During a trip up to Bellingham for a show at Kulshan Brewing Company, I decided to make a stop at Whatcom Falls Park to view the several waterfalls and beautiful scenery.

A Short History of Whatcom Falls Park

Whatcom Falls Park is located less than ten minutes from downtown Bellingham and no pass or permit is required to park or visit the Falls and traverse its 4 mile roundtrip trail along the creek. So it’s a great place to visit at the beginning or end of the day and it offering an escape of trails, woods and the Whatcom Creek within its 241 acres.

The park was established in 1908 and was upgraded in 1939 as apart of Roosevelt’s New Deal program. The famous park bridge was created from Chucknaut Sandstone from a burned-out building in downtown Bellingham.

In 1999, the park suffered from a horrible disaster when a Olympic gasoline pipeline broke and spilled almost 300,000 gallons of gasoline into the creek. The fumes became so intense that many living nearby could smell the gas and called 911. A young man who was fly fishing at the time fainted and drowned because of the fumes. The gasoline eventually exploded and created a “river of fire” down the Whatcom Creek. Three people did during the fire, including the fly fisherman, and the smoke from the fire was so bad, it could be seen from Canada.

My Review of Whatcom Falls Park

Whatcom Falls Park is an incredibly clean park. Many trails are gravel and well maintained which makes walking and hiking around easy. And while we’re on the subject of easy, the views are super easy to look at too. The view from the bridge immediately upon entering the park is one of the better views of a waterfall in the entire park.

Dogs are welcome at the park but they have to be on leashes.

I recommend this park to anyone thinking about visiting and I can’t wait to go back for a visit myself!