Paving project will close popular Whatcom County nature trail for several weeks this fall

Construction of paved parking at one of Whatcom County’s most popular parks is set to start in mid-September, when the Stimpson Family Nature Reserve will close until early October.

Parks and Recreation Director Bennett Knox told The Bellingham Herald in an email that the trailhead parking lot will close Sept. 16 and open Oct. 4.

Located about 6 miles east of downtown Bellingham on Lake Louise Road, Stimpson sees about 50,000 visitors a year, Knox told The Herald in an email.

Its 4 miles of hiking trails through 400 acres of old-growth and second-growth forest are immensely popular, and the parking lot is often full at the park, which opened in 2000.

Trails are for hiking and running only. Pets and bikes are not allowed.

“In addition to the parking lot being resurfaced, the lot will be striped for better organization of parked cars,” Knox said. That will allow parking for 17 cars, including one handicapped space.

Currently, drivers sometimes park haphazardly, which can limit the number of visitors.

There’s no roadside parking in the 2000 block of Lake Louise Road, where the park is located between Austin Street and Sudden Valley Gate 13. There is a Whatcom Transportation Authority bus stop, with service every hour on Route 512.

Along with the parking lot, the Parks Department will:

▪ Replace the sidewalk around the restroom to eliminate accessibility issues from pavement settling.

▪ Relocate and add more bicycle racks.

▪ An engineered stormwater planter will be built in the place of the existing planted area in the parking lot.

“This planter will improve the water quality of the stormwater runoff that leaves the site and drains to Lake Whatcom,” Knox said.

Cost of the project is $219,019.