‘Just in time for (a) weekend stroll,’ boulders cleared from this popular Whatcom trail
The popular Hertz Trail along Lake Whatcom has fully reopened after crews cleared a landslide a little more than a mile from its start, the Whatcom County Parks and Recreation Department said on Friday, Jan. 29.
“The Hertz Trail is now open — just in time for (a) weekend stroll. Park crews have been working this week to clear up debris from a landslide on Lake Whatcom Park’s Hertz Trail,” the department said in a Facebook pose. “The boulders were massive!”
The trail at Lake Whatcom Park was closed near the 1.25-mile marker after rocks and trees fell onto the path from Stewart Mountain. A visitor contacted Parks officials about the slide on Wednesday, Jan. 20.
Hertz Trail is at the base of the mountain.
“It’s in an area of unstable slopes,” Christ Thomsen, parks operation manager, said to The Bellingham Herald in a previous Herald article.
The trail near Bellingham is 3.1 miles each way.
On sunny, warm days, it is usually packed with walkers, runners and bicyclists. In less-busy winter, it offers a peaceful amble.
The trail offers a little bit of everything — a short walk through lush forest before opening to lovely views of Lake Whatcom and Lookout Mountain — as well as sandstone cliffs, some large Douglas firs and two small creeks with scenic waterfalls (depending on the time of the year).
The first quarter-mile of the trail is accessible to wheelchairs.
