Oyster Dome — Wednesday, Mar. 7, 2007

Puget Sound and Islands > Bellingham Area

Hiking in the wettest convergence zone in March with 70% chance of rain? Why not? Oyster Dome is a very nice workout in spring when the mountain roads are still dicey. It offers a good 7 mile round trip workout, nice views over Samish Bay toward Anacortes and the San Juans, and many optional trails and loops. The Oyster Dome trail is the western terminus of the Pacific Northwest trail that snakes through the wilderness all the way to Montana! This end, however, is poorly marked. To get there, exit I-5 at the Chuckanut exit and travel 10 miles. When the road leaves the flat farmland to wind along the coast, look for Oyster House Manor. The next restaurant is Oyster Bar & Grill. That is about 50 yards too far. Go back to the small turnout and see the trail abruptly climbing from the road. The trail ascends steeply up the ridge and is in very good shape for the first two miles to lookout junction. The lookout is a quick 15 minutes to the right and worth the view. The left trail climbs steadily for one mile upward and is clogged with many serious blowdowns. There's lots of work for sawyers up there. Cross Oyster creek and arrive at the sign for the Bat Caves to the left. I continued right up a steep 500 feet to the top of the hill where lots of old steel cable is lying around. Along the way is an informational sign about glaciers. After the cable mound is a small creek and a quick ascent to the Oyster Dome, a little under 2000 feet elevation gain from the trailhead. We made it in 2.5 hours, slowed down considerably because of the blowdowns. This is a good winter hike and a good leg workout. On a clear day, the views from the top show both Anacortes and Bellingham and many the islands dotting the straits.