5 Super Stroller Hikes in Western Washington
Photo:
Point Whitehorn Marine Reserve. Credit: Jon Stier
Point Whitehorn Marine Reserve
Overview: Point Whitehorn Marine Reserve in Bellingham is 1.6-mile roundtrip with 75 feet of elevation gain, and a year-round hiking destination. It’s smooth sailing on boardwalk and level trail all the way to a bluff, where toddlers will need a hand on the stairs to the beach.
A wheelchair-accessible trail winds through wetlands and upland forest to a bluff with views out across the Strait of Georgia to a dozen San Juan Islands, including Orcas, Lummi, Cyprus and Sucia. Stairs to the cobblestone beach below offer opportunities to bask in its south-facing sun and dip bare feet into the chilly waters. The preservation of this sweet 54-acre tract is owed to a series of deft and creative land transactions by the Whatcom Land Trust in the early 2000s, which protects this habitat near the heavy industrial footprint of the Cherry Point Refinery.
The Details: Start your hike at the sign located in the middle of the parking area. Because it is a designated marine reserve, dogs are not allowed. The trail is wide enough to walk side by side and suitable for strollers. Interpretive signs add context for kids.
The forest includes a variety of native conifers like Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, western hemlock and western red cedar. It’s also boggy, but your way is dry thanks to a series of small bridges and boardwalks. Soon the conifers give way to deciduous forest of black cottonwood, big-leaf maple and more. Emerging from the forest, the trail travels along the bluff for a short distance, with three overlooks graced by lovely, polished stone benches at 0.75 mile.
This is where strollers must stop, but hikers can proceed 75 feet down the steep bluff and stairs to the beach. When the tide is low, you can explore and investigate tide pools (please step lightly and leave all marine life where you see it).
