I highly recommend visiting Mount Baker and the Picture Lake area of the mountain. The views are…read moreextraordinary, it's a great way to spend the summer. The roads to the mountain are only open in the summer.

Gorgeous as always! Perfect day for a picnic lunch- making sure not to drop any food. Pack it in…read morepack it out! Do not feed wildlife or leave any trash. There were three boys from a family who decided to walk off path and waited for them to correct their behavior. When they didn't I told them to get back on the trail- don't be one of those humans who thinks nature is there just for them. Leave it better than you found it!

So long as the roads are reasonably clear, what's not to love about this area! Lots of really easy…read moremini-hikes to explore, gorgeous scenery, and really kid-friendly. When it's not too crowded, the Austin Pass picnic area is a great place to sit down and enjoy any food/drink you've brought with you.

Really helpful staff to guide you with trails. Beautiful views and a mandatory stop when you are…read morehere. The center has beautiful postcards and stickers and magnets and paintings.

Honestly not sure if there is a better view to be had! You could just take it in from the parking…read morelot (it's worth the drive up), or embark on one of many hikes which originate from the trail head. Even the short trails give you unbeatable views of Baker and Shuksan. Definitely check snow and weather conditions before you drive up, especially in the shoulder season. It's otherwise usually closed in the winter. Will be back for sure!

World class views and potential photos here with minimal effort so long as the snow conditions are…read morenot a problem for your vehicle, driving skills, or patience.

Nice lake. Kids play area, seasonal boating via launch and rentals, and deceivingly large lake…read more Initial view near the office appears the lake is in front of you when in fact behind the office is twice as much lake area. Fishing from the shore is doable but a small water craft is advisable for best access to larger fish at deeper depth.

In May 2021 we were staying nearby and decided to follow the road to Silver Lake! WOW! Kudos to…read moreWhatcom County for providing this beautiful park! We observed people fishing from boats and from the dock. There were friendly geese. I wore out the battery in my camera taking pictures of the scenery and the flowers. Starting on Memorial day rowboats, kayaks, and paddleboats will be available for rental. Nice!

Anyone thinking to raft with Paul Engel and Wild and Scenic River Tours should know that two…read morepeople, a father and his ten year old son, died on a trip with him in June of 2022. The trip was led by Paul with Alex as his assistant. It was a family of 4, the raft flipped and the father and son died and the mother and daughter survived. Many aspects of that rafting trip raise very serious questions about how things were handled before, during and after the accident by Paul and Alex. The local authorities should have looked into it more carefully than they did. It was a tragedy that should not have happened and a very strong argument can be made that it was not just a freak accident or bad luck.

We arrived at Wild and Scenic River Tours on June 23rd, 15 minutes early to have time ask a couple…read morequestions about taking my cell phone, sun block, water availability on the boat, and the kind of wetsuit we'd have (not clear from the website). Paul was one of the guides. After greetings were exchanged, I started by asking about taking my cell phone. He said the boat had a waterproof box for the phone. He demanded: "Get out all your questions at once." After each question (of about 3) he said, "Next." Or "Is that it?" After we got into our gear and the rafts were loaded, I said to Paul that I'd like to put my cell phone into the waterproof box. Paul answered sarcastically, "I didn't get the memo. I didn't bring it. With all the questions [three!] I didn't know you wanted it." He blamed ME that the waterproof box he'd said was there, was now NOT there. "You can put it in the cooler." Ok. When we arrived at the entrance to the Nooksack River, our second guide, Alex, gave us a detailed safety overview. There was another family of three on the raft trip. After the safety explanation, we all grabbed a side rope and helped carry the raft down a flight of stairs to the riverbank. I was on the left, same side as the river. When we stopped at a point still several yards above the river itself, Paul said, "Ok, we're going to carry this down to put it into the river." There were two possible routes, one next to me and one several yards further." I started to ask, "So we take the boat down here or . . . " Before I even finished the question, Paul pushed me aside and grabbed the rope from my hands, cutting me off. "Or I can just pick up this side and carry it down!" I was stunned at his disrespect! Without even glancing back, he marched with my group toward the section further on. The oars were sticking out of the back of the raft at an angle. The left one smashed into me, shoving me over the rocks toward the river. Pure luck, there was a flat rock I landed on and a tree that stopped my fall. Otherwise, I would have tumbled over the rocks! He never looked back. I decided not to say anything right then as Paul was clearly acting like a mentally unbalanced person. I also didn't want to put a damper on the event for the other family. The trip would have been fun except Paul's crazy, offensive behavior ruined the experience. After we finished lunch, and it was all packed up, instead of leaving, we just hung around there for at least an extra half hour that we could have been paddling. Paul was blabbing to the other family about Mt. Baker snow. When we finally got going, I figured we had at least another 45 minutes of paddling Instead, after about 15 minutes we pulled into shore and were done! I think we total paddled no more than 90 minutes. We pulled the boat out of the water. He said we'd all lift the raft onto our heads and carry it up. I started to ask how to hoist the raft, got out about 2 words, and Paul shouted at me: "Stop talking!" What the heck is wrong with this guy? Does he have a personality disorder? I've interacted with guides from all over the world. I have never encountered such rudeness and disrespect for those in his care as I experienced with Paul. The river rafting would have been fun with a normal human being, but not with some weirdo with a chip on his shoulder. You will like the rafting as long as you don't ask any questions--and watch out for those oars. Paul won't be watching.

