At the beginning of the year, Bill and I were busy planning and looking forward to sharing our love for Bellingham with our flying club friends. COVID-19 dashed those plans to be able to do it as a group fly-out. I was recently in Bellingham for work and found that there is still plenty to see and do there as a couple so I thought I would share my favorite places to visit. If you are feeling froggy and brave enough to travel during the pandemic, there are still a few nice fall days coming to enjoy a visit there or perhaps you might want to wait until next spring or summer when we are hopefully in a better position as far as the virus is concerned. Whenever you decide to go, I hope that you will find this helpful in planning your trip there.
A drive to Bellingham is very doable from the Portland Metro Area; however, our favorite way to get there is to fly (of course). The views of the Cascade volcanoes, the Olympic Mountains, Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands from the air are absolutely breathtaking as most of our flying friends can already attest to. Because Bellingham has a commercial airport, car rentals are readily available at the terminal which is next door to the FBO. Fountain Rental and Leasing in the downtown area has competitive rates if you want to support a local family owned business. There are many hotels located near the airport and throughout the city. Or if you want to camp, there are campgrounds and RV parks as well.
Bellingham History
Bellingham started out as four different towns-Bellingham, Fairhaven, Whatcom and Sehome. They consolidated as one city in 1903 which is what partially accounts for the crazy arrangements of the streets that join up in the downtown area. (On a side note: I definitely recommend using a navigation app to map out getting to places. I have gotten turned around plenty of times and taking the interstate between locations isn't always the closest way to get there.)
Unfortunately none of the museums are open due to the pandemic but if you are a history buff, the City of Bellingham website has links to interactive maps and audio to do your own self-guided walking tours of the historical buildings and sites. You can use your phone or tablet to follow the map and view the details or listen to short descriptions of each site on the tour route.
An example of a spot you could visit on one of the walking tours is the Pickett House. This is the oldest home in Bellingham which was built by General George Pickett in 1856 while he was there to oversee the construction of Fort Bellingham. Before the pandemic, they only allowed visitors inside one Sunday a month so I haven't been able to see the inside yet.
Near the Pickett House is the old Territorial Courthouse which was built in 1858. It was the first brick building built north of San Francisco. It was originally designed to be a general store, bank and warehouse during the Fraser River Gold Rush. After the miners moved on, the business failed and the building became the Territorial Courthouse. It was a two story building in its heyday but the street level changed over the years so only the second story is visible now.
Below is the link to find out more about the Bellingham, Fairhaven and Sehome interactive self-guided walking tours. At this writing, the website formatting does seem to be a little wonky but the links for the Downtown Bellingham and Old Sehome tours worked well on my iPad mini and were accessible on my Android phone and PC. The links don't seem to be available for Fairhaven at this time though. The Interactive Tour option includes written descriptions and videos that might be best viewed at home on your PC or before you go. The Audio option is what I would recommend when you are actually walking. It seems to be easier to flip between the map, photos and audio clips on that version.
https://cob.org/services/planning/historic/historic-tours
If you are looking for a guided history tour, the Good Time Girls tours are the way to go. Due to the pandemic, they are only giving private tours for five people or less for a $100 fee. I have not personally been on a tour yet but they sound like a lot of fun and hope to some day. This was going to be one of the highlights on our canceled fly-out that I was really looking forward to. The Good Time Girls are known for their Sin and Gin tours in the downtown area and Fairhaven but they also give Gore and Lore tours in the fall as well as tours of various other neighborhoods throughout the city.
Bellinghistory With the Good Time Girls
Even if you choose not to do any history tours, I highly recommend spending some time exploring the shops and restaurants in the quaint Fairhaven community in particular. Village Books is a great bookstore and there are lots of boutiques and restaurants.
I enjoy just walking through some of the historical neighborhoods to look at the houses and old churches that have been converted into homes or other businesses. The York and the Lettered Streets neighborhoods where many of the oldest homes in the city are located are two that I have particularly enjoyed.
Like to Hike?
Bellingham has miles and miles of hiking trails throughout the city--many of them in parks and linking the various parks together. The city has put together a booklet with maps of all the hiking trails and parks. Most are fairly short unless you are taking some of the trails that link the parks together. Bellingham Trail Guide
These are a few of my favorites:
Padden Lake has trails that go all the way around the lake-approximately 3 miles. This was from when I went to a rainy Easter sunrise church service there. I have been there in all four seasons and it is always beautiful.
