Located 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Kamloops off the Highway 1 (The Transcanada Highway) or 28 miles (45 kilometers) west of Salmon Arm, the Adams River is the site of one of the biggest sockeye salmon runs in the world.
Salmon that have fought their way up the Fraser River and Thompson River start arriving at the 12-km (7.2-mile) Adams River in October. In a dominant run, which occurs about every four years, up to 200,000 visitors come to see as many as two million salmon jam into the creek to spawn. The next such run is 2006 with a subdominant run in the year 2007. The following dominant run will be in 2010.
Sometime during September or October of that fourth year, a festival called Salute to the Sockeye (a species of salmon) is held at the Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park - a section of the river that has been dedicated to the famous British Columbia fly fisherman, naturalist and author - celebrate the miracle of the completion of the four-year cycle of the sockeye salmon.
The event provides many interpretive signs, interactive displays and games, special events and a local artisans tent on-site for a fee. The proceeds from the event go toward the Legacy fund which is used by the Adams River Salmon Society exclusively for educational purposes.