A Northwest Forest Pass or America the Beautiful Pass is required. Day passes are available near…read morethe bathrooms. This hiking area is heavily populated with rangers so do yourself a favor and purchase the day pass if needed. The parking lot has about 160 spaces and every single space was taken by the time we completed our hike. This is area draws large crowds. There are several trail-heads that can be accessed from this parking area. The views are amazing! This hike can be anywhere from 4 miles to 9 miles round-trip. The choice is yours to decide how far to hike. Ptarmigan Ridge is considered "intermediate." As always, listen to your body and know your own limitations. The terrain is rocky and narrow at times. Due to the high altitude, expect snow no matter what the season. There is minimal shade on this hike so be sure to wear a hat and sunscreen. If you have hiking poles, it's a good idea to pack them. Poles come in handy when crossing large patches of snow. Pack plenty of water! This whole hike is above-timberline. Lots of alpine trees, meadows, snow patches and wildflowers. During the day of our hike many people witnessed mountain goats in the meadows. Unfortunately, we did not spot a single mountain goat. Bummer! Overall, if you have time for only one hike in the Mount Baker area, make it this one. The views are incredible, the hike is achievable, and the wildflower medley is stunning. As always, if you pack it in, be sure to pack it out.

With sweeping views and wonderful vistas, everyone should try this trail. I have lead those from…read morethe city (who were not the hiking types) and the trail is easy enough for about a mile/mile and a half to soak up the views and get a taste of what this area has to offer. You will still need solid walking shoes as the trail is covered in gravel and rocks with a large portion of the trail extending from a slope. The best time to visit is in August through early October, but preferably August since the snow will be completely gone from the trails and the days will be warm and sunny. You may see Pikas, largish rodents that live in the hills. You can hear them chirping and they are cute little suckers. Bears have been spotted in the early season, since they are waking up from their winter slumber. I have camped overnight on this trail during this time and you are required to keep food up and away from your tent site. But I have never had issues in the past years that I have camped here.

We really enjoyed this campground. Every spot is a good one because they each have a water view…read moreright along the bank. Spot number 6 was our lucky winner! The campground host went on and on about how we were lucky to get the favorite campsite in the area. It's got a really cool bridge and a big area for tents. Lots of privacy. And your own private walk down to the water. It felt like we had a sandy beach all to ourselves. The place is clean and tidy. No bear boxes. Vault toilets are a longer walk than we hoped for. We loved it here. Cost is $18 a night. Some reservable and some are drive-up only.

Amazing location. Almost don't want to leave a review so it can remain a secret. Mt. Baker Lodging…read moredid a great job setting us up. Highly recommend, great for families with kiddos 12 and younger.

