Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery & Aquarium

Fantastic experience: Great food, delicious cherry chocolate cheesecake, fast and good service.

Positive experience: Small place but with lots of fish, snakes, and frogs in indoor tanks and outdoor pools. Don't need to spend more than an hour there but it is nice if you are going to the downtown anyway.

Fantastic experience: I recently visited the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery with my family, and we had a fantastic time! This quaint and friendly spot is perfect for a fun-filled afternoon. The hatchery's charming atmosphere and engaging exhibits made for a delightful experience that we'll always treasure. I highly recommend it to families looking for a unique and enjoyable outing.

Fantastic experience: Great experience for the kids. Small but packed with lots of different activities. They have picnic tables for lunch.

Fantastic experience: I used to come here with my mother 30 years ago and I come here with my daughter all the time. We love feeding the fish! Also saw some amateur fishing going on, which is really cool.

Positive experience: Cute place for a quick trip with kids under age 14. It’s more about keeping the legacy alive to its founders so if you wanna support the cause do visit. $50-$100 will take care of everything.

Positive experience: Fun little visit for kids for a couple hours. Entrance is fairly cheap and so is the fish food - pick up a bag and the kids will enjoy tossing pellets into the trout ponds and watching the ensuing feeding frenzy. There are a half dozen hatching ponds outside, and two separate indoor aquariums, each a large room with a few dozen local fish and amphibians.

Fantastic experience: Nice aquarium and fish hatchery!!

Fantastic experience: My family wanted to go somewhere outdoors at the last minute, my mother found this place and it was lovely. There was a very sweet employee, and he was also very informative about the fish. We got our fish food ($4, worth it). My parents were super happy. It looked like they were kids again❤️ Definitely take your time and admire the fish, the two mini areas with fish, frogs, snakes, salamanders, and turtles while exploring near the church and the beautiful pond/nature.

Fantastic experience: You can get free tickets from the library

Fantastic experience: Great place for a short visit to see freshwater fish, amphibians, and reptiles.

Fantastic experience: Great place for a pre-k or older kid to see fish and long island critters up close. They have live hands on stuff too!

Fantastic experience: Small but reasonably priced, grandkids had fun Picnic area too

Fantastic experience: Kids enjoyed it. You can probably see the whole thing in about an hour.

Fantastic experience: Great spot for toddlers to explore. We went for an hour, but easily could have stayed longer.

Positive experience: It was nice and fresh! A bit dated though. It could use some updates.

Fantastic experience: Really cute place to take the kids! They have indoor tanks and also outdoor hatchery. You can purchase a bag of fish food for $4. Also, if you’d like to go fishing, you must reserve a time slot online, I highly recommend doing it, it’s a cute experience for the kids and you get to take the fish home!

Fantastic experience: The Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery & Aquarium is a simple place to visit for some fun. I have passed by the hatchery a few times, curious as to what it exactly was. As someone who resides in Queens, and doesn't come across a hatchery everyday, it was a really nice way to spend some time. There are three main components to the place: outdoor trout feeding areas, a reptile/amphibian center, and the aquarium. Although modest in size, the space delivers a lot of excitement especially if you love aquatic life. I could've sat staring at the baby turtles inside of the aquarium for hours. I also purchased the fish food to feet the outdoor trout fish for $4.00. They gave us a half filled lunch bag, a pretty hefty amount for that price. It was fun to feed the fish, and to see them navigating for the food. Overall, I liked this place. It ties into Cold Spring Harbor's love affair with aquatic life, and is a niche thing to do if you've never fed trout before. Some reminders: There are bathrooms on the premise, and a modest gift shop next to the reptile/amphibian center. There is parking on site that we did not have to pay for.

Fantastic experience: Lovely place to feed fish and look at aquariums, ponds, small reptiles and amphibians. They have programs for kids and special events. We sponsored a couple of animals and my son got a certificate with an image and information about “his” animal. Open year round which is great for when you are looking for things to do with children

Fantastic experience: Fun entertainment feeding trouts… Small aquariums are spread out between 2 buildings. You could spend about an hour leisurely enjoying the place. Plenty of parking between the hatchery and church building. Lake view from church side is gorgeous, so worth checking it out too. Nature Conservancy’s St John preserve’s trailhead starts from upper parking lot section, hence you could have 3 destinations covered with one stop.

