On the first Friday of every month (yes, even the rainy/snowy ones) the Downtown Bellingham…read morePartnership sponsors a lively walkabout featuring tours of various galleries, cafes, restaurants, bars, and pretty much anywhere art can be displayed. It's a fun and fantastic opportunity to experience the richness and diversity of our city's art community. There's no price for admission, and some of the galleries even offer nibbles, wine, and/or beer! The best part, though, is meeting the artists who come to show off their work in person. You can go to their website to download a map of each month's participating locations, or stop at the Downtown Bellingham office on Commercial St. for a printed copy. This is a serious must-do for anyone wanting to experience the Bham scene!

On Guemes Island in the Pacific Northwest just a few short nautical miles from Canada's coast lies…read morethe "Indian Village". A blast from the past type of place! Where time stands still because of it's remoteness! This is a small community of beach homes and cabins right on Puget Sound located on the West side of this beautiful little island. It's positioned looking at Cypress Island and ready to entertain you with really beautiful sunsets. This cool little isle lies in midst of the San Juan Islands where you'll see Bald Eagles, deer, coyote, seals, porpoises, orcas, salmon and when clear, the bluest skies anywhere! Like fishing? This place will put a smile on your face and some awesome fare on your table! Bird watcher? Bring your camera and binoculars all sorts of fowl coolness here! Long walks along the Sound in the fresh cool air here are exhilarating!!! Star gazer? Milky Way is not just a candy bar, it's visible! Want smore fun! Nothing like beach bonfires shooting stars, marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers! A show and dessert! Nice! Residents and visitors here also love collecting these rocks called agates! What are they? They're semi-precious gem stones that come in all shapes, sizes, colors, clarity, and brightness! Google image them, cool stuff! Logistics- The only way on and off Guemes Island is a small ferry that carries about 20 cars. This island is about 70 miles Northwest of Seattle. The weather from May through October is optimum! Really late sunsets May-July. A great place to unplug and weeelax!!! As locations go, I have a few destinations that I call happy places and this is certainly near the top of my list!!! I could go on and on.... :-)))

It's at or an adventure operator that is a lot of fun during the summer time they've been part of…read morethe Bellingham seen for a while they run a great operation. The staff is really friendly and they can find something that's best suited for your family.

What a fabulous organization. We had a great adventure that was tailored exactly to our needs…read more Every part of our trip was customized. Sarah really knows Bellingham and has a fabulous relationship with all the vendors. The tours are enlightening and great fun.

The premise of the tour is you can hop off at a site and catch the next one(1 hour later)…read moreunfortunately if they are short staffed you don't know this because no updates are posted to their site and no one answers the phone. Too bad.

This is a good way to get the "lay of the land". After taking the Jolly Trolley we had a much…read morebetter understanding of the island and went back the next day in our car to several of the spots that were featured on the tour. I give it a thumbs up.

Mt. Baker... more like Baker Hill. The runs were short and lumpy. Our whole family came up for…read moreChristmas. It was fun but a lot smaller than what I'm used to. However, there were no lines for the chairlifts which was great. I was able to get 20 runs in an afternoon. I also can't believe they don't offer wifi in the lounge area and the fries were salty af in a small cup for $8.

5 stars for the lodge and amazing staff and service. We came up to check out Artist Point in the…read moresummer and do some short hikes, incredible views and it was beautiful! I have never been here to snowboard but I am so happy we made it up in the summer and saw all the beauty of Mt Baker.

Great small park! Very clean and super nice people. Well taken care of. If you like to party find…read moreanother place to stay please. This is a quiet park next to a small neighborhood. Definitely recommend for retired people like us. Close to shopping and restaurants both fast food and inside seating.

Clean, affordable and extremely friendly. close to I5, food and shopping. pet friendly. I will be…read moreback whenever in the area.

I have been eyeing San Juan Cruises for at least two years and this year my oldest son wanted to…read morecelebrate his birthday exploring by boat. Booking our adventure was extremely easy via the San Juan Cruises website. I greatly appreciate how detailed the reservation information was, and most importantly how courteous the entire team was throughout our time aboard. The team went into great detail about our journey, history on each island we passed, and insights on the protected wildlife we could possibly encounter during our voyage. The vessel was extremely accommodating for all of us on board, ample seating, viewing opportunities, and two restrooms. The team makes an excellent warm lunch was provided; while snacks and beverages were available throughout the entire duration of the voyage (grab a cup of coffee Blue Herron coffee beans based out of Bow, WA makes a great cup!) We managed to encounter eagles, seals, walruses, dolphins, a gray whale, and two different orca pods. Each sighting was absolutely breathtaking and majestic! I could not ever imagine going to a theme park to view these magnificent animals. The voyage takes between 5-6 hours plan, you'll be surprised at how quickly that time goes by. Helpful tip for parents bringing children feel free to pack coloring books, board games, binoculars, and snacks for your littles the San Juan Cruise team welcomes it for the little voyagers. My parents have already had planned to book an excursion during their visit next month, and I highly recommend for anyone who lives in or visiting the area to do so as well!

