I spent a sunny Sunday Halloween afternoon hiking on Chuckanut Mountain. It was a beautiful autumn day for roaming the foothills south of Bellingham. This was a total last-minute plan. I had things I needed to do on Sunday. However, the weather was so good and the long-term forecast predicted weeks of rain, so instead I hopped in the car and headed north from Seattle towards Chuckanut Drive. It was a good decision.
It was a good choice for a Halloween hike. Chuckanut can be dark and spooky in places, especially around Lost Lake. The forest is thick and its dotted with misty hollows. It has a very Blair Witch Project vibe to it. If you wandered off the trail, it is not hard to imagine getting lost in the woods—finding yourself going endlessly in circles looking for a way out.
I grew up in Bellingham, so I've hiked many of the trails on Chuckanut Mountain, including the Fragrance Lake trail. I have also ridden my mountain bike all over Chuckanut. So, I'm very familiar with the mountain. The one thing I have not done is link a number of the shorter trails together into a single day-hike. I stitched together Fragrance Lake Road, South Lost Lake Trail, Rock Trail, Double Diamond Trail, and Fragrance Lake Trail into one very enjoyable hike. It turned out this was the key trick to turn something old into something new again.
On the hike up there were equal numbers of hikers, trail runners, and mountain bikers sharing the trails. Although I enjoyed the hike I did experience a few pangs of regret that I did not bring my bike. When I saw mountain bikers bombing down the Double Diamond and Double Down trails I wished I was doing the same. That said, going at a slower pace on foot allowed me to experience Chuckanut in a way I had not in a very long time. I discovered new details about an area thought I knew well. In fact, many of the parts of Chuckanut I thought I was familiar with I had only ever seen in passing as I rushed by on my mountain bike.
I ended up hiking for about five hours, covering over twelve miles and nearly three thousand feet of elevation gain (the route I followed took me up and down a lot). You can hike Chuckanut Mountain all year, so if you are looking for an off-season hike I recommend it. Just bring some trekking poles, it can be steep in places and if you are hiking in the winter it may be muddy. I also highly recommend the Chuckanut Recreation Area Map from Square One Maps.
Some of the highlights of the hike:
- If you like ferns you'll love Chuckanut. The mountain is covered with them.
- From Chuckanut Ridge trail there are good views of Mount Baker and the Twin Sisters.
- WTA did a great job on the Rock Trail. It justifies its name by winding below sandstone cliffs and through giant boulders.
- There is a good view of Bellingham Bay from the Cyrus Gates Overlook.
- I reached Fragrance Lake late in the day. The water was smooth as glass and perfectly still except when the surface was broken by leaping trout.
- There is a good view of Samish Bay from the Fragrance Lake Trail viewpoint.
I hiked the trails in a roughly counter-clockwise direction, but I would recommend hiking it in clockwise direction instead. Starting from the Lost Lake parking lot I hiked up the Fragrance Lake Road, then the South Lost Lake Trail to the north end of Lost Lake, then the Rock Trail to the Cyrus Gates Overlook, then the Double Diamond Trail, followed by the Fragrance Lake Trail, and finally the Interurban Trail back to the parking lot. I would suggest taking that route in reverse instead. The Double Diamond trail is very steep and could be very slippery if muddy. The Fragrance Lake trail is steep in places too. The Fragrance Lake Road and South Lost Lake Trail are both moderate grades and would be the better direction to descend. This is sort of like when I hike Mailbox Peak, I like to take the steep Old Trail up and the more moderate New Trail down. You are less likely to slip and it is easier on your knees.
If you are driving from the Seattle area I recommend approaching the Lost Lake Trailhead from the south via Chuckanut Drive. Chuckanut Drive is a narrow windy road perched on the side of Chuckanut Mountain above Samish Bay. It is one of the most scenic drives in Washington State.
You will need a Discover Pass to park at the Lost Lake Trailhead. If you do not have a Discover Pass, it will cost you $10. There is a pay station at the parking lot. It has a machine that accepts credit cards, but it was not working the day I was there. Be sure to bring cash as a back-up plan. Discover Pass One-Day Fee Envelopes are available and they accept cash or checks. You deposit the payment into envelope into a sturdy steel box, the so called "Iron Ranger".
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