Larrabee State Park is situated south of Bellingham on Samish Bay and along the historic Chuckanut Drive. Chuckanut Drive was the first road built that allowed land access to Bellingham in 1896. Previous to that, Bellingham could only be accessed by boat or canoe. The park is Washington's first state park established in 1915. I have only been on the trails along the beach but there are 18 miles of hiking trails throughout the park in the Chuckanut Mountains. The beach is also a launching site for boaters and sea kayaking tours. I have never done sea kayaking but I know some of our members are adventurous and may wish to do that. Moondance Sea Kayak Adventures is one of the vendors that caterers to new and seasoned paddlers.
Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is about an hour and a half drive from Bellingham and has some great hiking trails. This one is along the Nooksack River and there is a waterfall near the highway to stop at as well.
Artist Point is in the Mt. Baker National Forest and has hiking trails and fabulous views of both Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan. It is only open from July until September when the first major snowfall comes. There is still a fair amount of snow there in the summer and you will find children of all ages sledding. There is a ski area just before you get to Artist Point if you enjoy doing that in the winter.
A Little Art With Your Walk?
Bellingham has not only one but two sculpture parks that you can visit.
Western Washington University has sculptures all over the campus grounds. It is a beautiful campus with views of Bellingham Bay so it is well worth a stop.
WWU Campus Map Including Sculpture Locations
My favorite spot on the campus is Haskell Plaza that was built to represent all the San Juan Islands and the local ocean currents. There are whimsical characters throughout the plaza.
Big Rock Garden is nestled in a residential neighborhood and is a beautiful wooded park with 37 permanent sculptures. It is a very quiet, serene spot to wander.
Brewery Scene
Bellingham does have a few wineries but it isn't nearly as big as their brewery scene. There are currently about 27 breweries or locations that sell local craft beers-many are downtown or in Fairhaven but they are scattered throughout the city. Most also serve food. Since I am not a beer drinker, I had to go to my resident expert (our son who lived there five years) for his top recommendations. What I do like about going to the breweries is that most also offer cider and/or wine for those of us that don't drink beer.
Chuckanut Brewery is on Holly St. This is one of our son's favorite spots and they also have a very good menu.
Boundary Bay on Railroad St. is the oldest brewery in Bellingham having been there for 25 years. They have a nice large restaurant in a historic building with lots of outdoor seating as well. This is one of my favorite places to eat and they have good beer.
Aslan Brewing has two locations a couple blocks apart. The main location is on Forest St.and Aslan Depot is on State St. The restaurant is at the main location but you can order food at the Depot and they will deliver it there.
I have also heard good things about North Fork Brewery on Mt. Baker Highway and Stones Throw Brewing in Fairhaven.
To check out all the locations, here is a list with links to their websites. Bellingham Breweries
Where to Eat?
Having been to Bellingham many times over the past eight years, we have eaten at a lot of restaurants there. This is not an exhaustive list but just to give an idea of the wide variety in the types of food available as well as some of our favorites. Most of the restaurants we have gone to are on or near Railroad St. in Bellingham or in Fairhaven. As with most businesses during this uncertain time, you have to look to see if they are still open due to changing restrictions by the government, the economic strain of the virus forcing closure or because of exposures of staff. At the time of this writing, most restaurants were open for business.
Favorite Breakfast, Lunch (and Dinner) Spots
We go to the Skylark Cafe in Fairhaven for breakfast on almost every trip to Bellingham. Bill loves their Smoked Salmon Benedict. They also serve lunch and dinner but we have only been there for breakfast.
Mount Bakery in downtown Bellingham (and now a second location in Fairhaven) is also one of our favorites that serves breakfast and lunch.
AB Crepes on Railroad St. is a favorite of the college students for savory or sweet crepes served all day long. I like going there too when I want something lighter than the normal restaurant fare.
Colophon Cafe in Fairhaven is a great place for any meal with soups, sandwiches, quiches and pot pies including vegetarian options.
Horseshoe Cafe in downtown Bellingham is basically a diner with an attached bar but it is the longest continuous running restaurant (since 1886) in the state of Washington if you are one that looks for those types of places.
Dinner Spots
In addition to the many breweries that serve food, here is a list of a few other locations. We have been to most but not all of them.
D'Anna's Cafe Italiano is on State Street and is a very nice restaurant with a great menu of fresh pasta and Sicilian dishes. It was recommended to us several years ago for the Shiitake Vodka Cream Linguini which was very good. Of the restaurants we have been to, this has been the most high end one.
Cosmos Bistro on State Street has a very good menu as well. When I was working with contractors who were foodies, this was their favorite spot and they would go there several times a week to eat. I love their 3B Burger (bacon, blue cheese and blueberry onion jam) so much that we have tried to recreate it at home.
Kuru Kuru Sushi on Bellwether Way is a favorite of our family because we enjoy sushi. They have the conveyor belt style service and the prices are fairly reasonable for sushi.