Fantastic experience: Great place to bring young kids and have them feed the trout

Fantastic experience: Great place for the family for the kids and very educational

Fantastic experience: Great for little kids, you can feed the trout, see some small displays, etc. We were there just over an hour, and it was perfect. Staff is friendly, and many local libraries have free tickets available!

Positive experience: This was a nice Little day trip. It is a small place. Good for Kids. Good if you like amphibians, reptiles and fish.

Fantastic experience: My one year old had a lot of fun feeding the fish! It’s a very small place but definitely nice for small children.

Fantastic experience: Cute space to learn about trout and other fish. Close to home.

Negative experience: Did the pond fishing for 3 plus hours with 3 kids and zero fish caught. The fishing portion is definitely a waste of time and money.

Positive experience: It was fun for the kids. However, I wish the birds did not eat the majority of fish food once you throw it into the water.

Fantastic experience: Always a great way to spend a few hours. Love this place! They do a great job.

Negative experience: I’m not sure how this place has so many positive reviews. It’s tiny and there’s nothing to see. It took about 2 minutes to walk around the property and they give you a hard time at the entrance if you’re using a museum pass. I’m so glad this was free because if it wasn’t I would have demanded my money back.

Fantastic experience: Chill place, some outdoor fisheries and indoor animal exhibits, only $7 entry

Fantastic experience: Very cozy place! Have 2 parts - for both sides of the street. There are a lot of parking spots and a charming church with stunning lake walks. Price is very affordable - $7 per adult.

Fantastic experience: Great place to take the kids. Fish food is cheap and plentiful. Kids love feeding the fish, but it does make your hands a little smelly after. Don’t forget the aquarium on the other side, they have 2 seahorses now! If you plan on going more than 2-3 times a year just sign up for the membership, it’s very very reasonable. If you have young kids, sign up for membership. It’s an easy go to when the kids are bored.

Fantastic experience: Perfect aquarium for young kids! Enough displays and tanks to entertain them, but not so many as to be overwhelming. We went on a rainy day so spent most of our time in the 2 buildings. There were other things to do outside, and fish & turtles to see, if the weather had been better. Very reasonable entrance fee.

Positive experience: Very nice place to visit. Not too big at all. There is an aquarium here, but the focus is on fresh water fish from new york state. There sre frongs and turtles and salamanders and a few snakes. The outdoor pens are where the fish are corralled. If you stop to take in everything they have it will take about an hour. Perhaps it would be best to go when they hold a special event. The folks who work there care about their fishy friends.

Positive experience: Great place for toddlers to feed growing trout!

Fantastic experience: Great place to bring the kids and feed the trout.

Positive experience: This was a birthday party for our grandson.. they toured the aquarium and showed the kids some turtles. Then the kids fished to try to catch some good sized trout. Not everyone was successful at about 4:00 PM on a very hot day but the kids had fun and the staff was very kind to the kids and everyone for the pizza party

Fantastic experience: Inexpensive, interesting, educational, and fun. My son and daughter love to feed the fish. The indoor portion has a variety of animals to see.

Fantastic experience: Wonderful place to bring the kids. Multiple freshwater ponds full of amazing fish, varying sizes and shapes. Also an educational center on site. We will be coming back.

Positive experience: Great for the kids...a lot to see and pleasant staff

Fantastic experience: Great little destination to bring children to see some fishes and other animals.

Fantastic experience: We always love coming here and feeding fish and the torn of oyster Bay

Fantastic experience: As much for adults as it is for children. Two buildings, plus the fish ponds. Be sure to check out the cascade from St John's pond.

Negative experience: No staff in sight to pay for tickets. So we just walked in. Gift shop locked. School group was running around. Glad we did not pay because we were done walking around in 5 minutes.

Positive experience: Cute little place to feed fish and see animals that live in water. Pretty small, but pair it with a little hiking at Cold Spring Harbor State Park or time by the water. Also walk by the water by the parking lot and church to see the beautiful view and geese and swans that come by the side.

