lake whatcom

Beautiful lake. There are two exits off I-5 that you could take. We drove from one exit to the other one, and did it again with a stop at the small regional park.. The regional park has toilets and it is easy to park at.

As the water source for a city fast approaching 100,000, the lake extends from the eastern edge of Bellingham, which sits on the Salish Sea, and extends 12 miles into the Cascade foothills. The eastern end of the lake is crowded and overbuilt, and the southern end is more rural with great views of the Cascade range to the east. There has been a huge debate for decades about whether to even allow motor boating and especially Wakeboarding which causes terrific erosion from their high wakes. Further, wake boarders suffer from an inability to obey no wake zones or behave as responsible adults. They are the biggest threat to anyone being able to continue boating on the water supply. At this juncture motor boats are still allowed because the lake was historically used as open, navigable waters for everything from coal mining and logging at the turn of the 20th century, to a brief, small commercial Crawfish fishery in the 80's. Plus surrounding homeowners, who represent a big chunk of taxable high end property in the county get rankled and turn out at public hearings in high numbers at any intrusion into their ability to pollute the drinking source. The lake is listed as an endangered body due to the high phosphorous and low oxygen content in the overbuilt end of the lake, and because of that do not expect to be welcomed by the locals who also resent the homeowners' boating usage of the city's reservoir. As a result, sailors, kayakers, and canoeists are much more welcomed as responsible users of the reservoir.There is a stiff little fee for using the lake now and your boat's hull, out drives and bilge must be clean and inspected for invasive Asian shellfish as is happening throughout the west. This also applies to kayaks, canoes, sailboat, and inflatables. These inspections take place at the eastern end at Bloedel Park, the only public boat launch. FYI, the lake sits about 300 foot elevation higher than Bellingham, on the shores of Bellingham Bay. The lake waters gets up to 75 F in the summer and the lake is a great swimming venue.If you really want some spectacular boating opportunities in the Bellingham area, launch at Squalicum marina in Bellingham and boat the saltwater Salish Sea, (formerly Puget Sound) out to the spectacular San Juan Islands group which is home to several types of whales and dolphins and a bounty of everything else found in the oceans in this part of the world.

Lake Whatcom is a great place to visit your-round. Summer is obviously about boating, swimming, fishing and beaches. Spring and fall offer some great quiet kayak trips. There are some great hiking trails around parts of the lake and a great golf Course at Sudden Valley.

What can I say. It is beautiful from the Northshore, gorgeous from the Southshore and superb from in-between. Bloedell Park is great too. The water is so peaceful and the surrounding scenery is great all year long.

A very clean lake with occasional views of Mt. Baker. If you’re a WWU student be sure to rent cheap kayaks for $4 each from the Lakewood Boathouse. Definitely the best way to experience the lake!

Lake Whatcom is larger than it looks and the boat launch at Bloedel-Donovan Park is convenient and easily accessible - just get there early on a sunny day!

Plenty of free parking, Lake is cold but feels good on a hot day. Restrooms available, some snacks for sale. Lovely on a warm summer day. Forget the fall, winter and spring. Lake get choppy in the wind. Swim only at Bloedel Donavon Park. No life guards.

We boated out all day with hardly any other boats. There is an inspection necessary though and it will cost you a fee to go on it. There are several paddlers and kayaks everywhere so you need to go to the far end of the lake to be able to boat without fear of hitting these guys.

Lake Whatcom has something for everyone. Great boating, exploring and fishing. Very beautiful setting and unique.

Even during the most popular days you can still find places that are not crowded when boating on Lake Whatcom. The lake is very picturesque and much larger than you might think when boating from one end to the other. Lots of recreational opportunities with public beach and swimming area, public boat launch, fishing and more.

This area is absolutely beautiful. While we did not swim we did drive the west and south side of the lake where we were treated to several deer crossings. There are some excellent lodges and campgrounds scattered around the lake and I can imagine how much fun it would be to get out on the water. Worth a visit.

This lake is, from what I could see, totally surrounded by private residences so I'm not sure what the point of visiting it would really be. I have also heard questions about the potability of the water.

Lake Whatcom is a lovely moderate-to-large lake for taking a lakeside drive. It has microclimates which can have to you sunshine at mile one and mistly clouds at mile 5 -- you never know. It's proximity to Bellingham make it easy access.

We had a great barbecue - some members rented equipment - kayaks etc. We brought our food and grill and fixed it outside the boat house. The shower and toilet room was nice and warm.

Lake Whatcom is a wonderful freshwater lake, accessible from the Bloedel Donovan Park - launch boats or swim.