Canyon Creek — Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020

We were staying in a cabin up near the town of Glacier off the Mt. Baker Highway 542 and found this trail at Glacier Springs last week. The trailhead is in back of the development with a nice view of Mt. Baker. This trail is not in guide books or on hiking maps. At the start is a kiosk with a map, photos and info by the Whatcom Land Trust Salmon Conservation and Restoration Site with the Whatcom County Flood Control Zone District. Due to Canyon Creek flooding, the old levee was removed and a rock revetment built in 1994 along with twenty three log jams built to roughen the stream banks and form deep pools to shelter salmon. 13,300 trees were also planted to shade the stream. The trail begins on an old road before turning into a hiking trail. We checked out two side trails down to the creek with some nice views of the creek rapids. There are other trails going through the forest on the way to the N.F. Nooksack River. When we got to the river by where the creek enters it, we hiked down the river bed towards the Highway 542 bridge which goes over it. Found a good log to sit on to enjoy the water and view. A little past the highway bridge is an old stone bridge pier from the days when a railroad went up to Glacier. This hike is 2 miles round trip.

The Bellingham Bay & British Columbia Railroad was built from Bellingham to Glacier back in 1902-1904 for gold and coal mining plus logging. The Mt. Baker National Forest was formed in 1906. In 1915 the town of Glacier had three hotels, a mercantile store, town hall, pool hall, barber shop, livery stable and a few brothels. The old depot in town had been restored and can be rented to sleep in. In 1912 the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad took over the rail line. The Mt. Baker Highway 542 was opened to Glacier in 1923.