name.
That makes the kiosk the closest viewing point to salt water. It overlooks the spot where the culverts used to be, and every fish headed upstream has to pass under it.
Upstream, the creek got its bends back
The second project sits upstream, north of Waaga Way. On 30 county-owned acres, the Clear Creek Floodplain Restoration reconnected the creek to its historic floodplain. The work removed a road, reshaped the channel, added large wood, cleared invasive plants, and replanted native vegetation. When the trail section reopened in March 2017, the Kitsap Sun tallied the results. The creek was back on a meandering course, with seven acres of new wetland, 20 acres of restored habitat, nearly 700 logs and stumps, and 80,000 native plants.
Those logs and bends have now had nine years to settle in. The easiest way in is the loop the Washington Trails Association describes from Silverdale Rotary Gateway Park. It runs 2.8 miles round trip through the North Wetlands and the restored floodplain, on boardwalk, packed dirt, and pavement. A bridge and a covered shelter come at about the 2.6-mile mark, with views across the restoration. That shelter is a good place to wait out a November shower.
Trailheads that are mostly parking lots
Visit Kitsap puts the full trail system at more than seven miles. It mixes gravel and boardwalk with paved and unpaved sections, and Great Peninsula Conservancy describes it as wheelchair-friendly where possible. Since so much of it runs behind stores, Great Peninsula Conservancy asks visitors to park in business lots only outside business hours unless they are customers. From the inlet north, the conservancy lists these public access points:
- Silverdale Waterfront Park. The southern end of the trail. Park along Washington Ave NW.
- Old Mill Park. On Bucklin Hill Road between Silverdale Way and Tracyton Boulevard, with parking near the restroom. It's the short walk to the bridge kiosk.
- Clear Creek Sa'qad Interpretive Center. The red barn at Creekside Office Park, reached from Bucklin Hill Road to Levin Road. Use the office lot on weekends and Old Mill Park on weekdays.
- Ridgetop Pavilion. Next to 9228 Ridgetop Blvd. The lot is open on weekends only.
- All Star Lanes Trailhead. At the northeast corner of the bowling alley lot, with loops toward Silverdale Way, Myhre Road, and Hospital Hill.
- Silverdale Skate and Dog Park, also called Rotary Gateway Park. Public parking for the North Wetlands trails. Expect overflow onto Silverdale Way when it's busy.
- Schold Road Trailhead. Take Silverdale Way to Schold Place, then turn onto Schold Road. Park on the gravel shoulders. There's a turnaround at the dead end.
- Trigger Ave. The northern end, near Petersen Farm. Park in the road right-of-way.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife lists the Clear Creek Trail Ridgetop Pavilion among its Kitsap County salmon-viewing sites.
Timing the run around one Saturday
Chum are the most numerous salmon in Kitsap County, followed by coho, and the peak for both is late November. Early numbers for 2026 are mixed. Dr. Deb Rudnick of the Watershed Council for Sustainable Bainbridge told the Kitsap Daily News that a few stream systems show early signs of stronger returns, but "it's highly variable across stream systems and watersheds." A fish count from another county creek says little about Clear Creek in any given week.
The organized date is Saturday, November 7. Kitsap Salmon Tours, run by WSU Kitsap Extension, places biologists, local environmental groups, and trained docents at eight stream sites from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It's free, and each site runs its own activities. Silverdale's site is Clear Creek Ridgetop Pavilion at 9228 Ridgetop Blvd., led by Great Peninsula Conservancy and the Silverdale Library. WSU notes that Clear Creek's estuary sits at the end of Dyes Inlet and gives rearing habitat to chum, coho, cutthroat, and steelhead trout. The site-by-site guide for 2026 was listed as coming in October, so the details of this year's Ridgetop activities are still to be announced.
The docents at those sites come from WSU's Salmon Docent Program, a five-day hybrid training held every October. This year it runs October 18 through 22. November 7 sits about three weeks ahead of the expected peak. WSU points out that the viewing sites are open all fall, so the Saturday after Thanksgiving, when the Ridgetop lot is also open, falls closer to the height of the run.
Watching without getting in the way
WDFW's viewing guidance is short. Approach slowly, stay quiet at the water's edge, and never step into the creek. Keep pets under control and leave salmon carcasses where they lie. Respect closures and private property lines. Leaving carcasses matters on a restored stream like this one, because the fish that die there feed the floodplain the county rebuilt. Fishing rules are a separate matter. The state's printed regulations can be overridden by emergency rules, so the current rules for any stream are on WDFW's live emergency rules page.
The volunteers who keep the path open
The trail started as a buffer. The Clear Creek Task Force formed in 1993 to protect and restore the creek, and it has always been run by volunteers. The Kitsap Sun credits Paul Brittain with proposing a trail to shield the salmon-rich creek from development and Tex Lewis with doing much of the work to build it. Longtime Task Force leader Mary Earl told the paper the two were known as "Mr. Think" and "Mr. Do." Great Peninsula Conservancy lists the trail as conserved in 1994. In 2023 the conservancy announced Earl's retirement from that role after nearly three decades of volunteering and asked for new leaders to step in.
These days the conservancy's Clear Creek Trail Team handles much of the hands-on upkeep. Its October work party, held yesterday, cleared vegetation, pulled invasive plants, and swept leaves off the boardwalks. The conservancy's calendar lists the next two work parties for November 14 and December 12. The November date falls between the Salmon Tours and the peak, when wet leaves on boardwalk can make the walk to the creek slippery.
There's also a chance to see the creek mouth this coming weekend. Kitsap County's free Jane's Walk starts at Silverdale Waterfront Park, 3337 NW Byron St., on Saturday, October 17, from 9 to 11 a.m. It's a two-mile route that links Silverdale's public spaces to the Silverdale Center Plan. That plan goes to the county Board for a hearing on November 9. The walk begins at the southern end of the Clear Creek Trail, a short distance from where the fish come in under the Bucklin Hill bridge.
Over two decades of helping people settle around the South Sound, Stephanie Patrick has learned that the best local details tend to be small ones, like which Clear Creek lot opens only on weekends or where to park at Old Mill Park on a weekday. If you're thinking about a home within walking distance of the trail and want to talk through the Silverdale side of the Sound, Let's Connect.
