POSTED: Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008
National Geographic: Bellingham one of the best places to live and play
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closeBELLINGHAM - Adventurers who want to be able to play in their own backyard can look to Bellingham as one of the top 50 communities in the country to do so, according to National Geographic Adventure magazine.
The city made the magazine's list of "Where to Live & Play Now: The 50 Next Great Towns," which is featured in the September issue that hit newsstands on Tuesday, Aug. 12.
Bellingham was one of 12 cities from the West to be lauded. Other Washington state cities on the list are Seattle and Leavenworth.
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TOP ADVENTURE CITIES
National Geographic Adventure magazine listed these cities, in no particular order, as the 12 best in the country for living and playing.- Seattle
- Hood River, Ore.
- San Francisco
- Missoula, Mont.
- Ogden, Utah
- Carbondale, Colo.
- Grand Marais, Minn.
- San Antonio
- Brattleboro, Vt.
- Boston
- Islamorada, Fla.
- Chattanooga, Tenn.
The magazine didn't rank the cities.
"National Geographic Adventure writers Sarah Tuff and Greg Melville, along with Adventure's editorial staff, looked for cities with an ideal mix of terrain, activity and opportunity. For Sarah Tuff, 'It wasn't just about proximity to the outdoors, but the attitude toward these resources as well,' " spokesman Ethan Fried said in an e-mail interview.
Here's a snippet of the magazine's write-up: "Ignore, if you can, snow-draped Mount Baker, rising above Bellingham - this is a paddling town first.
"Canoeists and kayakers race across Lake Whatcom every Wednesday evening in summer, and their access to stunning Bellingham Bay is getting easier too as the shoreline morphs from an industrial wasteland into a sprawling green space."
The short article also noted that 15 percent of the city has been set aside for parks, and it praised Baker's bountiful powder.
"I think it's great. I totally agree. I can't imagine we wouldn't be on a list like that," said Bellingham paddler Dawn Groves, who also is president of the Whatcom Association of Kayak Enthusiasts. "I hope that it helps our tourism and paddling businesses."
Bellingham is no stranger to "best of" lists.
National publications have praised it for being green, for being one of the best small places to start a business or retire, for being the best paddling town.
Such national attention - National Geographic Adventure has 2.4 million readers alone - leaves residents who want to retain Bellingham's small-town feel with mixed feelings.
"It's quite an honor, but you kind of want to shut the gate behind you when you move here," Groves said. "They're just stating what the rest of us have known for years."
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