A new brewery in Bellingham isn’t always big news, but this spring's opening of Birch Bay-based Beach Cat Brewing’s “South Paw” outpost on the Whatcom Waterway has generated almost as many local news headlines as the introduction of the city’s second Trader Joe’s location. Bellingham has an abundance of breweries and taprooms across the city, however, aside from Structures Brewing’s Old Town location on the Whatcom Waterway between the BNSF railroad tracks and the W. Holly Street bridge, none are directly waterside.

Beach Cat (1010 C Street, Suite 107, south of Roeder Avenue) checks that water-adjacent box. It has ample deck seating with great views of the Granary Building, Acid Ball, Whatcom Museum, and the rest of Bellingham’s downtown cityscape. 

A glass of beer on a bar with an open garage door opening onto a waterside deck with five people standing near a railing.
The views are nice from inside, too. (Photo by Michael Grass / BhamByBus)

In comments on an early June Seeing Bellingham Facebook post about Beach Cat’s opening, someone observed: “Parking will be a problem on busy days.” In a r/Bellingham post on Reddit, another attested: “I work in the boat yard and that place has absolutely f***ed the parking situation. Bellingham descends on a new brewery like a pack of locusts.” 

On a recent weekday evening visit via transit — more on that in a moment — C Street was jam-packed with parked vehicles among the various neighboring maritime businesses. With no sidewalks south of Roeder Avenue, the occupants of those parked vehicles wander through C Street's right of way in search of Beach Cat, whose location is tucked away and not immediately obvious.

A dozen or so parked cars on an industrial street.
Parking options are limited and in high demand on C Street near Beach Cat Brewing. (Photo by Michael Grass / BhamByBus)

As a non-driver walking to Beach Cat, it’s evident that parking is a pain. But do you actually need to drive there? 

Sure, you can walk to Beach Cat fairly easily from Downtown Bellingham — it’s about 15 minutes on foot from the Whatcom Transit Authority’s Bellingham Station. Biking to Beach Cat is fairly straightforward, too. (There’s lots of bike parking on site.) But here’s some breaking news for Bellinghamsters who regularly overlook their local transit options: You can also take the bus there! In fact, WTA’s June 2025 service expansion provides more transit options for waterfront destinations like Beach Cat.

The brewery’s new South Paw location is a short walk from the WTA bus stops at W. Holly Street & Central Avenue or W. Holly Street & D Street, both served by Route 3 (Airport) and Route 10 (Eldridge), plus Route 47 (Harbor) on Roeder Avenue. Walking over from W. Holly Street, you do need to cross the BNSF railroad tracks.

WTA’s waterfront route, introduced last year and improved with June’s service expansion, comes with an important caveat. The Harbor-bound Route 47 bus doesn’t have any westbound stops on Roeder Avenue — only eastbound — due to the adjacent BNSF railroad tracks. So, you either have to (1) ride out to the 47's Squalicum Harbor terminus and head back downtown to reach the eastbound Route 47 stop at Roeder Avenue & F Street, or (2) hop off the Harbor-bound bus before Beach Cat and walk from the 47’s Granary Avenue & W. Chestnut Street stop, near Waypoint Park. 

A light-blue colored WTA bus travels west on a street with a small car in the adjacent lane traveling east.
A Squalicum Harbor-bound Route 47 bus on Roeder Avenue near F Street. (Photo by Michael Grass / BhamByBus)

Using these WTA bus tricks to reach Beach Cat by transit, it may make more sense to take a Route 3 or 10 bus from Bellingham Station into Old Town, and walk over from W. Holly Street across the BNSF railroad tracks and Roeder Avenue. Then, after you’re wrapped up at Beach Cat, you can take a Route 47 bus back downtown from Roeder Avenue & F Street.

A Downtown Bellingham inset for WTA's route diagram, showing how Routes 3, 10, 47 connect Bellingham Station with the waterfront.
A Downtown Bellingham inset for WTA's route diagram, showing how Routes 3, 10, 47 connect Bellingham Station with the waterfront. (Map via WTA’s June 2025 Transit Guide)

This WTA trick also works for transit-oriented visits to Ponderosa Beer & Books (1225 Roeder Avenue, Suite 101 at Hilton Avenue), though it does require traversing the intersection of Roeder Avenue & F Street and the adjacent BNSF railroad crossing, which is a relatively brief but unpleasant experience as a pedestrian.

Following June's service changes, Route 47 now comes every 30 minutes, which is more frequent than the hourly Route 3 bus on W. Holly Street on weekends. (On weekdays, Route 10 supplements Route 3 buses on W. Holly Street with combined service every 30 minutes between Bellingham Station and Bellingham Technical College, near Little Squalicum Pier.)   

Using WTA’s waterfront bus service can also be handy for avoiding parking headaches near or otherwise use to reach the Granary Building, the Portal Container Village, and Kulshan Trackside Beer Garden (Route 47 to Granary Avenue & Chestnut Street) or Zuanich Point Park, the Bellingham Dockside Market, and other waterside destinations at Squalicum Harbor (Route 47 to the Squalicum Harbor terminus on Coho Way).