South Bay Trail
Walk contributed by: Betsy Hicks and son Joey
Walk/trail: South Bay Trail, Bellingham, Washington
Location: Begin at dead end of Railroad Ave and Maple Street, Bellingham, Washington
Walk distance: Possibly one of the greatest trails for an individual living with autism. It has it all…..trains, boats, playground, beach, even a local coffee house midway and lots of changes in surroundings. Mostly flat and is just a tad over 2 miles.
Highlights: Begin at the dead end of Railroad Ave and Maple Street. There is a city parking lot (used for the Farmer’s Market on Saturday from April to January - so parking may be challenging on Saturdays and you may wish to reverse the hike and begin from the other end). The walk or bike ride begins from a path between two condo complexes which dead ends and you must turn left and shortly right again to remain on the trail. (The trail is visible on Google maps). Once you enter from Laurel Street, the path is very easy to follow. Midway you will reach Boulevard Park. The official park begins after you cross the railroad. Stay along the water front. There are restrooms and you may want to get a drink at Woods Coffee. From there, the walk gets very remarkable, as the path jets out over the water so you are essentially on a long bridge that hugs the shoreline. On a clear day, you can see the mountains in Canada, loads of islands and many boats. At the end of the bridge pathway, the path goes up towards the shoreline. There are more public restrooms here. The path continues and comes at in the area of Fairhaven (you can set GPS to OVN pizza. There are several restaurants and cafes and a lovely slightly covered square with a grassy area to picnic.
To find out more:
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/south-bay-trail
(Betsy’s autism advocacy site: Autism Odyssey)
Thanks to Betsy and Joey for the share! For more info and how to share your own walk, go to World Walks, where you can also browse the list of shared walks.
Click the HikingAutism Home page to get the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Click Hikes and browse the list or check the Quick View Hike List for a summary of hike listings. Follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism
To receive hikingautism.com updates, click the HikingAutism Facebook page and click Like and/or Follow.
Walk contributed by: Betsy Hicks and son Joey
Walk/trail: South Bay Trail, Bellingham, Washington
Location: Begin at dead end of Railroad Ave and Maple Street, Bellingham, Washington
Walk distance: Possibly one of the greatest trails for an individual living with autism. It has it all…..trains, boats, playground, beach, even a local coffee house midway and lots of changes in surroundings. Mostly flat and is just a tad over 2 miles.
Highlights: Begin at the dead end of Railroad Ave and Maple Street. There is a city parking lot (used for the Farmer’s Market on Saturday from April to January - so parking may be challenging on Saturdays and you may wish to reverse the hike and begin from the other end). The walk or bike ride begins from a path between two condo complexes which dead ends and you must turn left and shortly right again to remain on the trail. (The trail is visible on Google maps). Once you enter from Laurel Street, the path is very easy to follow. Midway you will reach Boulevard Park. The official park begins after you cross the railroad. Stay along the water front. There are restrooms and you may want to get a drink at Woods Coffee. From there, the walk gets very remarkable, as the path jets out over the water so you are essentially on a long bridge that hugs the shoreline. On a clear day, you can see the mountains in Canada, loads of islands and many boats. At the end of the bridge pathway, the path goes up towards the shoreline. There are more public restrooms here. The path continues and comes at in the area of Fairhaven (you can set GPS to OVN pizza. There are several restaurants and cafes and a lovely slightly covered square with a grassy area to picnic.
To find out more:
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/south-bay-trail
(Betsy’s autism advocacy site: Autism Odyssey)
Thanks to Betsy and Joey for the share! For more info and how to share your own walk, go to World Walks, where you can also browse the list of shared walks.
Click the HikingAutism Home page to get the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Click Hikes and browse the list or check the Quick View Hike List for a summary of hike listings. Follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism
To receive hikingautism.com updates, click the HikingAutism Facebook page and click Like and/or Follow.