Fantastic experience: This place is not too big, but it is very interesting to see all the fish jumping, the old turtles pool, the snakes, frogs, etc. There are two houses to visit (one red house across the pools that make sure you dont miss) There is a huge lake behind it that has an amazing view and your pictures become awesome. There is lots of parking.

Fantastic experience: Great for a quick outing with the kids. There's a whaling museum close by. Good to do both on the same day.

Fantastic experience: We had so much fun! Made for a great afternoon out together. Staff was friendly and exhibits were great. We collect magnets from wherever we go so we were a little sad there wasn't a magnet... add magnets to your gift shop please!

Fantastic experience: Very interesting if you love fish it's the place you got to stop

Positive experience: I come here with my wife to look at the foliage. Beautiful area.

Fantastic experience: Such a cool little place. Really good place to take your kid for a fun and inexpensive afternoon when you don't have time to drive to either of the big aquariums. Very friendly staff as well!

Fantastic experience: My kids love feeding the trout. Great place to spend 45 mins or so. Also some benches and tables if you bring a snack or food .

Negative experience: I loved this place for amazing fishing but last time I was very disappointed. There was literally a few fishes in the pond. Even those several fishes didn't bait because they were being fed during a fishing session. So I barely got 3 small fishes for 2 hours. That happened the first time since I have been visiting this place and I sincerely hope this will never happen again. The story about otters that ate all fish did not impress me...(((

Positive experience: You can see how trout is grown, and there are some exhibits about Long island native animals, but otherwise not much to see and I feel the admission is steep for what you get.

Fantastic experience: Super nice place you can fee's trout and turtles and also fish.

Negative experience: Small and not much to see. A lot of the exhibits were missing animals and it was difficult to see in the outdoor pools. They also don't allow digital library passes, which is surprising because that's an extra step and a waste of paper. Staff at the admission desk was also rude.

Negative experience: So this morning we went to Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery and Aquarium with my neighbor after earning a free ticket through the library at HHH, and when we get there, we find the most unfriendly, condescending casheir they could ever have encounter. We thought she was just dismissive as we said thank you and she just reamined silent and walked away...we let it go, but when we went to the gift shop, same demeanor, and after we paid for our items, we said thank you, again silent and walked away. She left our items on the counter and I had to ask for a bag which she just handed to me but would not show any courtesy. I hate to state the abvious. ASIDE from her, everything else was excellent.This place needs to see every shade of people...and more friendly staff.

Positive experience: Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery and Aquarium is a modest fishery/aquarium at Cold Spring Harbor. The kids had a great time. Activities can be done in a few short hours so if driving out consider scheduling other things to do. They did have catch and release. Which looked like a lot of fun.

Fantastic experience: Truly enjoyable time for the grandkids. Staff was courteous and accomodating. Special shoutout to volunteer Ryan. He was so attentive to the kids, so helpful and never was on his phone or any other distraction...paid constant attention to the children who were fishing. A great asset. Thank you Ryan!

Fantastic experience: An amazing way to pass a summer weekend with kids. The staff members are very friendly and knowledgeable about the animals in their care. We went during the turtle hatch weekend event and had an amazing time. Highly recommend it. They rent fishing rods and help out with the fishing. 2022 Summer Update. Spend a nice lazy Sunday with my little ones at the pond. Caught 4 fish in two hours. The staff are ever helpful and even provided tips on how to prepare the catch.

Fantastic experience: George the tour guide was AMAZING!!! VERY INFORMATIVE!!! Took a few campers here for a guided tour. The facility was clean, a great variety of animals. We were able to feed the trout and that was a great experience. Seeing the yellow spotted salamander up close was pretty cool too. Definitely recommend this place for all ages a great outing.

Fantastic experience: My dad's 89th birthday was last week, so I took him to places from his (and my) childhood. A nice half day trip out there, and to relive some memories. The staff are great people

Fantastic experience: This place is a great learning experience for kids,learning about fish and the environment. It is very interactive and much more appealing than the riverhead aquarium. You can feed the fish or just go and relax. It is also somewhat of an inexpensive outing.

