A mark-recapture experiment was used to estimate total escapement of coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch returning to Steep Creek, a tributary of Mendenhall Lake located in the upper Mendenhall River drainage near Juneau, Alaska. Two hundred sixty-two coho salmon were captured in beach seines between 29 September and 21 October. All were marked with uniquely numbered anchor tags and given a secondary mark consisting of an upper opercle punch. Between 7 October and 10 November, 416 fish on the spawning grounds were inspected for marks and 118 (28%) were marked. A Darroch model was used to estimate a total escapement of 952 (SE = 68) coho salmon. As part of regular escapement monitoring activities, five foot surveys were conducted between 23 September and 3 November to count the number of coho salmon observed in a single day at Steep Creek. The peak observer count was 200 (14 October), representing 21% of the total escapement.