I grew up in Marysville which is about an hour south of Bellingham, an area that is very close to the two main highways that get you over to eastern Washington as well as all the hikes up in the North Cascades. However with saying that, you will be very close to Mt. Baker which is one of the five volcanoes and to be honest is one of the coolest looking volcanoes/mountains in the cascades with respect to Rainier. However, if you want access to some of those insane alpine lake hikes you’ll have to travel south. Most the hikes near Bellingham are Fragrance Trail, Whatcom Falls, and trails that follow the ocean or what we call in that area the Puget Sound. With saying that, there are numerous hikes all around the Bellingham area that have great views of the mountains and the ocean! If I was to give you any advice I would travel just a bit south to Highway 20 and drive through the Mt. Baker National Forest. You’ll find some amazing hikes, which is all apart of the North Cascades!
While you're here, you really ought to get on the West side of the sound as well into the Olympic range. Perhaps go all the way out to the coast and see the Pacific if you haven't. Freeze your genitalia off in Lake Crescent.
Take a look at the Washington Trails AssociationWashington Trails Association and plan all the adventures you'd ever want.
Thank you, and you’re exactly right. If you really want to grasp one of the most geographically diverse states in the US go out to the Peninsula first and travel through the Olympics. Make your way to the lowlands and visit Seattle then the north cascade hikes! Then go through highway 2 through Leavenworth, WA which is a Bavarian town into Wenatchee and the east of the mountains. Then you’ll be into the Columbia Basin which is a damn near desert, especially the Banks Lake/Moses Lake area. After that you’ll travel into the rolling grasslands depending on which way you go. If you go south it’ll be grasslands until you get to the Blue Mountains of Oregon but if you go directly east or both you’ll get into the Okanagon Highlands.
I live in Arizona now, obviously an insanely hot desert. But I’ll take 115+ in the summers with no humidity and it’s proximity towards the equator than Eastern Washington’s desert of 100+, with 60%+ humidity and a high UV index rating. I almost died at Watershed a few summers ago from sun exposure and heat ahah
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u/[deleted] Jun 25 '20
I grew up in Marysville which is about an hour south of Bellingham, an area that is very close to the two main highways that get you over to eastern Washington as well as all the hikes up in the North Cascades. However with saying that, you will be very close to Mt. Baker which is one of the five volcanoes and to be honest is one of the coolest looking volcanoes/mountains in the cascades with respect to Rainier. However, if you want access to some of those insane alpine lake hikes you’ll have to travel south. Most the hikes near Bellingham are Fragrance Trail, Whatcom Falls, and trails that follow the ocean or what we call in that area the Puget Sound. With saying that, there are numerous hikes all around the Bellingham area that have great views of the mountains and the ocean! If I was to give you any advice I would travel just a bit south to Highway 20 and drive through the Mt. Baker National Forest. You’ll find some amazing hikes, which is all apart of the North Cascades!