Fantastic experience: I came here to go fishing but they closed at 3:00, still I had a really good time feeding the fish checking out some of the local natives in the aquarium and going for a walk

Fantastic experience: We had a fun day here feeding the trout, exploring the aquarium and live exhibits, and hanging out with the turtles, who were basking in the sun the whole time we were there. Definitely coming back some time!

Fantastic experience: Just went to the hatchery for the second time. We've gone for their turtle event and egg hunt. My whole family enjoys their time here. It's a gem! I highly recommend going there and will definitely be back again and again!

Fantastic experience: Lovely place for kids to see reptiles and fish.

Positive experience: Took my grandkids there they enjoyed themselves. Looking forward to going back and try fishing

Fantastic experience: Have been going to the fish hatchery since I was a child. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. The trout food is reasonably priced and then walk to the lake to feed the fish. No smoking and No PETS Allowed.

Fantastic experience: I have been here a few times but would still go back and patronize this business as I enjoy giving my money to establishments that clearly put time, effort and care into the reptiles, fish and amphibians they keep. All of the animals in the live exhibit have appropriately sized enclosures, and each was modeled after the animals' natural habitat. It is refreshing to see this as many places do not care for their animals in this way and it is clear at these places that they are just objects on display rather than living things deserving of proper husbandry. The Fish Hatchery clearly cares for their animals and the staff is polite and friendly. It is a great way to spend an afternoon and I would recommend if you're looking for a way to kill a little time.

Fantastic experience: The employees were very pleasant especially the 2 youngsters that helped us with the fishing

Negative experience: I feel like it's a bit over priced for what you see here. A few snakes, a bunch of trout that all look the same with a few other types of fish thrown in, a few frogs and turtles. The grounds and buildings look run down. 2 year olds had fun feeding the fish but got bored very quickly so we didn't stay too long. Luckily 2 & under is free

Fantastic experience: A mini museum where fish are born. There's an aquifer that fresh ground water flows from, really cool.

Fantastic experience: I came here as a kid and returned recently. They have a small aquarium and a few pools to observe turtles and trout. $4 per pound of trout food, to feed them, and a small area to walk by a pond. It's a quaint place but a good place to spend an hour or so just watching the fish.

Fantastic experience: Love this place! Fishing, aquariums, terrariums, beautiful grounds, educational programs and summer camp! The staff is friendly and helpful, spend a few hours or an entire day always something interesting to see!

Fantastic experience: Hi took our grandchildren ages 4 thru 12 fishing...it was wondeful......you have a great employee there who helped make our experience he ran around for 2 hours and it was HOT......always polite and happy....thank you RYAN RYAN RYAN RYAN......YOU ARE FANTASTIC WE WILL BE BACK ON A TUESDAY JUST TO HAVE YOU HELP US

Fantastic experience: Great place to spend time with your family. The church is beautiful. DO NOT forget to walk around the church.

Negative experience: The name of Aquarium is kind of confusing, because it's not really a aquarium. This place is small and doesn't have much to do. It only took us less than 10 min to walk around and get bored.

Fantastic experience: It was really cool to learn about the hatchery. My kids enjoyed feeding the fish.

Positive experience: With a 20% boost in funding, this place would be awesome. Great for kids 2-10. Then slightly less great.

Positive experience: Nice one hr trip.

Fantastic experience: Great place to visit for young kids with parents. Restrooms are available on site. Entertainment up to 2 hrs max.

Fantastic experience: Family and kids friendly enviroment. There is a $7 entrance fee for adults and kids 5 and up $5, kids under 2 its free. Have to make reservations online for fishing in the pool. $16 per person, kids up to 5years old pay like adult. $4 every fish you catch and you have to take home every fish you catch. You can also buy trouts to take home for $7 each. ALL fishies in the pool and in the farm are small size. The aquarium is very nice and clean. The bathrooms are inside the aquarium. No parking lot fee. There are different types and sizes of trouts in the farm. The gift shop is very nice organized and good prizes for tshirts (youth and toddler sizes 2 for $21)and water bottles $6 each. My kiddos had a nice afternoon there. I recommend it.

Positive experience: Fishing is too expensive since you also have to pay per fish, but it was easy and the kids loved it. There's not much else to see and do other than look at 10 or so turtle and fish aquariums

Fantastic experience: Awesome Annd affordable. I do wish that they kept up alittle better on the rotting food floating at the top. There was a fish upside down dying and it did appear that a few had an eye disease but the overall experience was enjoyable.

