National Fish Hatchery System
349 Hatchery Road
Heber Springs, AR 72543
Phone: 501-362-3615
Email: r4fr_gfar@fws.gov
The hatchery provides rainbow trout and brook trout for stocking in the White River Basin in Arkansas and the Blue and Illinois Rivers in Oklahoma.
Visitors can enjoy trout fishing in the adjacent Little Red River, visit the visitor center and aquarium and take a tour of the hatchery.
Earth Day celebrations take place in mid-April. The children's fishing tour is scheduled for early June. The annual Greers Ferry Lake and Little Red River cleanup takes place in early September.
Opportunities For Public Use: Through self-guided tours at the hatchery, visitors can observe techniques of trout production, view information exhibits in the Aquarium, and see trout in the outdoor
raceways. Adjacent to the hatchery, visitors can camp at JFK Park (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers campground) and trout fish the Little Red River. Nearby, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a visitor center, two mini-hiking trails and an overlook of
Greers Ferry Dam. (Tours of the dam are scheduled through the summer at the visitor center.) Greers Ferry Lake is located on the other side of the dam. The lake provides camping, swimming, fishing and other watersports.
Visiting Hours: 7:30am - 3:00pm Daily (closed on Christmas)
Visitors should arrive at least 30 minutes before closing time to allow enough time to tour.
Directions To Hatchery: The hatchery is located below Greers Ferry Dam on Highway 5/25 North, three miles north of Heber Springs.
Species Produced: Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery produces and distributes an estimated 1,318,000 Rainbow Trout (approximate total weight 213,000 pounds) and 40,000 Brook Trout (approximate weight 3,500 pounds). The majority of the hatchery's production (65 percent of total weight) is stocked into the Little Red River in Arkansas and the Illinois and Blue Rivers in northeast Oklahoma. The remaining production is stocked into
tailwaters below dams throughout the state. Smaller trout are distributed to state and federal facilities for later distribution into Arkansas waters.
Rearing Facilities: The indoor rearing facility consists of 22 concrete tanks (30ft x 2.5ft) for newly hatched fry up to three inches long; the outside rearing area is 36 concrete raceways (100ft x 8ft) for trout three to nine inches long.
