Northwest Washington

Understand

To the west from the Cascades to the coast are lowlands. The Skagit Valley is fertile farmland, overflowing with tulips in the spring. Anacortes is the gateway to the San Juan Islands. Further north, Bellingham is the last US city before the Canadian border.

Cities

This region consists of Whatcom County in the north and Skagit County in the south.

Whatcom County

• Bellingham — northernmost city in the contiguous U.S. County seat of Whatcom County
• Blaine — with the Peace Arch border crossing
• Concrete — mountain village at the base of Baker Lake and the North Cascades
• Ferndale
• Lummi Island — with a unique reefnet salmon fishery, eclectic population of artists, and picturesque seascapes
• Lynden — Dutch heritage and farming center
• Point Roberts — American enclave community that you have to travel through Canada to reach by land
• Sumas — a border town

Skagit County

• Mount Vernon — a major tulip growing area. County seat of Skagit County
• Anacortes — gateway to the San Juan Islands
• Burlington
• Edison — a small artsy town
• La Conner — famous for the local tulips and historic district
• Sedro-Woolley — a true logging town

Other destinations

• Deception Pass State Park — the fast-flowing waterway between Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands, with over 4,100 acres of forest, beaches, campsites, trails, and scenic vistas. During low tides, the swift current can lead to standing waves, large whirlpools, and roiling eddies underneath the historic Deception Pass Bridge.
• Mount Baker — a ski resort with world-record snowfall in the shadow of a volcano
• North Cascades National Park — Jagged peaks, deep valleys, cascading waterfalls and over 300 glaciers adorn the scenic North Cascades Highway

Get in

Interstate 5 (I-5) runs north from Seattle to the Canadian border towards Vancouver, British Columbia.

By plane

Bellingham International Airport (BLI) is the only commercial airport in the region.

These nearby airports can also be good options:

• Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is a way to the south of Seattle. It is the closest major airport within the U.S.

• Paine Field (PAE), at the north end of the Seattle metro area in Everett, has a small passenger terminal for commercial traffic.
• Vancouver International Airport (YVR), across the border in Canada, is sometimes convenient.

For general aviation, there's Anacortes Airport (OTS) and Lynden Municipal Airport.

By train

By car

From British Columbia

To cross this international border, you need an international travel document: a passport, a NEXUS card, a US Passport Card, or certain "Enhanced ID" Drivers Licenses.

There are five land border crossing points, between the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada and the Northwest Washington region of Washington state, USA. They are referred to by different terms in Canada and the US.

Visitors by car across border should be aware that there are often lengthy lineups at the border, in either direction. During summer, waits at the border can exceed three hours during peak times. You can see current wait time forecasts for both directions on the Canada Border Services Agency website, and for US-bound traffic on the US Customs and Border Protection website . Washington State also maintains charts of estimated times towards Canada . It can be helpful to view webcams of the border lineups; Canada-bound and US-bound . Two AM stations give regular updates on border lineups in both directions: News 1130 (1130 on the AM dial) every 10 minutes beginning at one minute past the hour, and AM 730 every 10-15 minutes. Electronic signs near the border on I-5, BC 99, #1 BC-11 and BC 15 give the current wait times at both the Peace Arch and Pacific Highway crossings, allowing you to choose the shorter option.

When regular lanes have backups, NEXUS lanes usually have much shorter waits. However, the NEXUS lanes impose many restrictions which regular lanes do not; e.g. everyone in your car must have a NEXUS card.

From Seattle and Puget Sound

Head north on Interstate 5 from Seattle. Mount Vernon, Burlington, Bellingham, Blaine and Ferndale are directly on I-5, and most other cities are close.

From Eastern Washington

The North Cascades Highway (SR-20) runs from the Okanogan valley area across the Cascades to Burlington and Sedro-Woolley. It closes in winter; the next two passes to the south stay open year-round, US-2 over Stevens Pass from Wenatchee and I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass from Ellensburg.

By boat

• Alaska Marine Highway System is a ferry service from Bellingham, Washington up the Inside Passage to Haines, Alaska. Plan your travel early as this service tends to fill up fast.
• The Washington State Ferry system offers once or twice daily sailings from the San Juan Islands to Anacortes.
• The Sidney (BC)-Anacortes ferry service has been suspended and will not resume until at least 2030.
• Several towns in the region, including Bellingham, Blaine and Anacortes, have marinas for private boats.

By bus

Get around

By public transit

Many of the local public transit are limited to the main cities/towns in the counties they serve:

• Skagit Transit operates public transportation in and around Mount Vernon, Burlington, Sedro-Woolley and Anacortes in Skagit County.
• Whatcom Transportation Authority operates local buses in Bellingham, Ferndale, Lynden, and Lummi Nation Ferry in Whatcom County. Most notable routes for travelers are:

By boat

There are a couple of lesser known ferries to nearby islands that are county operated:

• Guemes Island Ferry is the other ferry connecting Anacortes to Guemes Island from a different location than the San Juan Ferry. This ferry is operated by Skagit County and is capable of carrying vehicles and passengers.
• Lummi Island Ferry connects the Lummi Nations Peninsula (north of Bellingham Bay from Bellingham) to Lummi Island. This ferry is operated by Whatcom County Public Works Department and is also capable of carrying both vehicle and passengers.

Stay safe

On the North Cascades Highway, there is no gas between Marblemount and Mazama, about 70 mi. There is also no cell phone coverage from Ross Lake to Mazama.

In the Cascade Mountains there can be significant snow accumulations during the late fall and winter months. This poses a danger for avalanches whenever these areas experience warm up periods, regardless of how brief they may be. If going into the mountains during winter and early spring months, refer to the Northwest Avalanche Center for current avalanche information.

Go next

• North Central Cascades – Take a scenic drive across the Cascades and taste Washington's famous apples on the banks of the mighty Columbia River.
• Puget Sound – The most populous region of the Pacific Northwest, with the Emerald City of Seattle and the massive Mount Rainier.
• The San Juan Islands — A scattering of forested islands in the serene waters north of Puget Sound. Ferries, yachts, kayaks, and orca whales criss-cross the waters, while float planes and bald eagles soar overhead
• The Lower Mainland of British Columbia, with urban Vancouver and its environs offering a sophisticated experience.