Visitors to Bellingham offers unusual attraction: they can walk

Monday, 08 Dec, 2011 0

 

The appeal of Bellingham, Wash., is that unlike many popular tourist areas, visitors can get there without needing a car. And they don’t need a car while visiting, either.

The reason: There are good train connections from Canadian cities and in the US, including the larger city of Seattle.

“Bellingham's train station/depot is located about three blocks from the city's Historic Fairhaven District. Fairhaven is home to several restaurants, bars, cafes, galleries and shops,” says Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism.

There are also two boutique hotels: the Fairhaven Village Inn offers 22 rooms, while the Chrysalis Inn & Spa has 34 rooms.

“Visitors can walk into Fairhaven from the Amtrak Station, or take Whatcom Transportation Authority's (WTA) Red Line. The Red Line runs every 15 minutes on weekdays, less frequently on evenings and weekends,” says the site.

What’s to do there? Many outdoor activities.

Fairhaven links to several different trails for hiking, walking, running and biking. A visitor can rent a bike from Fairhaven Bike & Ski or Amtrak allows travelers to bring bikes aboard. There are many bicycle trails.

In April, 2011, Bellingham was named "Best Paddling and Adventure Town" By Outdoors Northwest Magazine, which touted its accessibility to bike trails and Mt Baker (and called Bellingham "a haven for paddlers").

Suggested bus excursions include an afternoon trip to Lake Padden, Bloedel Donovan Park at Lake Whatcom or Whatcom Falls Park. All three parks offer scenery, bike/pedestrian-friendly trails, lush forests, lakes/creeks and picnic spots.

WTA buses also have bike racks, so it's easy to combine bus and bike travel.

Another car-free option is to sample local wines by taking a Whatcom Wine Tour. The tour includes transportation (including pick up and drop off at Bellingham hotels), sampling at 3 of Whatcom County's 12 wineries, lunch and behind-the-scenes tours of the wineries.

By David Wilkening

 


 

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