La Fiamma Pizza on Railroad St. has great wood fired pizza.
Casa Que Pasa is also on Railroad St. It was recommended to us by someone who used to live there for their famous potato burritos which is what I had when we went but they have a full Mexican menu.
Bayou on the Bay is on Bay St. and specializes in Cajun, Creole and Southern dishes.
The Anthony's chain has two locations on Bellwether Way. Anthony's Hearthfire Grill and Anthony's at Squalicum Harbor.
Keenan's at the Pier is an elegant restaurant at the Chrysalis Inn and Spa with great views of Bellingham Bay.
There are a few places to recommend if you want to go a little further out of Bellingham:
Herb Nieman's Steak House is north of Bellingham in Everson. They have great steaks and German food. It was well worth the trip to go there for our son's graduation celebration.
There are two seafood restaurants south of Bellingham along Chuckanut Drive in Bow with great views of Samish Bay. Oyster Bar is an elegant seafood restaurant. Chuckanut Manor Seafood and Grill is a little more casual and has more of a roadhouse feel.
Treats?
Mallard Ice Cream on Railroad St. is a great place to get some ice cream. I know at least a couple of people in the club that seek out ice cream on fly-outs.
Amazing Sunsets
One of the things that amazes me most about Bellingham are the beautiful sunsets. When I am visiting on my own (I don't think Bill would have the patience for this activity), I try to find spots to watch the sunset over the San Juan Islands. The reason I say you need to have patience is because you tend to have to get there early to get a parking spot. It is popular with the locals to spend their evenings at the beaches and waterfront parks to see the sunset.
My all-time, number one place to watch the sunset was Locust Beach. At low tide, you can walk a long way out into the bay. I spent three hours walking and taking photos of the skimboarders, birds, crab, and even an eagle eating its evening meal while I was waiting for what I was really there for--the sunset. Because there was about an inch of water on the beach, I ended up having to throw out my shoes but it was so worth it. It was one of the most magical evenings I have ever experienced.
Marine Drive Park on Marine Drive near the airport is on the cliff above Locust Beach and gives a different perspective of the Nooksack River Delta and the beach.
Most would probably enjoy Boulevard Park more. This is a great park to go to any time of the day to walk on the boardwalks over the bay and enjoy the view but it is especially beautiful at night.
The area around the marinas are great as well. I took this on Bellwether Drive but Zuanich Point Park is nearby and a good spot. Marine Park in Fairhaven would also be a good place to watch the sunset.
Larrabee State Park Beach would not be my first choice as the space is limited so it is hard to find a good spot that isn't already taken. There are also not many trails to hike on while waiting and getting out onto the beach or best places to view are not very safe but I did enjoy my evening there.
San Juan Cruises offers a variety of whale watching, wine tasting, beer tasting, lunch and dinner cruises. We were planning to go on the Chuckanut Bay Cracked Crab Dinner cruise for our fly-out. I was pleasantly surprised that they are running their cruises during the pandemic but disappointed that it was already booked for the one night I could go while I was working in Bellingham. I think this would be another fabulous way to experience the beautiful sunsets there. If you are interested in any of the cruises, here is a link to what they have available. San Juan Cruises
After the Pandemic?
Sometimes it feel like the pandemic will be with us forever. I know I worry about whether the museums, theaters and other businesses will ever be able to reopen but here are a few more ideas if you happen to plan your trip once we get to a place where the economy has opened up more.
Museums
SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention is a great museum about electricity. I haven't been to their MegaZapper show but Bill has and he highly recommends you time your visit at the museum so that you can see it. That is the only museum we have been to but there are others that look to be worth seeing. Whatcom Museum looks like a great museum for history in particular. Bellingham Railway Museum may be of interest to railroad buffs.
The Heritage Flight Museum is not in Bellingham but at the Skagit Regional Airport in Burlington--about 30 miles south of Bellingham. This was also be be part of our fly-out. We haven't been there yet but I would love to see it sometime. The founder is Major General Bill Anders who was an Apollo 8 astronaut so in addition to the aircraft displays, there is an Apollo 8 exhibit.
Theaters
The Mount Baker Theater is a beautiful Moorish style theater built in 1927. They are currently closed due to the virus but they normally host a variety of performances by both local and national entertainers. We had the pleasure of going there for the "Nutcracker" a few years ago at Christmas time.
The Pickford Film Center and Light Light Cinema normally shows independent films in their theaters. During the pandemic, they are running virtual screenings of films.
Have a Great Time!
I have enjoyed every trip I have made to Bellingham and there is more that I want to see and do on future trips. I hope that this was helpful for planning your trip there and that you enjoy it as much as our family does.
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