To reach the Clearwater Hatchery travel approximately 37 miles east of the city of Lewiston on highway 12 to the bridge crossing over the Clearwater River into the town of Orofino, go over this bridge into Orofino. Turn West at the first left turn onto Highway 7 and travel approximately 3 miles to cross the North Fork of the Clearwater River, to the entrance to the hatchery.
The primary purpose for Clearwater Hatchery is mitigation for anadromous fish losses due to hydroelectric dams. Anadromous fish production has yet to reach full capacity; therefore, the facility can use excess rearing containers for rainbow trout production. During 1998 this hatchery stocked 216,805 catchable sized rainbow into the waters of the Clearwater Region.
The hatchery water source is a double pipeline from Dworshak Dam, which can supply over 60 cubic feet per second (cfs) of reservoir water to the facility. There are two intakes at the dam. The primary intake is adjustable (5 to 50 feet) to collect surface water, and the secondary intake is fixed about 200 feet below full pool level. This design allows mixing of water of different temperatures.