bellingham washington state

[parsonstrish]

I see on other thread a couple of you have travelled around Bellingham. I didn't want to shanghai the thread, I am thinking of hiring a car in Bellingham and travelling in the area. Definitely not driving to Vancouver, idea is to travel around the B. area. My question is, is it worth it. I enjoy the autumn colours (going Oct.) and the outdoors.
cheers

 

[Warks]

Bellingham itself is just a 'bordertown' that provides things for Canadians that they can't get in BC - there are such towns the length of the USA-Canada border - in the old days they were the home of TV stations that could easily broadcast into Canada bypassing some restrictions in Canada (or so I'm told - I would have thought it was the other way round!)

I've travelled a bit in Washington state but flew into Seattle and spent time there as well as going out to Mt St Helens - well worth it and Mt Rainier which you seem to be able to see from anywhere in the state! Was there in summer and it was lovely.

Bellingham is good for outlet shopping. That's what I started to say in the first paragraph. As for scenery thereabouts I can't recall anything outstanding. As we'll be there in BC at the same time as you I am hoping it will be autumn leaf time. New England USA is the greatest place for the autumn colours but anything we see in BC or WA is likely to be 100 times better than what you'd see in Canberra, Orange or Armidale! (or Tumut - home of the Festival of the Falling Leaf!)

 

[Cocitus23]

I note that you don't want to cross into Canada, and that's OK, because the border crossings can be time-consuming, especially getting back into USA. So let's concentrate on Washington State. Depends a lot on how far you want to go, but close by Bellingham the San Juan Islands are beautiful (setting of the book and film "Snow Falling on Cedars"). It's also well worth driving about 40 km south of Bellingham to the delightful little town of La Conner. The area is especially beautiful in tulip time. Go out onto Whidbey Island and check out Deception Pass at change of tide - amazing. If you want to go further afield, you could island hop by ferry right across to Port Townsend and visit Olympic National Park, then return to Bellingham via Tecoma and Seattle. The previous correspondent mentioned Mt Rainier and Mt St Helens - both superb, but further away. And if you want something really offbeat and spectacular, head east through North Cascade National Park to the unforgettable town of Winthrop.
A place that we should not overlook for readers of this web site, in particular, is the Boeing assembly plant at Everett, between Bellingham and Seattle. The tour is fantastic, and free.

 

[drron]

Definitely get a car and drive-anywhere in the USA.For this area as has been said there is of course outlet shopping.A small one just south of Bellingham at Burlington and a good one further south at Tulalip-just down I5.To find out about outlets try here-
SEARCH ALL OUTLET STORES & OUTLET MALLS IN US
I second the drive to Whidbey island.you can drive across on route 25 then drive south and take the ferry back from the southern end-home of a large naval air base.
Also driving East into the mountains-fantastic scenery and could be good fall colours.We did route 2 then back via I90.For maps of the fall colours we use this site-though only up close to fall-
http://www.foliagenetwork.com/
If it isnt working just google "leaf peeping" and you should get a few ideas.
Foprgot this link for the drive into the mountains-
Cascade Loop | Scenic Highway Loop in Washington State
Enjoy