Fantastic experience: Another piece of long island history, we locals need to appreciate more of our home and explore all that we can on long Island.

Fantastic experience: Fun small community spot. My young boys enjoyed their first fishing experience. The staff member helping us was fantastic and very good with the kids. We caught 10 fish and cooked some of them the same night.

Positive experience: I would’ve given it more stars but they kept bothering me about my mask not being over my nose OUTSIDE WITH NO ONE ELSE AROUND ME! We were literally the only ones in the outside area for over an hour. I feel like this place is being a bit overboard considering we were outside and no one else was there! Beware for the kid’s and your time here. They will make you feel extremely uncomfortable and unwelcome!!!! I had 3 kids with me under 5, one of them had to go to the bathroom so of course my five year old tales mask off and I didn’t notice right away cause I was changing my one year old. The same staff member comes and again reminds me about my son not wearing one and I get we need masks but at this point again no one else was there and I was right in middle of changing my baby. She then tells me it’s not over my nose(it kept falling down as I was talking). At this point I felt like I was being harrassed. I was doing my best and told her that and yet she continued and drilled me about how I need to be respectful. It was too much and I was so embarrassed and humiliated in front of my children. The staff there need a serious one on one talking to about manners and understanding children and life. There was no mercy being applied in a time when I was changing my baby and didn’t see my sons mask was off again. Like I said this place is EXTREMELY STRICT AND WILL MAKE YOU FEEL UNWELCOME AND UNCOMFORTABLE. They are clearly on a power trip!

Fantastic experience: Nice place for the kids to see turtles, fish, snakes, salamanders, and some birds. Kids can feed fish. If you register on the website, you can fish too. There is also a hiking trail; ask for the key at the admission window.

Fantastic experience: Fishing is great. We really enjoyed feeding the fish and checking out the duck pond.

Fantastic experience: The best 45 minutes one can spend across from the Cold Spring Harbor Labs. If possible, schedule your visit during one of the two days a year where they have the "live" sushi festival and tasting. There is no fresher sushi to be had on Long Island. Literally seconds from breeding tanks to your palate. Call for details.

Fantastic experience: Great experience for young children. Learn to appreciate wild life and nature. Feed pellets to young trout. Also check out the small lake or pond out back by the church.

Negative experience: Very limited no help from staff...young kids in their phones...nothing really to.do but look at the trout no activities available on Sunday.

Negative experience: I came here a few weeks ago with a museum pass and the unfriendly girls at the front desk were very displeasing, giving me an extremely hard time with my digital pass. Christina was very rude and unhelpful, refusing to allow me and a friend in without a printed pass. The girls could not offer any convenient suggestions to allow my entrance (on-site printing, e-mail, text, etc). Instead they turned me away despite my long drive to get there. I ended up driving all the way to the local library just to print a physical pass in order to be allowed in to see this rinky-dink hatchery. Other than the attitude I was serviced, they have small little ponds around the facility, the “aquarium” is indoors and consists of quite dark fish tanks. Perhaps if the customer service were better, I would have enjoyed my experience better and would even recommend it.

Fantastic experience: Took my 5 yr old son to go fishing for trout. It was a priceless moment for him to catch his very first fish. Great experience overall and very helpful staff!!!

Fantastic experience: Lovely place for the kids to have a good time feeding the fish and learn a little. Right behind there is a lovely church with a beautiful lake you can scroll too after the fishing experience. Is a great way to spend time with fam or love ones. Free parking available.

Fantastic experience: Great place for a family outing. You can feed the fish for $4. Admission is cheap...6 or 7 dollars. I purchased a $50 membership so I can make unlimited visits with my family during the year. The aquarium is open all year round. Refreshments are also reasonable...they have drinks and ice cream right now. It is open 7 days a week from 10am to 5:00pm.

Fantastic experience: Excellent little gem. Great for families. Small indoor aquarium and outdoor ponds where you can feed the fish. Went in a rainy day and it was still fun.

Positive experience: nice small aquarium to spend an hour or two. you get fish food upon entrance to feed the fish and turtles.