My boyfriend and I booked the afternoon whale watching cruise at San Juan Cruises not knowing what…read moreto expect and it ended up being the highlight of the weekend. The crew was very friendly and I loved that it was guided by the Captain and Naturalist onboard. I learned a lot about islands in the Salish Sea and we saw several species of animals. There are several great viewing spots on the boat and it's easy to see from inside if it gets too windy. I learned so much about the Biggs orcas, sea lions, and harbor seals. It's not promised, but we saw two different groups of the orcas right at the beginning of the trip and surprisingly at the end in Bellingham bay. It was so nice to learn about them and get an up close view (within safe distance). They served a lunch onboard which was included in the cost, however we packed our own. They also have beverages and snacks for sale throughout the ride. I didn't bring binoculars on board, but I did see people with them. My iPhone was enough to get close up videos and pictures of the animals! I would definitely recommend this to family and friends!

There are really no words to describe how amazing it is to live a mere half-hour boat ride from…read morethis tiny little island state park where you can drop an anchor in its secluded harbor, find a waterfront campsite, and spend the weekend patting yourself on the back for how damn lucky you are to live here. Patos is one of the smaller of the public islands in the San Juans, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in stunning sunsets and beautiful, easy-to-access beaches full of driftwood and tide pools. The level path around the island can be easily walked in well under an hour, and there's a quaint, historic lighthouse you can tour when it's open on weekends. There are even pit toilets in a couple of spots around the island, and each campsite features a picnic table and fire ring for the low-low price of $12/night. What the island doesn't have is running water of any kind, so be sure to come prepared.

One of my favorite camping islands in the San Juans…read more The main camping area is located at the west end of the island near the cove between Patos island and Little Patos island. At the east end of the island there are a couple of small coves that you can anchor in, but there are no campsites on the east end of the island. I have been coming to Patos Island for over 20 years, and it has changed very little in that time. Sure they have installed new vault toilets that are much nicer than the old ones, and the old dock that was quite unstable has been torn down. The old military barracks that were out by the lighthouse have been removed, and the lighthouse has been opened up for tours now. Besides that the camp sites and general feel of the island is the same. The only way to get to this island is by boat, there are no houses (besides the lighthouse) on the island, no roads, no cars, and no running water. This island has quite a history, much of that is covered in a book called The Light On The Island which is an great read if you are visiting the island. The book was written in the 1950's by the daughter of the lighthouse keeper who lived there from 1905 to 1930. The harbor between Patos island and Little Patos can be a challenge to anchor in (I haven't had a problem but I have seen others have trouble). There are 2 buoys that you can pay a fee to tie up to, or you can drop your own anchor. As the tide comes and goes, the current can get quite strong closer to beach area by the campsites. On more than one occasion I have seen someone anchor close to the beach with a rope running to shore tied to a tree or log. Not such a good idea because people who do that usually end up with their boat on the beach when the tide goes out. The harbor is very shallow at low tide, 4 to 5 feet deep in many areas, but as you get out towards the anchoring buoys it gets deeper. From the campground you can see a variety of wildlife, some amazing eagles, or annoying wasps and yellow jackets. One night while camping we awoke to Orcas splashing in the water right next to the campsite. You may occasionally spot a river otter in the bay, or porpoise off shore. Be sure to take the short walk to the lighthouse, it can be amazing at sunset. As you approach the lighthouse in the large grassy field, you may notice some cement footings from old buildings, the ones right near the cement Patos Island sign are the footings from the original lighthouse keepers house which burnt down years ago. Any cement footings at the edge of the grassy field by the trees are of the old military barracks that where on the island. Scuba diving is amazing along the south side of the island, with amazing sea life to be seen. Beware of the currents, it can get a bit strong, but if you are up for a drift dive with a live boat, it can be an amazing ride. Keep in mind that there is no running water on the island so you need to bring fresh water with you. The closest place to refill if you need more water is on Sucia island.