Photo Tour: Transit-Oriented Park and Trail Access via WTA’s Plum GO Line Bus Routes

Of the Whatcom Transit Authority’s four colored GO Lines, which feature frequent bus service along a designated corridor, the Plum GO Line via Lakeway Drive is the shortest on the map. You might even overlook it at first glance. But taking a closer look, beyond serving the Lakeway Drive Fred Meyer and Whole Foods, the Plum Line hosts some of Bellingham’s best bus routes for parks access: Routes 512 (Sudden Valley), 525 (Barkley), 533 (Yew Street), and 540 (Sunset) branch out in various directions from the Plum Line corridor to serve a handful of great parks, nature reserves, and trailheads. 

Starting from Bellingham Station in Downtown Bellingham, WTA riders using the 500-series buses have one-seat rides to Big Rock Garden Park (Routes 525 and 540 to Alabama Street & Fir Street); Bloedel Donovan Park (Route 525 to 2114 Electric Avenue at the 2100 Block stop); Galbraith Mountain’s north trailhead (Route 512 to 1206 Birch Street near the Lakeway Drive & Birch Street stop); Lake Padden Park (Route 533 to Samish Way at the East Lake Padden and West Lake Padden bus stops); Rufus Creek Trail at Lookout Mountain Forest Reserve (Route 512 to 2537 Lake Louise Road at the Sudden Valley Gate 9 bus stop); the Stimpson Family Nature Reserve (Route 512 to 2076 Lake Louise Road at the Stimpson Reserve bus stop); and Whatcom Falls Park (Route 525 to 1401 Electric Avenue at the Whatcom Falls Park bus stop), home to Whatcom Falls and adjacent park trails.

While Routes 533 and 540 lack Sunday bus service – putting Lake Padden Park and its great network of park trails out of reach of buses on Sundays – the rest of WTA’s 500-series routes have service all week, approximately once an hour for most of the day.

As BhamByBus has previously explored, although some of Whatcom County’s top outdoor destinations in the Chuckanut Mountains and North Cascades, including Larrabee State Park and Mt. Baker, are out of reach of WTA’s current bus network, there are some wonderful parks, trails, and natural areas within or just outside the Bellingham city limits that are accessible via transit, including the 500-series bus routes. All it takes is looking at the bus schedules to plan a transit-oriented trek to explore the great nearby.

In recent weeks during the current rainy season, BhamByBus ventured out to two of the aforementioned transit-accessible parks: Big Rock Garden Park and the Stimpson Family Nature Reserve.

Big Rock Garden Park: A Quiet Vista to Enjoy Outdoor Sculpture

There are a few different ways to reach the City of Bellingham’s Big Rock Garden Park via transit, but each option involves some amount of walking uphill to reach this pleasant and quiet spot (2900 Sylvan Street at Balsam Lane), nestled among a grove of evergreens with views of Lake Whatcom. Thinking about Big Rock Garden Park in the context of nearby Bellingham parks, it’s about a 35-minute walk from Whatcom Falls and a 20-minute walk from Bloedel Donovan Park. But it’s less than a 15-minute walk, uphill, along Sylvan Street from the nearest bus stops at Alabama Street & Fir Street. WTA Routes 525 and 540, which take different pathways after the Plum Line ends at Lakeway Drive & Woburn Street, both end up serving Alabama Street & Fir Street, albeit from opposite directions. (So it’s important to doublecheck the bus destination if you’re making a return trek via transit.)   

While there’s plenty to appreciate from Big Rock Garden’s sculptures, especially within the collection of works by Canadian sculptor David Marshall, if BhamByBus had to choose a few pieces to seek out on a transit-oriented visit, some highlights include:

An alternate way to access Big Rock Garden Park is via the nearby Klipsun Trail, which meanders its way along a forested stretch of ridges and suburban culs-de-sac and connects with the Railroad Trail and Barkley Village shopping center, where transit-oriented hikers can reach the Gold GO Line on Woburn Street and use Route 331 for service to and from Bellingham Station and Cordata Station.    

Stimpson Family Nature Reserve: Towering Trees and Plentiful Moss and Fungi

Route 512, which connects Downtown Bellingham with Sudden Valley via the Plum Line and Lakeway Drive, offers hourly bus service to Whatcom County’s Stimpson Family Nature Reserve and nearby trailheads along Lake Louise Road. The bus drops transit-oriented hikers off at a stop adjacent to the reserve’s parking lot and main trailhead. 

Rainy season may not always present the best trail conditions to enjoy the forest reserve, but it’s when you’ll see abundant examples of moss and fungi. 

There are two connected trail loops in the Stimpson Family Nature Reserve comprising more than 4 miles of hiking, running, and walking routes. While completing the shorter of the loops – a route around Geneva Pond – and returning to the Route 512 bus stop can technically be done within one hour, you’ll almost assuredly feel rushed back to the bus. The Geneva Pond Loop, however, may be a perfect amount of time for transit-oriented trailrunners. Budgeting time for a two-hour visit allows for a more leisurely exploration of both the Geneva Pond Loop trail and the longer Main Loop trail before catching a bus back into Bellingham. While you may not want to check the time while enjoying the wonders of the forest, it will be important to keep an eye on the next Route 512 bus departure from Lake Louise Road or else you’ll be stuck waiting awhile. 

Like Big Rock Garden, the Stimpson Family Nature Reserve’s trailhead at Lake Louise Road features a restroom but there are no other park amenities besides scenic forest views. One of the remarkable things to appreciate about the relatively remoteness of the Stimpson Reserve is its close proximity to Bellingham. When you’re on a Route 512 bus for the return trip along Lake Whatcom Boulevard and Lakeway Drive, you’ll be back downtown in about 35 minutes.   

Enjoy the ride and the great outdoors!