Chuckanut Ridge Trail: Big on views from Baker to islands

| KIE RELYEA THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

Hiking time: 4½ hours

Difficulty: Moderate

Users: Hikers, bicyclists

Best time to hike: Year-round

Dogs: Must be on a leash

Family friendly: No. The ridge views are stunning but the edges are perilously close at times.

Amenities: Restroom at the end of Cleator Road in Cyrus Gates Overlook parking. Two picnic tables at the overlook.

Maps: USGS Bellingham South (7.5 series) or Washington State Department of Natural Resources map at www.dnr.wa.gov. Click on “Maps” on the upper left, then “Trail Maps” on the right. Then scroll down to “Chuckanut Mountain.”

Driving directions: Take Chuckanut Drive to Hiline Drive and turn left. You’ll be driving east, north and up onto Cleator Road for 2.1 miles (Hiline turns into Cleator). Find the trailhead on your left and park across the road on the shoulder. (Or drive to the end of the road, which is 3½ miles long, into a parking space with gorgeous bay views from the Cyrus Gates Overlook.)

Getting there: Follow the trail northward and up. At 0.7 miles, the trees thin and an obvious 50-foot side path leads left (west) to a picture-perfect view of Lummi, Orcas and many other islands. Back on the main route, it is slightly more than a quarter-mile to a Tjunction with the Chuckanut Ridge Trail.

Head left for one-quarter to one-half mile and start enjoying the views again. Spectacular views of Mount Baker and the Twin Sisters dominate from numerous lookouts. Just before the trail starts sharply downward, Chuckanut Ridge veers slightly northwest, permitting wider horizons to the north. Beyond one-half mile views disappear so turn around and head south, at first retracing your steps and then continuing on beyond the T-junction where you entered the Chuckanut Ridge Trail.

From here it’s up and down the ridge bumps for about three miles to Cleator Road. Take a left and continue for a couple hundred yards to the Cyrus Gates Overlook or take a right and head back to where you parked.

The north end of the trail connects with the North Lost Lake Trail in an easy-to-miss junction, just north of the Salal Trail.

Source: “Winter Hikes in Puget Sound and the Olympic Foothills,” by Bob Mooers (Sasquatch Books)