Semiahmoo Spit  | Whatcom County |  | Blaine |  |
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Guides |
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Address Semiahmoo Parkway Blaine, WA 98230 |
Hours Every day Dawn - Dusk |
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Exit I-5 at the Lynden/Birch Bay exit and head west following the signs to Semiahmoo Park and The Inn at Semiahmoo.
Description:
A sweeping gaze from the Semiahmoo Spit takes in two countries, two mountain ranges, two bodies of water and the varied vessels that ply these Northern sound waters.
The full distance of this land finger is marked by a paved walking path, with natural grasslands flanking both sides. Shallow driftwood beaches rise up on either margin and lone tree snags stand watch to the comings and goings. The full mile of path can be strolled in a half hour, unless your stick-chasing dog slows you at water’s edge. Bring your kayak for a flat paddle within the protected harbor or venture out into the chop of open bay waters. Bicycling is plentiful with some thigh burning hills close by or the welcomed flat lands of the spit’s parkway.
Whatcom County’s first salmon cannery was built on the Semiahmoo Spit in 1881. Ten years later, operating as the Alaska Packers Association, it was the largest of its kind in the world. A vestige of the cannery remains there today in company with the posh grounds of the Inn at Semiahmoo.
Road travel to the spit is over hill and dale and you’ll be breezing by the waterslide enticements of Birch Bay. On summer weekends, consider taking the Plover, a passenger (and bicycle!) ferry that leaves from Blaine. It will plunk you right down on a wharf at spit’s end. It’s a fully restored ferry that was built in 1944 to shuttle Cannery workers over the brief passage of harbor waters. The vessel captain, a man born of the sea, lets kids take a hand at the wheel and then offers up a certificate for their helmsmanship.
On a sunny day, diamond sparkles dance on the waters of Semiahmoo Bay to the north and Drayton Harbor to the south. The spit of land carves a clean slice through their middle, affording its visitors a recreational perch for their day by the sea.
Written By: Debra Exley
Features
Biking Trails
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Picnic Tables
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