Snowater and Resorts West Vacation Club: Esoteric Cascades…read moreMountains The genesis for this business/ski trip was serendipitous. A primary professional organization to which I have been a lifelong member decided to hold a membership lottery. I have presented scholarly papers, chaired several committees, served on the national Board of Directors, and certify national higher educational programs for this organization. The national organization prepared a lottery for professors who recruited new members, and I was entered automatically in the lottery. The lottery prize consisted of two coach tickets to any national/international conference anywhere in the continental U.S. Little did I suspect that I would win free airline tickets. I already had papers accepted for presentation at an international conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. Remember the airline tickets were negotiable for the U.S. I know U.S. and Canadian geography. We redeemed the prize tickets for round trip coach tickets to Bellingham, WA. Do you know the location of Bellingham, WA.? Bellingham, WA. is beautiful town located on the Puget Sound, and Bellingham is one and one-half hour south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Nearby is Snowater and Resorts West Vacation Club. Snowater and Resorts West Vacation Club is only a twenty-minute drive to the Mount Baker Ski Area that has an average annual snowpack of 250 inches and fantastic skiing from November through April. Delta quickly redeemed the lottery prize, and we used our Delta Elite membership to upgrade to first class from Dayton to Sea-Tac international airport. Normally Sea-Tac international airport has a hefty cab fee into Seattle, and the rental car drive into Seattle might be an unpleasant experience due to heavy traffic. However, we were able to by-pass this problem because we connected with Alaskan Air to Bellingham, WA. We were somewhat amazed at the quality of service of Alaskan Air. Naturally, we were flying a commuter flight from Sea-Tac to Bellingham, WA. To our surprise the flight attendants were serving free wine to all passengers aboard the flight. I know several large carriers that could learn some lessons from Alaskan Air. Bellingham is a very small airport, and the car rental is a few steps from the luggage area. We always pack our own skis and ski boots for any ski trip. It is too much of a gamble to use rental ski equipment. Following deplaning we were home at Snowater and Resorts West Vacation Club within an hour. The following day we drove to Vancouver, B.C., presented the papers, found a great seafood restaurant for lunch, and returned to Snowater and Resorts West Vacation Club to prepare for nearly a week of skiing. Snowater is situated on the Nooksack River at the edge of the Mount Baker National Forest. Mount Baker is part of the Cascade Range. The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to northern California. Many peaks in the Cascades exceed 10,000 feet, including Mount Hood (11,235 feet), Mount Rainier (14,410 feet). Most of the summits are extinct volcanoes, but Lassen Peak (10,457 feet) and several others have erupted in the recent past. Mount Baker (10,778 feet) steamed heavily in 1975, and Mount St. Helens (8,365 feet) erupted in 1980 and again in 1981. The Cascades are beautiful to view from a commercial jet, from the urban areas, and especially from the ski slopes. The Interval International website does not do justice to the interior and exterior beauty of Snowater and Resorts West Vacation Club. The cedar siding of the townhouses blends in with the mountain forest. Check in required minutes, and there is absolutely no confusion in locating the specific condo. The kitchen is very functional, as is the cookware and plate ware. The dining room and living room are comfortable. The fireplaces are essential for the ambiance of a mountain retreat. We had a two-bedroom unit, and the master bedroom is very usable and comfortable. We had plenty of room to spread out our skis and all the ski apparel. The window seats with the extended large windows permitted the outdoors to merge with the condo. Snowater and Resorts West Vacation Club is at an elevation of only 1,000 feet. This meant that it was virtually spring at the condo, but winter at the Mount Baker Ski Area. We were able to find provisions nearby. There are a few restaurants in the area. Our holiday focused on intense skiing, and we were pleased to prepare most of our meals at the condo. Following an exhaustive day of skiing, the Snowater and Resorts West Vacation Club sauna, hot tub, and heated pools were beneficial to tired muscles. We transitioned from a mountain of snow to a national park setting in spring conditions in a few minutes. Often in Centerville, Ohio, we might receive eight - thirteen inches of snow overnight. My snow blower will clear the driveway and sidewalks in less than an hour.