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Copyright © Craig Romano/The Mountaineers Books Fragrance Lake
Featured In:
Day Hiking: North Cascades,
by Craig Romano.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. Waste no time warming up. The trail commences in a series of short, steep switchbacks. Upward mobility is quickly interrupted, however, upon intersecting the Interurban Trail. Once a trolley line that serviced Mount Vernon and Bellingham in the early twentieth century, the railbed was converted into a 6-mile trail in the late 1980s. Cross the Interurban, regaining the Fragrance Lake Trail a few dozen feet to your right. Through a dark, dank forest of mature cedar and Doug-fir the trail winds its way upward. At 0.9 mile (elev. 600 ft) reach a well-marked junction. Take the fairly level side path 0.2 mile to a madrona-framed ledge that grants delightful views westward over Samish Bay to Lummi Island and the San Juans. Soak up the scenery and perhaps some sunshine, then resume your trek to Fragrance Lake. Back under a coniferous canopy, the trail briefly dips into a damp ravine before once again heading upward, occasionally at a steep pitch. At 1.9 miles pass through a bike barricade and arrive at another junction. The trail left heads to Fragrance Lake. The trail right leads to an old road (your return trip). Head left first, slightly dropping into a muddy depression. Reach the small lake in about 0.1 mile and circumnavigate it on a 0.7-mile loop. Take a break at a pair of shoreline benches. Admire big cedars and babbling brooks along the eastern shore, and be impressed by a series of sandstone ledges along the western shore. For your return, follow the old road for a gentle descent, pausing briefly about halfway to check out a pretty little cascade. The road ends in 2.2 miles, delivering you to the Clayton Beach parking lot. Return to your vehicle by following the Interurban Trail 0.5 mile north back to the Fragrance Lake Trail.
Driving Directions:
From Mount Vernon head north on I-5 to exit 231. Follow State Route 11 (Chuckanut Drive) north for just shy of 15 miles. The trailhead is on right side of the road just after the campground entrance to Larrabee State Park. If you're coming from Bellingham follow SR 11 south for 7 miles to the trailhead (elev. 100 ft). Alternative parking is located near the campground entrance booth and 0.4 mile south at the Clayton Beach trailhead. Water and privy available at the nearby day-use beach area. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
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Water on trail
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The start of the hike is just off State Route 11 (Chuckanut Drive) once you enter the Larabee State Park....
The start of the hike is just off State Route 11 (Chuckanut Drive) once you enter the Larabee State Park. The parking area (just after the Clayton Beach Camp Ground) for Fragrance Lake and Lost Lake is not very big so I can imagine on busy day it would be hard to find a parking spot. But, across the street there are more spots at the Clayton Beach Camps Grounds.
The trail up to Fragrance Lake is extremely well maintained and easy to follow. There was a touch of snow at the lake. A bit before the lake there is a .2 mile long spur off to a viewpoint overlooking Puget Sound (you can't miss the sign for it). The view is worth the short side trip to it. Before you get to the lake ... there is a service road off to your right. If you want to make your hike a bit longer head up to the road and take a right for .2 miles or so and look for the Lost Lake Trail head. Lost Lake is long and narrow but otherwise similar to Fragrance Lake. After hiking to one or both of the lakes ... head back down and walk across the State Route 11 to Clayton Beach. There is not really a hike to or around the beach area I could find (unless you consider about 100 yards or so of trail a hike!). Overall, it's a big area to explore in a single day and I'm sure I missed more than I saw. I really enjoyed relaxing on big rocks at Clayton Beach after the hike. It was windy which made the waves crashing against the shore line cliffs pretty cool to see. Day hike
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I took the main Trailhead on Chuckanut Drive, across from the main park campsite entrance. Basically several miles south of...
I took the main Trailhead on Chuckanut Drive, across from the main park campsite entrance. Basically several miles south of Bellingham, almost to the county line. Other trailheads are to the north and south. Also the Interurban Trail from Bellingham parallels the road to the east, and the Fragrance Lake Trail therefore crosses it.
For the most part the trail is easy to follow, just watch for the signs and mostly go uphill, east. The trail was in very good condition. One slightly confusing major intersection of several trails and a road occurs after an hour or two, depending on your speed. Soon after several signs you reach the lake. I followed the lake circuit clockwise. There is a side trail going to a great viewpoint towards the San Juan Islands, takes at most 5 minutes off the main trail. Finally after returning to the trailhead you can go downhill some more after crossing the highway, go into the main parking lot, and follow the signs to the beach using the underpass (the only way to cross the fenced railway line). For two park maps go to http://www.parks.wa.gov/[…]/?selectedpark=Larrabee&subject=maps. The maps show that there are other lakes and trails to go to in this area. I only had time for one lake and trail, but plan to go back and hike the other trails in the area. There were only a few other hikers on the trail, but I hear that sometimes on weekends the park can be crowded. Day hike
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I decided to get away from the Mountain Loop Highway where I'd done several of my previous hikes, and headed...
