Maple Falls

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OVERVIEW

Maple Falls was a bustling town in the 1880s. Shingle mills and logging were the big thing, along with mining in the mountains nearby. Today, Maple Falls hosts a cluster of shops and the last gas station on Mount Baker Highway. The community has perhaps 300 year-round residents, plus thousands of tourists.

Summer attractions include hiking, rafting and camping; winter is the time for skiing and snowboarding at Mount Baker Ski Area. Silver Lake Park offers a quiet place to fish, paddle and picnic, and to rent cabins. Close by, Black Mountain Forestry Center honors the areas logging legacy with tours, museum displays and the World of Wood Festival each August.

CONTACT
Whatcom County Council, Second District: 676-6690

HISTORY

Pioneers settled Maple Falls about 1889. The town was platted in 1901, the same year the railroad came through, opening up the area to commercial logging.

SCHOOLS

Kendall Elementary, Mount Baker Junior, Mount Baker High, Timber Ridge High.

District: Mount Baker School District, www.mtbaker.wednet.edu.

PARK

Silver Lake.

QUOTE

Im a logger and a forester, so I just chose to work an area where the resources were; its the people, the natural beauty that surrounds us. The rain doesnt bother me, so the weather is one of the things that make this place so beautiful. Its a great place to grow trees.
Phil Cloward, Maple Falls resident since the 1980s, worked in the area since the 1950s

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