This is a little bit of a drive to go for a walk from my place in Northeastern Bellingham, but worth it. It has many many waterfalls, isn’t too challenging, and each .5 mile is marked. Absolutely beautiful. Ferns grow out of live, upright tree trunks, there’s a water fall every couple hundred feet and Lake Whatcom seems so big it feels like you’re at a Puget Sound beach. Lush and humid, I imagine on a hot summer day this would be refreshing. Will definitely check it out after a heavy snow for cross country skiing, if I trade in my Dakota for something that can actually drive in the snow.
Annabel gave it two paws up.
General Facts…
Highlights: Lake views, family friendly, wildflowers and lots of waterfalls
Distance: 6.2 miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 100 ft
Hike Time: 2.5 hours (walk/jog 1.5 hours)
Difficulty: Easy
Trail Condition: Well maintained trail
HikeType: Out and Back
Lots of large Douglas fir trees, cedar, maple and Madrone trees. The trail ends in 3 miles at a fenced private property. This is a good hike for birding. Lake Whatcom basin was carved by a glacier over a mile thick. It is filled by rain, mountain streams and water diverted from the middle fork of the Nooksack river which comes from the Deming glacier on Mt. Baker. This lake supplies water for over 60,000 people in the Bellingham area. Trailhead: From Bellingham, drive around the lake on North Shore Drive to Agate Bay. Stay to the right and then go left in 2.5 miles to the trailhead. It is just past a bridge over Smith Creek. Take the path on the right down to the trail. (Lat:48.72757 Lon:-122.30776)
What’s this all about?
Well since I quit smoking New Year’s Day I was in need of something contructive to do with my healthier self. I have wanted to hike, and turns out this a great area to do it. I’m floored at how many incredible trails there are around the Bellingham area, and after going on this hike as well as two others I realized there needed to be pictures taken and posted. So I’m setting out to do these 3 hikes over again, this time with a camera. Besides North Lake Whatcom Park I’ll soon do Teddy Bear Cove near the North Chuckanut Mountain Trailhead and (ouch but beautiful) Fragrance Lake Hike.