This Whatcom trail will provide access to one of the only sandy beaches in Western Washington
A new trail at Larrabee State Park will make it easier and safer to hike to Clayton Beach, a popular waterfront site that in the past has been accessible only by scrambling down a steep hillside on rogue pathways cut by hikers seeking access to the golden shoreline.
It’s the culmination of years of planning and talks with Puget Sound Energy and BNSF Railway and was finally made possible by a $3 million grant from the state Recreation Conservation Office, said Ranger Amber Forest, who manages Larrabee, Birch Bay and Peace Arch state parks.
“Clayton Beach is one of the only sandy beaches in Western Washington,” Forest told The Bellingham Herald.
“It feels like you’re in Southern California in some ways,” she said.
A new trail from the Lost Lake parking lot will include a pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks, and more parking and a lighted crosswalk across Chuckanut Drive, according to Washington State Parks, the Washington State Department of Transportation and BNSF Railway officials.
Construction of the half-mile trail to the beach was approved in 2020 and is now underway, with completion scheduled in June or July, said Brian Keenan, parks planner and project leader.
Its cost was about $1.4 million, Keenan told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
A railroad bridge was approved by the state Utilities and Transportation Commission in 2008, the state Department of Parks and Recreation told The Herald.
BNSF Railway recently gave the nod for the state to move ahead with the bridge.
“This pedestrian overpass will provide a legal, grade-separated crossing of the BNSF right of way to access adjacent beachfront,” BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent told The Herald.
Construction of the lighted crosswalk was approved but is still being planned, WSDOT spokeswoman RB McKeon said.
‘Social trails’ removed
As part of the project, crews are removing the “social trails” cut toward the beach by planting native vegetation and visitors will be encouraged to use the 4- to 6-foot wide trail that’s now being built.
That trail will also have a boardwalk through a sensitive wetland area, Forest said.
Larrabee State Park was Washington’s first state park, opening in 1915 as Chuckanut State Park and changed to Larrabee State Park in 1923 after businessman and philanthropist Charles Xavier Larrabee, co-founder of Fairhaven.
Frances P. Larrabee, his widow, donated 20 acres for the park after his death, and later donated another 1,500 acres.
Now, it covers 2,748 acres south of Bellingham with 8,100 feet of shoreline on Samish Bay and about 100 miles of hiking and biking trails through the Chuckanut Mountains.
Camping, hiking, tidepools
It features a campground, a boat launch and offers tide-pooling and rock climbing on the ethereal outcroppings of prehistoric Chuckanut Sandstone.
Forest said it’s also known for its picture-postcard views of the San Juan Islands, and the golden beaches and sandstone formations glow like fire in the evening sun.
Some 444,554 people visited Larrabee for day use and overnight stays in 2021, according to State Parks records — a lower than normal figure that officials said was linked to travel restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Another part of Clayton Beach’s allure is the sense of solitude created by the beach’s distance from the parking lot, Forest said.
“People can walk down the beach for a mile and have more of a pristine experience than if you could just drive up,” she said.
This story was originally published April 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
