#OptOutside 2022
This Black Friday, choose to celebrate and recognize the value of time spent in the outdoors and the impacts it has on human health over shopping. The Land Trust is here to help!
Check out the list below of Whatcom Land Trust places to #OptOutside this year;
Stimpson Family Nature Preserve
The Stimpson Family Nature Reserve offers over 4 miles of hiking trails through a beautiful forest setting. The forest is largely undisturbed and displays characteristics of an old-growth forest, including Douglas Fir trees over 400 years old, a wide diversity of tree species, snags and decaying logs, and a complex architecture of canopy, understory, shrub layer, and tapestry of the forest floor. Two ponds and additional wetland areas support a wide variety of plants and animals, including beaver. Deer, cougar, and smaller mammals frequent the park.
Teddy Bear Cove encompasses more than nine acres and 1,430 feet of shoreline along beautiful Chuckanut Bay. Explore two small beaches for sea critters, fascinating Chuckanut sandstone formations and views out over Chuckanut Bay to the the San Juan Islands. A headland hike topped with cedars and twisted madronas offers views of both beaches from a high perspective. This is a fine all-season hike for a bit of seclusion in the winter months.
Lookout Mountain Forest Preserve
Accessed by a trailhead adjacent to Sudden Valley, Lookout Mountain Forest Preserve spans 4,430 acres on the west side of Lake Whatcom. Lookout Mountain Forest Preserve is comprised of the former Olsen Property and land reconveyed from the Department of Natural Resources to Whatcom County in the spring of 2014.
This short loop trail around a quiet lake is a great place to enjoy an after-work outdoor stroll or take the kids on an easy outdoor excursion.
Point Whitehorn Marine Preserve
Point Whitehorn Marine Reserve features 54 acres of forest, bluff and beach, with an ADA accessible trail to spectacular viewpoints of the Strait of Georgia and San Juan Islands. A switchback path descends from the bluff to access the windswept beach below.
Galbraith mountain is a world class mountain destination located within riding distance of downtown Bellingham. Over 65 miles of singletrack that winds through 3,000 acres overlooking the city and Bellingham Bay. The mountain is accessible to all non-motorized use; all of the trails are built and maintained by the WMBC and our trail sponsors. Because of the quantity of trails, the mountain can handle 100’s of hikers, runnners, horse riders, and bikers during the course of the day without trail users feeling like the trails are busy!
This quiet little forested walk near Acme offers lush greenery, plenty of wildlife to spot, and a nice, newly-maintained trail to enjoy a half-day hike.
This park encompasses more than 275 acres with 1.4 miles of saltwater shoreline along Boundary Bay. Forested upland bluffs, beaches, and rich tidelands are just a few unique natural features of this amazing place.