I decided to get away from the Mountain Loop Highway where I'd done several of my previous hikes, and headed north to Bellingham. I'd driven down Chuckanut Drive once before, and really enjoyed the sights from the road. I got to Larrabee State Park early, before the gate office was open and the parking lot was still empty. I parked across the road and started my trek upward.
Side note: I incorrectly assumed that my America The Beautiful annual pass covers my use of WA state parks (I believed part of its cost was for the Discover Pass) -- nope. A park officer was nice enough to not fine me, but instead left a note on my car window to advise me of the difference. I went & purchased the Discover Pass after my hike -- the Larrabee gate office had since opened. As described in the WTA's summary of this trail, it certainly doesn't waste time in warming you up -- I broke a sweat early, but the abundance of things to photograph allow you plenty of opportunities to stop & soak up the sights. Though it drizzled for most of my time on this hike, the tall timbers overhead do well to keep you dry. Whether you stay dry is up to you, it seems -- I spied at least 5 people who took a dip in the lake as I made my way around it. That's one way to cool off! Even though I don't make it a point to search for litter, I somehow managed to find two separate doggie dookie bags left immediately adjacent to the trail. What's the point of packing up poo if you're just going to leave it? I don't have one now, but I've walked & picked up after dogs before. If I brought any with me while hiking, I would expect to have to carry their scat out, so as to not leave it behind for others to encounter. So, I felt compelled to bring out what I'd found, much like I often do with other litter I find. I really need to start carrying a litter bag with me.. Finding a water bottle is one thing, dookie is another. I really enjoyed this trail. I'd certainly hike it again. The trail is in great condition -- no growth over the trail, no washouts, etc. It's a little damp in a few spots, but nowhere near as bad as some others I've been on lately. The short side trail to the overlook is worth the trip, even in inclement weather. One sight to look for -- about 1/4 of the way up from the trail head, there's a car-sized boulder to the right of the trail, with trees seemingly growing out of its top. Obviously, they started growing back when plenty of organic material covered the boulder, and then it probably suffered a washout, exposing the boulder below. Anyway, I think it's pretty neat, and made for a few interesting photos. Day hike
Issues:
Mudholes
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We took the shorter trail to the lake, the trail directly across from the Park entrance. There were a...
We took the shorter trail to the lake, the trail directly across from the Park entrance. There were a few mud holes and one easily-passed blowdown. Otherwise the trail is in good condition. We hiked the loop around the left side of the lake, and dropped down and circumnavigated the lake. For the return trip we took Fragrance Lake Road, which had a lovely waterfall flowing beside it. We picked up the Centennial Trail and returned to our starting point. This was a good 5-mile loop. We were the first vehicle in the parking lot. There were seven additional cars when we returned. The weather was OK for this time of year. We are itching to get to higher evevations when the winter storm warnings come to an end.
Day hike
Issues:
Mudholes | Water on trail | Snow on trail
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It wasn't raining at home when I got up so I decided to go ahead with a hike. All...
It wasn't raining at home when I got up so I decided to go ahead with a hike. All the way to Larrabee State Park from my house in Lake Stevens it showered off and on and I wondered if I had made a mistake. As it turns out I was dry the entire time I was on the trail. The trail to Fragrance Lake was easy to find at Larrabee State Park on Chuckanut Drive south of Bellingham. Parking is limited but I found a spot along the road further south and walked the bike path to the hiker trail. The trail was moderately busy and in areas where allowed I ran into mountain bikers.
The first thing I noticed while hiking up the trail to Fragrance Lake was the large amounts of ferns covering the forest floor here. There was plenty of moss and big old trees too. It really is a pleasant set of forest right off the road and easy to access. The trail climbed moderately on mostly long sweeping switch-backs and was never strenuous. A mile up was a short side trail to an overlook of Puget Sound, I did this on the way back. There were spots of mud and water across the trail but they were minor and easy to cross or get around. As I neared the lake patches of snow appeared in the forest and on the trail. There was less than an inch of snow and not a problem. Fragrance Lake was nice but not too big. It was surrounded by trees and had a thin layer of ice over its surface from the recent cold weather. I took a break and ate lunch before starting back. On the way back I took the .2 mile side trail to the overlook above Puget Sound. There was a great view here! A 180 degree view of the San Juans and its surrounding waters. I wish it had been fully sunny, it would have made the view spectacular. I put in about 5 miles but there were many more miles of trail to be traveled here. I'll be back to this beautiful and easy to access section of forest again in the future. |
2010, 2011
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