Interurban Trail (Whatcom County)

The Interurban Trail is a rail trail in Whatcom County, Washington. Built for bicycle and hiking recreation, the trail runs 6.6 miles (10.6 km)[1][2][3] between Fairhaven and Larrabee State Park in the Bellingham area.[4]

Interurban Trail
Interurban Trail passing under the Padden Creek Bridge near the Fairhaven trailhead
Length6.6 miles (10.6 km)
LocationWhatcom County, Washington
TrailheadsFairhaven to Larrabee State Park
UseBicycling, Hiking
HazardsRoad crossings

Route

The trail's northernmost trailhead can be accessed in downtown Fairhaven, connecting to Boulevard Park, downtown Bellingham and onwards to Fairhaven Park, Arroyo Park, and Teddy Bear Cove Park. Additional access includes North Chuckanut Mountain Trailhead, Hiline Road, Fragrance Lake Trailhead, and Clayton Beach Trailhead.

Interurban Trail runs parallel to Chuckanut Drive through the Chuckanut Mountains. The trail follows the shoreline of the Salish Sea and Puget Sound, with views of Bellingham Bay, the Lummi Peninsula, Portage Island, Lummi Island, Chuckanut Bay and the distant San Juan Islands.[5]

History

The trail is constructed on the bed of the old Bellingham & Skagit Interurban Railway, an electric railway line that connected Whatcom County and Skagit counties from 1912 to 1930. A northern trail section follows the rail bed of the Fairhaven & Southern Railroad that ran coal trains to and from Sedro-Woolley in the late 1800s through the turn of the 19th century.[6]

References
  1. "Interurban Trail" (PDF). City of Bellingham.
  2. "Interurban, Blanchard Forest, and Chuckanut Mtn Trail Systems WA DNR PDF Map". Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  3. "Interurban Trail Map". Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  4. "Interurban Trail". Whatcom County Parks & Rec. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  5. Berry, Glen. "Interurban Trail". kulshan.com. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  6. Dougherty, Phil (7 July 2014). "Bellingham and Skagit Interurban Railway". HistoryLink.org Essay 10904. HistoryLink.org. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
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