Pup-friendly Shopping and Snacks - Rotary Trailhead to Fairhaven

I noticed recently that the Rotary Trailhead for the Interurban Trail has reopened. It was closed for a large portion of last year due to a big creek re-routing project. Now that it's reopened, I decided to go on one of my favorite walks with the dog.

The Interurban Trail stretches from Fairhaven all the way to Larrabee State Park, so the trail itself is quite long. From the Rotary Trailhead off Old Fairhaven Parkway though, it's only about a mile to Fairhaven. From there you can go west and take the Lower Padden Trails or north to a connector to South Bay Trail. Or you can just stop in Fairhaven and turn around to go home.

Parking is at the Rotary Trailhead, a well-marked parking lot on Old Fairhaven Parkway just west of 20th street.

Rotary Trailhead to Fairhaven

Bellingham Parks and Rec

Parking permit: none needed

Distance: 2 miles

The recent work was very evident. The pedestrian bridge has been replaced; the original was about 15 feet or so further east.

The work involved widening the culvert under Old Fairhaven Parkway. It was barely evident the creek ran through here before, as a segment of it was underground in this area..

Now, it's much more obvious.

Across the bridge you'll come to Julia Ave. Hang right to head toward Fairhaven.

More views of the recent work.

Looking back at the trailhead

This section of trail was closed in addition to the trailhead itself.

Away from the new work, you can see the old culverts that route the creek under the trail. I'm unsure if there are plans to do anything with these.

A sign points you toward Fairhaven Park (south) and Padden Creek Trails.

The trail takes you under 12th Street Bridge before you reach the streets of Fairhaven.

More culverts

Eventually you reach 10th street. You can go downhill to the Lower Padden Trails or you can go straight along 10th Street to run into the connection to South Bay Trail.

This is a great area to take a dog. The Lower Padden Trails lead to an off-leash dog park. South Bay Trail has a Woods Coffee shop with a walk-up window so you can get your caffeine fix with your pooch.

In Fairhaven itself, there is the Whatcom Humane Society shop as well as Village Books, a pet-friendly bookstore.

At the end of this block, on the corner of Mill and 11th, is the bookstore.

There is also Fairhaven Fish and Chips at the corner of Harris and 10th. It's the double-decker red bus. Pet's aren't allowed in the inside seating areas, but most of the space is outdoors so you can walk up with your pooch and grab a bite to eat. They also serve ice cream. They are open weird hours, but you can swing by and see if you can get your hands on some fried food.

In fact, after a quick errand to the bank, that's where we went on this walk. Ozzy waited rather impatiently as the food was prepared.

I barely got him to sit still for a pic.

Heading back, I took a detour through Fairhaven Park. There is a playground and waterpark here, as well as picnic shelters and lots of field space. This also could serve as an alternate trailhead, though if the parking at the rotary trailhead is full it likely means parking here is full, too.

They also have a stone labyrinth.

"It's for people who like walking around in circles", another walker told her friend as they went by. Of course, she made the comment because her friend had wondered aloud why I was walking in circles.

Oh yes, I went off the trail and walked it. I will always walk it, to the annoyance of anyone I am with.

Detail of the center, with pup

So that's my favorite Fairhaven-area walk. From the rotary trailhead to the fish and chips and back was about two miles, but I often will walk it all the way to Boulevard Park.

Play Ball! - Civic Trail Loop

For this week's walk, I went on a short 1.2 mile walk around the Civic Field Athletic Complex. I was going to go on Sunday, but my water heater died and flooded my bedroom, and then a fabulous storm hit our region so I just managed to get this walk in on Wednesday to bring you the pics on Thursday!

Civic Trail Loop

Bellingham Parks & Recreation

Parking permit: None needed

Distance: 1.2 miles

Elevation gain: minimal

The trailhead is on Civic Field Way across the street from Joe Martin Stadium. During the game when there are no events going on, there should be ample parking.

Might not want to park here during games, though.

The trail serves the local Puget neighborhood and meanders through the woods that surround the athletic complex.

I didn't photograph it but there was actually a fair amount of litter on the trail. I saw a large water container full of soapy water, discarded clothes, and plenty of plastic food packaging. If you're looking for a trail clean-up service project, this would be a good place to start.

On the north end, the trail hugs Geri Fields 1-3.

A decently vandalized Softball Hall of Fame monument provides a picnic area in view of the fields.

The trail will meet up with the parking lot. Across the street, the trail system continues. From here there are several trails that connect to various parts of the neighborhood, but hang a hard right to stay on the loop trail.

You'll emerge from the woods across from Civic Stadium and Geri Field 4.

Take the paved path that runs along Geri 4 for the loop trail. You'll meet back up with the Hall of Fame monument and then you can head back the way you came.

On the way back, I took a smaller loop trail to change things up. It was more of the same woods, but there is a rock that someone definitely had sex behind at some point.

From past geocaching experiences in the area, I can say there is a lot of nookie that goes on in these woods. You don't want to know how I know.

That's it for this week. Now that the storm has moved on it looks like decent weather in the upcoming days so I hope to get some decent walks in.

Help my dog raise money for Washington trails!

This is my dog, Ozzy:

Hi, Ozzy!

He loves hiking. Loves it! He loves sniffing the flowers and peeing on rocks.

Trail dog!

This summer, Ozzy is going to use his hiking prowess to give back to Washington trails, and you can help him!

Who wouldn't want to help such a cutie?

Ozzy has signed up for this year's Washington Trail Association's Hike-a-Thon. Ozzy is going to hike as much as he can in August to raise funds for the association, and you can help! You can pledge donations by the hike or by the mile.

Hiking!

The Washington Trails Association is crucial to the maintenance of our trail systems. If you've ever hiked an overgrown or eroded trail and wondered why doesn't someone fix this?, well the WTA are the magical trail fairies that make it happen!

WTA also provides advocacy for trail funding, forest service road maintenance, and conservation efforts. From WTA's website, you can find trip reports from other hikers so you can read about trail conditions before you head out.

So if you enjoy hiking in our state, consider supporting my pup and donating to the WTA. Let's keep our amazing trail network running!

You'll make Ozzy happy, too!