Discover the best local goods in Whatcom, Skagit counties via Farm to Table Trails
The popular Farm to Table Trails program has returned to Whatcom and Skagit counties for a fourth year, and free passes are already available online.
Local nonprofit Sustainable Connections operates the program, which offers people a chance to try local agricultural products while exploring the region. This year’s program includes nine new routes — looping trails with stops at local markets and farms.
The nine routes include 59 different stops that support 51 businesses (some businesses have multiple locations), according to Jessica Gillis, food and farm program manager at Sustainable Connections.
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“Our purpose is just to get folks out there exploring our region and create alternate revenue streams for our farmers who are looking to sell things at a roadside stand,” Gillis said. “If you are not driving down a certain road in the county every day, you may not know that there is a farm stand out there. It is a great way to get families out exploring. If you have people coming out to town this summer, it’s a great way to show people our region, driving through the blueberry fields and getting views of Mount Baker, maybe stopping for a you-pick opportunity or at Drayton Harbor Oysters.”
Gillis said her personal favorite spots include the Twin Sisters Creamery, the Lummi Seafood Market, the Oak Meadows Farm and Holly’s Meat Pies.
Those wishing to participate can sign up for a Farm to Table Trails pass at the Sustainable Connections website. There’s no charge for the pass. After registering, participants will receive their pass via text or email. There’s no app to download.
At participating locations, check in via GPS location or ask for a four-digit PIN, and present your phone to redeem available discounts.
This year’s trails:
- Treats in a Row from Edison to Bow
- Cream of the Crop from Blaine to Custer
- Ferndale to North Bellingham Noshes
- Eat Local Lynden to Everson
- Food for You on Route 542
- Bites of Bellingham
- Bellingham Market Crawl
- Savor Skagit
- Yummi Lummi
Organizers are preparing for a large turnout this year, in part because of people visiting for the FIFA World Cup in Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., between June 15 and July 6. Forty-thousand paper maps have been printed. Gillis suggests people take advantage of the online pass made in collaboration with Bellingham/Whatcom County Tourism.
The online pass lets people “check-in” at locations on the trail maps and earn points that can be used to redeem prizes such as tote bags and tea towels printed with works of local artists.
Discounted rates and extra trail points can be earned by booking stays with local hotels partnering with Farm to Table Trails, including Hotel Leo, Heliotrope Hotel, Holiday Inn Spring Hill Suites Bellingham and TownePlace Suites Bellingham.
“I would say bring a cooler and some picnic supplies,” Gillis said. “It’s a great way to go out and grab some local food and have a picnic somewhere. A cooler is always a good idea because there is a lot of meat and cheese on the trail, and if you have an iced cooler you can pick up those things along the way and not worry about them in your car.”
Gillis said when the trail maps are created, organizers look for a unique range of locations to include in an area and give people diversity in their stops.
“So maybe you will find a winery, a bakery, a farmers market and a farm on one trail,” Gillis said. “So if you do that trail in a day, you will get a little taste of everything in our food scene.”
The trails are updated each year, and Gillis is excited to see the program grow in the future.
“It’s a fun way to explore Whatcom and Skagit counties and find our local food and farming culture,” she said.
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