Bellingham Parks and Recreation announced this weekend that it will permanently close and decommission approximately 700 feet of the lower trail along the Whatcom Creek Estuary in Maritime Heritage Park. The work is scheduled for the week of April 13 through 17, and park staff have advised visitors to stay out of any closed areas during the project.
Maritime Heritage Park is a 10-acre city park located at 500 W. Holly Street, situated between Bellingham's City Center and the Lettered Streets neighborhood. The park sits along Whatcom Creek where it empties into Bellingham Bay, and has long been one of the city's most ecologically significant public spaces. It features a salmon hatchery, native plant trail, amphitheatre, picnic tables, and several miles of trails tracing the creek corridor through the urban core.
The section being decommissioned is the lower trail along the Whatcom Estuary, which has suffered ongoing erosion that has made it increasingly unsafe for public use. According to Bellingham Parks' announcement, Park Operations staff will use woody debris to cover the gravel trail surface as part of the decommissioning process. Site features including bridges, benches, stairs, and native plant interpretive signs will be removed to ground level. The department is asking visitors to respect all posted closures and not enter the work zone during the week of activity.
This is not the first significant infrastructure change at Maritime Heritage Park in recent years. In early 2025, the park's boardwalk between Holly Street and C Street was closed for approximately three weeks for maintenance work on the Holly Street Landfill Cleanup area near Whatcom Creek. That section was part of the original public access infrastructure added during the estuary restoration project. The Whatcom Estuary restoration is a long-term effort that has included removal of historic fill, replanting of native vegetation, and creation of habitat for juvenile salmon using the creek system.
The salmon hatchery at Maritime Heritage Park is one of the park's most popular features, particularly for families and school groups. Whatcom Creek supports coho and chinook salmon runs, and the hatchery plays a role in supplementing those populations. The decommissioning of the lower trail will not affect the hatchery itself or the upper trail network, which remains open. The Native Plant Trail is also expected to remain accessible throughout the project.
For trail users who rely on the lower estuary path as part of a longer route, the city has not yet announced a formal detour. Visitors are encouraged to check the City of Bellingham Parks website for updates as the project progresses. The park's main amenities, including restrooms, the amphitheatre, multipurpose fields, picnic tables, and the fish hatchery, will remain operational. Hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
The decommissioning is part of what appears to be a broader approach by Bellingham Parks to manage aging trail infrastructure along the waterfront. Maintaining trails in an active estuary environment is technically demanding, as shifting sediment, seasonal flooding, and vegetation growth all put constant pressure on constructed surfaces. Removing infrastructure that cannot be sustainably maintained is generally considered the responsible approach in ecologically sensitive areas.
Visitors planning to use Maritime Heritage Park this week should plan for some disruption along the lower trail section. Signage will be posted at closed areas. The full trail guide is available as a PDF download on the city's website for those who want to plan an alternate route in advance. City staff have asked that the public not enter closed areas, both for safety and to allow the work crew to complete the project efficiently.
If you have questions about the project timeline or trail access, Bellingham Parks and Recreation can be reached through the City of Bellingham's main contact page at cob.org. Updates are also posted regularly to the department's social media channels. The project is expected to wrap up by April 17, after which the area will be permanently decommissioned and no longer accessible as a public trail.
For those interested in other Bellingham Parks news this spring, the Fun With the Fuzz 5K returns on April 18 along Bellingham's waterfront trail system, which remains fully open for the event.
