The Bellingham Waterfront is a long-running urban redevelopment project transforming the former Georgia-Pacific industrial complex along Bellingham Bay into a mixed-use district of parks, trails, housing, and commercial space. The industrial past is still visible — the massive GP pulp mill smokestack still stands as a landmark — but the working waterfront is gradually giving way to public access, and the views across the bay to the San Juan Islands are outstanding on clear days.
The waterfront trail connects Squalicum Harbor to the south end of the bay and is excellent for walking, running, and cycling. The marina at Squalicum Harbor is the departure point for many kayak tours and sailing charters. On a good day, looking out across the water with the Olympic Peninsula mountains in the distance and a snow-capped Mount Baker behind you, Bellingham's geography clicks into focus.
story: > The Georgia-Pacific pulp mill operated here from the 1960s until 2007 and at its peak processed enough wood pulp daily to produce newsprint for a million newspapers. The smell of the mill — a sulphurous, eggy cloud — was for decades simply "the smell of Bellingham" to locals.