Whatcom County is located in the northwest corner of the lower 48 States in the northwest corner of Washington State. It lies on the US/Canadian International Border.

Whatcom County is 83 miles east to west and 24 miles north to south. Nearly all of the population of Whatcom County is in the western 20 miles of the County. Eastern Whatcom County is made up of the Cascade Mountains and their foothills.

Parks and Wilderness

The North Cascades National Park, Pasayten Wilderness, and Mount Baker Wilderness are located in Whatcom County and they make up nearly one-half of the land area of the County. There is a lot of old growth forest in Whatcom County. Most of it is in the National Park and the two wilderness areas, however some of it lies outside of those parks.

There are two State Parks in Whatcom County, Birch Bay State Park and Larabee State Park.

Cities in Whatcom County

The cities of Bellingham, Blaine, Ferndale, and Lynden are the larger cities located in Whatcom County.

The smaller cities and towns in rural Whatcom County of Acme, Deming, Everson, Glacier, Maple Falls, Meridian, and Nooksack along with the other unincorporated areas of the county are included on this page.

The Mt. Baker Scenic Byway

The Mt. Baker Scenic Byway is located in Whatcom County. The restaurants, hotels, motels, inns, Bed & Breakfasts, cabins and attractions located along the Byway are on our Mt. Baker Scenic Byway pages

Mt. Baker

A little more about Whatcom County

A photo of Birch Bay is loading....... Whatcom County has several interesting lakes, including 12 mile long Lake Whatcom. Most of the lakes are surrounded by the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. The northwest third of the county lies on a flatland created by the Nooksack river on its way to empty into Bellingham Bay. These lands are rich agricultural areas and consist mainly of farmlands for dairy cattle and the crops of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, corn, and other crops. The agricultural base of Whatcom County is small family farms.

The western border of the county is commonly called Puget Sound but this northern area, north of the Strait of Juan de Fuca is actually the San Juan Islands and north of the islands is the Strait of Georgia and British Columbia’s Gulf Islands which runs north along the mainland of Canada on the east side of Vancouver Island.

The shoreline consists of Semiahmoo Bay at the US / Canada border with Drayton Harbor, a separate harbor off of the bay south of Blaine, then south to Birch Bay, then Bellingham Bay, and then south of Bellingham the Chuckanut Scenic Byway which runs along the west slope of the Chuckanut Mountains along the San Juan Islands.

Birch Bay is a popular recreation area. The bay has wide firm, sandy tide flats at low tide with a road just behind the beach. Most of the beach on the bay is public beach. At the south end of the Bay is Birch Bay State Park with camping and day use areas plus a large beach area.

Birch Bay State Park website.

A photo of Canyon Lake is loading......

There are old growth forests in Whatcom County. Two good examples of old growth forests can be seen on the Mt. Baker Scenic Byway.

The rural Whatcom County communities of Nugents Corner, Kendal, Deming, Glacier and Maple Falls are located on the The Mt. Baker Scenic Byway. All of these communities have small populations of 500 or less.

The Whatcom County communities of Acme, Clipper, Van Zandt, Everson, and Nooksack are located on WA Highway-9 which roughly parallels Interstate-5 about 20 miles to the east. It runs from Sedro Woolley, in Skagit County north through Whatcom County to the Canadian Border at Sumas. Although the Cities of Everson and Nooksack are incorporated we are including them on this page because they have relatively no commercial activity for the tourist.

Nooksack was settled in the 1850’s, the town was platted in 1865, and was incorporated in 1912. Nooksack is a small community of about 1000. It is located about 9 miles south of the Canadian border, South of the Sumas border crossing on WA Highway-9,

http://www.cityofnooksack.com/

Everson was also settled in the 1850’s. Everson is located on both sides of the Nooksack River. WA Highway-9 runs through the east end of the town. The population of Everson is about 2,000. Everson lies in the middle of the rich agricultural flatlands of western Whatcom County and mainly serves the agricultural community.

Everson

http://ci.everson.wa.us/index.html

Meridian is a community north of Bellingham. The main definition of the community is the Meridian School District. Meridian High School is active in the local world of High School Sports. Meridian High School is located on the Laurel Road just east of the intersection of Meridian Road and the Laurel Road 5.0 mi. north of Interstate-5 Exit 256 (Meridian St / Lynden). There is a small commercial area on Meridian but no tourist facilities.

Nugents Corner is a small community 10 mi. east of Bellingham on the Mt. Baker Scenic Byway. The community is just east of the bridge over the Nooksack River. It lies at the Junction of WA-9 (SR-9) and WA-542 (SR-542). WA-542 is the Mt. Baker Scenic Byway. This small community has a local supermarket named Dodson’s, a couple of churches and several other business establishments.

