Whatcom Falls Park
Encyclopedia
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
, USA. The falls are on Whatcom Creek, which leads from Lake Whatcom
Lake Whatcom
Lake Whatcom Reservoir is located in Whatcom County, Washington. It is the drinking water source for approximately 85,000 residents in the City of Bellingham as well as Whatcom County. It is approximately 10 miles total in length and 1 mile in width at its widest...
to Bellingham Bay
Bellingham Bay
Bellingham Bay is a bay located on the northern Pacific coast of Washington state in the United States. It is separated from the Strait of Georgia on the west by the Lummi Peninsula, Portage Island, and Lummi Island. It is bordered on the east by Bellingham, Washington, to the south-east by the...
. The park has four sets of waterfalls and several miles of well maintained walking trails.
Other features include:
- FishingFishingFishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
pond — Children 14 and under only. - TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
courts (upper parking lot) - Athletic fields (upper parking lot)
- Picnic Tables — Picnic shelters can be rented from the parks department office.
- Two playgrounds — one at each the upper and lower parking lots.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife operates a trout hatchery within the park.
Whirlpool Falls
Whirlpool Falls is a very popular swimming hole within the park. The falls themselves are only about ten feet in height but the cliffs adjacent to the falls reach to about 30 feet (9.1 m) high. During the summer one can usually watch swimmers jumping from these tall cliffs into the punchbowl pool below. The falls are located along the "Whirlpool Loop Trail."Swimming at these falls was outlawed for a number of years following the pipeline disaster, of which damage is visible from popular cliffs. After various signs warning swimmers from entering, and fences meant to keep them out were destroyed, the city gave up regulating the area and removed all warnings and barriers.
These falls are frequently referred to incorrectly as Middle Whatcom Falls or Lower Whatcom Falls. Middle falls is located down creek near the western edge of the park and not reachable by trail. The area surrounding the middle falls was devastated by the Olympic Pipeline disaster and is off limits to the public. The lower falls are actually located a couple miles downstream just above the estuary at Maritime Heritage Park.