New trail, railroad bridge will allow public access to pristine beach near Bellingham
A new trail and railroad bridge at Larrabee State Park will make hiking to Clayton Beach easier and safer, opening a broad expanse of shoreline to the public.
In the past, Clayton Beach has been accessible only by scrambling down a steep hillside on rogue pathways and illegally crossing a set of train tracks, said Amber Forest, who manages Larrabee, Birch Bay and Peace Arch state parks in Whatcom County.
Beachgoers also trampled through sensitive wetlands, Forest said.
“We can add it officially to our website now. It’s very rewarding to see it come to fruition,” Forest said during a media tour before the trail’s official opening.
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, she said.
Opening of the trail is expected by Aug. 1, although it could open sooner, State Parks spokeswoman Meryl Lassen told The Bellingham Herald.
Much of the work on the mile-long trail to the beach was done by Earth Corps, a Seattle nonprofit that focuses on ecological restoration, racial equity and environmental justice.
“It’s an important connection to the water. It’s such a nice, calm, serene presence,” said Anna Jowell, Earth Corps project manager.
Earth Corps workers were also adding native plants near the new trail, and “decommissioning” the network of rogue pathways to the beach.
Railroad crossing
Providing a safe route to the beach over the BNSF railroad tracks, where dense forest blocked the view of oncoming trains, was the primary goal of the project, Forest said.
“It’s a really unsafe place to cross. That’s what spurred the project. We’ve had a couple close calls,” she said.
A Bellingham girl died in May at a different location on the BNSF tracks, and police said she might not have heard the oncoming train.
In addition, the tracks would have to be shut down in the event of wildfire, medical emergency or rescue to give firefighters safe access to the beach, she said.
A pedestrian bridge solves that problem, Forest said.
Getting there
To reach Clayton Beach from Bellingham, head south on Chuckanut Drive and go about a half-mile past the Larrabee State Park entrance to the Lost Lake Trail parking lot.
Parking is $11.50 for day use, and $35 for an annual Discover Pass that’s good at all Washington state parks.
Cross Chuckanut Drive to reach the Clayton Beach trailhead.
An official at the Washington State Department of Transportation told The Herald that a crosswalk is planned in the future.
Fires and overnight camping are not allowed at Clayton Beach.
First state park
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 — which later became part of Bellingham.
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.
It features a campground, a boat launch and offers a picture-postcard views of the San Juan Islands, tide-pooling and rock climbing on its sandstone outcroppings.
Some 456,326 people visited Larrabee for day use and campground stays in 2022, according to State Parks records.
This story was originally published July 15, 2023 at 5:00 AM with the headline "New trail, railroad bridge will allow public access to pristine beach near Bellingham."
