Clousie

We're considering spending 3-4 days hiking near Mt Baker this summer. Have been to Mt Rainier several times and also to Mt Hood.

Can anyone compare these places for hiking and natural beauty? Also any suggestions of places to stay for 2 adults. Would prefer a B&B or cabin.

Fodorite018

The Mt. Baker area has fantastic hiking! You will usually find much fewer people in that area compared to Mt. Hood or Mt. Rainier. A lot of areas are pretty isolated, which we like. If you take the Mountain Loop Highway, there are a ton of good trails to choose from. It truly is hikers paradise.

We have always backpacked in the area, so I can't help too much with lodging. I do have one site bookmarked though that looks nice, so you may want to check it out. The website is www.mtbakerloding.com.

Another good website that has a link to visitors information is http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/. It will explain about the area a bit.

Gardyloo

Can't help on lodging - maybe start at the county visitors bureau - http://www.bellingham.org/

It's gorgeous. Like, seriously gorgeous. Way different and less crowded than Hood or Rainier; harder to get to as well. Probably makes sense.

beachbum

And I can't help with lodging either, Clousie. Just wanted to chime in with agreement on mms and Gardyloo's opinions; the area is truly beautiful, and much more remote feeling than Hood or Rainier. At least that's how I remember it. I haven't been there in years, since my wife saw a bear while we were picking huckleberries.

christy1

The area is less crowded than Rainier, but on summer weekends, the Mt. Baker area is packed (esp. at the Heather Meadows area at the end of the road). Do your best to go during the week and you'll have a nice quiet time. It's still worth going to if you can only go on a weekend-it is absolutely gorgeous-but if solitude is important to you, you might want to call the ranger station up there and ask for recommendations about less used trails.

Kay2

Have been there once and thought it was dramatic (we also liked Rainier). They told us that the air is so clear that many auto commercials are shot there to see the car cruising on a winding road through the trees and mountains. We have great photos from a trail along a lake with the mountain in the background. We stayed at a motel with a restaurant next door that had a true chef. I don't have a name, but we hiked in national forest along a stream and sat watching fish swim upstream.

artlover

It's a fabulous area, comparable to Mt. Rainier, which I also love. We stayed at a time-share for a week--they may do rentals for less time, not sure--website is www.snowater.org. It was ideal--off the road, but on the river.

Also, found a good Italian restaurant for dinner (a Fodors recco, natch) called Milanos.

Clousie

Author: Clousie
Date: 02/11/2005, 09:42 pm

Message: Thanks for the comments everyone. Mt Baker definitely sounds like a beautiful place to visit.

Does anyone have a specific trail that they really liked?

This is very strange...I posted the above reply last night. It didn't show up when I clicked on the thread today, but did when I tried to reply again. The Fodor gremlins are at work again...

Fodorite018

We have several favorites in the area. What are you looking for though in length and elevation gain?

Clousie

mms:

We do a variety of distances, with 4-8 miles probably being the most frequent. Hard to judge elevation gain. I know saying "moderate" is very subjective, but sometimes our stamina is driven by the end result.

Fodorite018

Clousie--Not knowing just how close to the mountain you want to stay, I am going to give you a few suggestions of trails that are easy to find. Closer trails would be Heliotrope Ridge, Lake Ann, Chain Lakes, Yellow Aster Butte and Goat Mountain. Out on the Mountain Loop Highway there are more trails than you can imagine. These are all fairly popular ones, but they are great and have some incredible views. These include Mt. Dickerman, Mt. Pilchick, Lake 22, Heather Lake, and Peek-a-boo Lake. The one thing to remember, regardless of which trails you choose, is that the weather up in that area can change dramatically in a short amount of time. Be prepared, and let someone know where you are headed and when you plan to return. You can let the rangers know. Every year there are rescues, due to people not realizing what they were getting themselves into.

Clousie

Thanks, mms.

We'd like to stay as close to the mountain as possible, but from what I'm reading and hearing, that doesn't seem to be too close.

We're definitely aware of being prepared for any kind of weather.

Speaking of which...we've heard that many trails and areas are closed well into the summer with snow. Do you think we'll have problems, especially with the trails you mentioned, in mid-July?

Fodorite018

All of these I mentioned should be fine by then, especially since this year our snowpack is so low.

The entire area is so spread out that it is hard to stay in a small part of it. You will see when you arrive.

christy1

I'll add Park Butte and Skyline Divide as some other moderately easy hikes near Baker. They will be mobbed on weekends, though, as will the above poster's suggestions.
Just fyi, those Mountain Loop hwy hikes mentioned above are nowhere near Baker.

Fodorite018

Christy is right about that second group I listed. I should have clarified that those were if you went driving around and ended up further out. I added those because a lot of people head out, not quite sure where they want to go, and end up in that area.

Clousie

Thanks for the clarification, mms. We plan to spend about 4 days, or more if you feel it's warrented, in the Mt Baker area. Then we hope to move through Whidby Island to the Olympic Coast. We've stayed at Lake Diablo before, and then moved on to Stehekin, which we really liked. I understand that theStehekin Valley was hit rather hard with floods. Sorry, being from the east coast, we weren't aware of all the areas that were affected by flooding. Of course, the larger metro areas always seem to garner the most press.

Since you seem to be avid hikers, I'd appreciate any other ideas for the areas we'd like to cover. It's been years since we've been to Olympic Park, and that was a rather rushed experience.

christy1

Great Olympic day hikes: Grand Valley and Grand Ridge, both near Hurricane Ridge, the Hoh River trail through the rainforest, Shi Shi Beach and Point of the Arches, on the coast, and Cape Alava, also on the coast. The Mount Angeles/Klahane Ridge walk from Hurricane Ridge is nice (you get good saltwater as well as mt. views) albeit crowded. The Olympic park website should have more info on these hikes. Honestly, though, the North Cascades are more spectacular than the Olympics, so I wouldn't sacrific any time near Baker to do these Olympic mountain hikes. I'd do maybe one then head to the coast/rainforest.

marbles2

You might try staying at a really fun B&B with cabins on the Skagit River south of Mount Baker near Concrete. It's got great access to the North Cascades National Park as well as the Baker Lake areas, and not too far away from day trips to the San Juan Islands, etc. They are nice people and everyone loves their hospitality. ovenells-inn.com

McShane

Hi Clousie,
My favorite hikes are Yellow Aster Butte & Skyline Divide. Lodging - with all due respect to the last post, don't stay in Concrete! It's nowhere near the great trails, far, far from the San Juans and Baker Lake is an unattractive dam reservoir in a second growth forest. Look for somewhere in or near the town of Glacier. That's right by the trailheads of the best Baker hikes. There's the Inn at Mt Baker and others. For restaurants, everyone likes Milano's.

I've hiked in the 3 areas and Mt. Baker is the best of the 3. But,while it may look remote on the US map, you'll see that it's just south of a large metropolitan area - Vancouver BC - and get's it's share of visitors. But it's worth it.

Fodorite018

Adding my .02 again I agree that the rainforest area is not to be missed. She listed some great hikes, so i won't elaborate. For the coastal ones, I'm sure you already know, but just remember to check the tide tables before you go. At Whidbey, try Ebey's Landing or Deception Pass.