A Taste of Northwest Living

You find yourself one day in the quaint Pacific Northwest city of Bellingham Washington driving down Lakeway, one of the main roads in this drizzly town. When you take the turn off of Lakeway opposite Kenoyer drive it leads you straight into the trees, down a long winding road. A few driveways lead up and away to the right to some houses nestled in the woods above you and to the left a guard rail stands between you and a deep gully teeming with bushes and trees. The road eventually brings you to a parking lot, fish hatcheries ahead, a field that is home to a playground off to the right, and a myriad of trails leading into the woods all around. You’ve just made your way into the vibrant Whatcom Falls park.

This gorgeous park is a place for people from all walks of life to come and spend time in the great outdoors. There are many activities that patrons of this fine park might engage in, from fishing to hiking, swimming and biking, and pretty much anything that you can come up with. It can also be a venue for many of the greater Bellingham community’s various events such as field trips from many of the surrounding schools and family barbecues. Rowdy basketballs games may be held on the courts near the upper parking lot while a group of college kids toss around the old disc in an energetic game of ultimate Frisbee in the surrounding fields. The park is simply brimming with positive energy and joy during the day.

At night however, things can get a little dicey, so beware. Reports of various criminal activities occurring during the night at the falls have been made, so be sure you mind the 6am to 10pm park hours. Other things to consider when thinking about safety in the park are the people that have been paralyzed jumping off of some of the cliffs into pools below, misjudging depth and location of submerged boulders, as well as the few people that have died while swimming at the falls. Beware underwater rocks and the height of the river, as it can become quite strong in the winter and spring. As scary as all this may sound, it is very rare that anyone is actually injured while enjoying Whatcom Falls, it is generally just a good idea to be cautious, as is true with any somewhat unregulated (no lifeguards at swimming locations, etc.) public location.

As I mentioned earlier, Whatcom falls park is home to a decently large fish hatchery where fish are raised and then released into the creek that runs through the middle of the park. This little addition is wonderful environmentally speaking, as it helps to replenish local fish populations, and can be a great place for school field trips or to just take your kids so they can stare in wonder at the masses swimming endlessly in circles. The hatchery is however, a bit of an eyesore as it is constructed of large concrete pools with unsightly nets defending the inhabitants from predators, and the surrounding buildings take away a bit of the “forest sanctuary” feel, but ultimately it is pretty easy to avoid and is only a very small part of the park.

I have found that the main aspect of Whatcom Falls that keeps me coming back time and time again is the expansive system of beautifully maintained trails which run throughout the park. With entrances all around the park coming in off of the surrounding streets, it is pretty easy to make your way onto these enchanting paths. From there, you can head to any part of the park with relative ease as the paths are mostly flat. Furthermore, since the forest here is composed mostly of tall, majestic evergreens, the park stays green all year!

There are many more wondrous things to discover in Whatcom Falls, like the pond, the historic stone bridge, and the hidden… well, you’ll just have to go see for yourself! As I have been a member of the Bellingham community for over eight years and having spent much of my time here at Whatcom falls I can assure you that, overall, this park serves its purpose as an outdoor sanctuary quite well. It is clean, natural, and beautiful.

For more information and a map including trails and important landmarks, click here.