Scenic Byways

The Mt. Baker Scenic Byway offers a 60 mile trip to Mt. Baker Ski Area up the Nooksack River Valley. There are farms, a winery, old growth forests, and parks along the byway.

The Mt. Baker Scenic Byway

The Chuckanut Drive Scenic Byway (WA-11) (called SR-11 (State Route) )

This beautiful side trip begins at Interstate-5 Exit 250 (Fairhaven / Alaska Ferry). You drive west to the stop light at 12^th Street then turn left on Chuckanut Drive. The road then takes a curve to the left by Fairhaven Park and winds through some residential neighborhoods in South Bellingham before it breaks out on the side-hill of Chuckanut Mountain. From this point south you see the steep mountainside on the east side of the road and a steep drop-off down to the bay on the west side of the road with fantastic views of the San Juan Islands.

In the middle of the drive you will find a couple of restaurants clinging to the hill side and Larabee State Park. Larabee State Park has both camping and day use facilities. There are many scenic turnouts along this Byway’s 21 miles of sheer beauty. At the south end of the byway it drops off onto the flat lands of Skagit Valley until WA-11 again connects with Interstate-5 at Exit 231.

Recommended Attractions

In rural Whatcom County and the cities of Everson and Nooksack

Attractions
Whale Watching in the San Juan Islands Whale Watching Experience the breath-taking San Juan Islands and see some whales, too. On these 70-90 mile cruises into the San Juan Islands, you will experience a seven hour long narrated scenic tour by qualified naturalists. There are always at least 2 on board. The San Juan Islands are home to extensive bird species like the Tufted Puffin, Peregrine Falcon and Bald Eagle, as well as Harbor Seals, Porpoises, Sea Lions, Minke & Gray Whales.
State Parks
Birch Bay State Park Visit the Park's website. Located on Birch Bay in northwest Whatcom County approximately 7 miles south of Blaine on WA-648 (SR 648). The Park has 147 tent spaces and 20 spaces with utilities. There is and RV dump, 18 showers, and 8255 feet of salt water beach. The camping area is on a low bluff behind the beach area among the trees. The beach area has a large picnic area running its entire length.	Larrabee State Park Visit the Park's website. Located on Chuckanut Drive (SR-11) 6 mi. south of Bellingham. In 1915 Charles X. Larrabee of Bellingham donated 20 acres to the State of Washington for a park making this Washington’s first state park. The park has 51 tent sites and 26 trailer sites with utilities, 8 primitive sites, on dump station, 8 showers, and a boat ramp. The park has 2683 acres and 8100 feet of salt water beach.
Visitor Information
Bellingham ~ Whatcom County Tourism 904 Potter Street Bellingham, WA 98229 360-671-3990 http://www.bellingham.org/ Visitor Center: 904 Potter Street. Straight 1 block from stop sign northbound I-5 Exit 253. Southbound I-5 exit 253. Turn left at stoplight at end of exit, left at next light to I-5 northbound, go 1 block turn right, it will be at the end of the block on the right.	Bellingham Whatcom County Chamber of Commerce http://www.bellingham.com/
The Port of Bellingham http://www.portofbellingham.com/ The Port of Bellingham operates the Bellingham International Airport and the Bellingham Ferry Terminal.	Alaska Ferry Alaska Ferry website. Located at Bellingham’s Transportation Center on Harris Street west of Historic Downtown Fairhaven in Bellingham you will find the Bellingham Ferry Terminal and the Amtrak Terminal to the east of the Ferry Terminal. Greyhound Bus Lines is also in the Amtrak terminal along with a Whatcom Transit Authority Bus stop.
Greyhound http://www.greyhound.com/ Located at Bellingham’s Transportation Center on Harris Street west of Historic Downtown Fairhaven in Bellingham you will find the Bellingham Ferry Terminal and the Amtrak Terminal to the east of the Ferry Terminal. Greyhound Bus Lines is also in the Amtrak terminal along with a Whatcom Transit Authority Bus stop.	Amtrak http://www.amtrak.com/ Located at Bellingham’s Transportation Center on Harris Street west of Historic Downtown Fairhaven in Bellingham you will find the Bellingham Ferry Terminal and the Amtrak Terminal to the east of the Ferry Terminal. Greyhound Bus Lines is also in the Amtrak terminal along with a Whatcom Transit Authority Bus stop.
Border Crossing Information
We have a page with border crossing information and links to government agency web pages. Border Crossing Information

Listed Attractions

We have not necessarily visited or recommend listed attractions

Alger

Deming

Everson

Glacier

Maple Falls

Meridian

Nooksack

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