Chanterelle Trail Has a New Way Down
Switchbacks, Stairways, and a View
Black Friday: We coulda gone shopping. For deals. Instead, we went hiking. But to our good fortune, we found a heck of a deal—a brand new trail leading above the north shore of Lake Whatcom to an excellent viewpoint. For Kris and I, a sunny blue day is often a clarion call to someplace outdoors, so off we went.
Word’s been getting around about this new 4.25-mile trail that just opened in the last week, so we were eager to check it out. It links the top end of the Chanterelle Trail on Stewart Mountain to the lake shore, plunging (or rocketing?) over 2,000 vertical feet via dozens of switchbacks and about twenty stairways (more or less, depending on how you count them). There’s a snapshot of the trail map below.
To complete a somewhat ambitious loop, the logical thing is to head up the “old” Chanterelle (not that old) to the sweeping view many are familiar with, then continue upward to the start of new trail for the long descent to the Ken Hertz Trail and the return along the lake. Figure about eleven miles total. Junctions are well signed.
We chose a much easier option, which I suspect will become a local favorite in no time. We simply hiked the easy-peasy lake trail for 1.8 miles to the bottom of the new route. The new trail starts lazy then steepens for the next half-mile or so, before relaxing a little to the first set of steps. Let the grind begin! You’ll notice the route is climbing a steep, skinny ridge here where switchbacks weren’t practical, thus the stairs.
But there’s a payoff. When you finally top the big stairway section, the trail kindly flattens and the hard work is over. It’s a short scoot to a signed junction and a 0.1-mile spur trail on the left. You’re now a mile from the lake, having gained 800 feet of elevation. Hike down the spur briefly to reach the view. It’s plenty scenic and a just reward for the effort to get there.
Our strategy, as described above, resulted in a fine six-mile, up-and-back day hike—well worth it for a moderate outing. You can continue on from the view, of course, and complete the loop counterclockwise, which means climbing the steeper new route all the way up and descending the gentler old route. But you’ll be hiking five more miles than we did today. You might want to consult with your knees to see if they have a preference.
We’ll be back again soon for the complete loop. It kinda needs a name, though. The parks people have referred to it as “EH1” or the “Chanterelle Extension” or “Connector,” which is about as catchy as calling Bellingham’s Padden Creek Trail the Interurban Extension. Somehow, the new trail feels distinct from the Chanterelle Trail, which is a lovely name nonetheless. Maybe someone will come up with a cheery compatible moniker for the new trail that sticks. Death Cap Mushroom Trail doesn’t quite have the right ring to it.
Kudos to County Parks staff and Curran, Gerry and the gang at Northwest Trails for their vision and excellent work.
By the way, the Ken Hertz Trail is closed beyond the junction, presumably due to the Blue Canyon Fire this past summer.
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