Dog Friendly City Guide: Bellingham, Washington

Bellingham sits on its own bay in the far north west corner of Washington, with the San Juan Islands out to the west, Mount Baker filling the eastern sky and the Canadian border just to the north. It is a small city that lives outdoors, which makes it unusually easy with a dog. The parks department's trails reach from the waterfront boardwalks to the forests of Chuckanut Mountain, with a handful of places where a well behaved dog can run free, and the breweries and cafés do much of their trade on patios and in beer gardens, several of them saying plainly that dogs are welcome. This guide is built from our own venue and walk data and the Bellingham hotel we have assessed and ranked, with every park rule taken from the City of Bellingham's own pages.

Getting There With a Dog

Many visitors drive down from British Columbia, and coming south into the United States the rules are set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For a dog that has spent the past six months only in rabies free or low risk countries, Canada among them, the only document needed is the CDC Dog Import Form, filled in online, one per dog. The dog must be at least six months old and carry a microchip a universal scanner can read, and it can cross at any airport, seaport or land border crossing. You can complete the form on the day you travel, and the receipt stays valid for six months, so a dog that goes back and forth between Canada and the United States can use the same one until it expires. If your dog has been anywhere on the CDC's list of countries at high risk for dog rabies, stricter rules apply, so start with the CDC's dog importation page. Heading the other way, our guide to taking your dog from the US to Canada and back again covers what the Canadian side asks for.

Where to Stay

The hotel to know is Hotel Bellwether, ranked A. It stands on the edge of Bellingham Bay, steps from the Squalicum Harbor marina, with the San Juan Islands to the west and Mount Baker to the east, and by its own account it was voted the number one luxury hotel in Evening Magazine's Best of the Northwest. The rooms come with soaking tubs, fireplaces and private balconies, and the most unusual of them, the Lighthouse Suite, is a freestanding three storey lighthouse replica of 900 square feet on the waterfront. Downstairs, the Lighthouse Grill serves locally sourced Northwest seafood and steak with views across the bay, and a cedar lined floating sauna docks at the hotel's own waterfront.

What earns the A is how much of that a dog can share. Our assessment found dogs welcome in the bar, the restaurant, the lounge and on the terrace, with a garden on site and parks close by. A dog bed and proper food and water bowls are waiting in the room, there are free treats, and the staff will point you to good walks. Up to two dogs can share a room, there is no weight limit, and a settled dog may be left in the room while you go out. By the hotel's own description, a walking trail from the door leads onto miles of paved seaside path.

Eat and Drink

Bellingham has, as Hotel Bellwether's own brewery tour page puts it, earned a reputation as the brewery capital of the region, and its taprooms are the easiest place to start. Stemma Brewing's original taproom on Moore Street opened in 2019 and keeps three food trucks on site, from tacos to smash burgers, or you can bring your own food. Its page says well behaved, leashed dogs are welcome on the patio and inside the taproom too. Up in the Fountain District, Menace Brewing on Meridian Street makes every beer in house, shows soccer, has outside seating and describes itself in as many words as family and pet friendly.

For something quieter, Otherlands Beer on Humboldt Street is a small brewery and café that pours rustic lagers and farmhouse ales alongside European inspired street food in what it calls a cosy guesthouse tavern, and its own page says well behaved pups are welcome on its dog friendly patio. Then there is Paws For A Beer on Harris Avenue in Fairhaven, which is built around the dog rather than merely tolerating one. It describes itself as an off leash dog park, a beer garden and a dog shop under one roof and one big open sky, open every afternoon, with a Puppy Play session on weekend mornings.

Breakfast belongs to Skylark's Cafe on 11th Street in Fairhaven, which won gold for best local breakfast in Best of the Northwest with dishes like its smoked salmon Benedict, and opens a seasonal beer garden from May to September. Its page says furry friends are welcome at all its outdoor seating areas. And if you would rather not leave the hotel, the Lighthouse Pub at Hotel Bellwether pours cocktails and local craft beer, and your dog can come to the bar with you.

Walks and Parks

Start on the water. The South Bay Trail runs from Railroad Avenue and Maple Street along Bellingham Bay to Fairhaven, a mostly gravel path with gentle grades and views of the bay and the San Juan Islands. On the way it passes Boulevard Park, a favourite for sunset, with over water boardwalks out across the bay and Taylor Dock, a historic industrial dock rebuilt and opened to walkers in 2004.

Inland, Whatcom Falls Park has been a city park since 1908. Its old stone bridge is the best place to watch the falls. Our walk data includes the Whatcom Creek Trail loop, which follows the creek through the park on rolling gravel paths with some steep grades and stairs, and along one stretch of the Waterline Trail south of the creek, where signs are posted, dogs may come off the lead.

For a dog that needs a proper run, the city's Sehome Hill Arboretum is a 175.5 acre wood beside the Western Washington University campus with six miles of trails under a mature native canopy and an observation tower at the top with views over the city and the bay. Dogs may be off the lead on its secondary trails. South of town, Arroyo Park is 85 acres of dense forest beside Chuckanut Creek, where the city allows dogs off the lead on every trail under voice control. Cross the bridge and the paths lead on into the trail network of Chuckanut Mountain Park, where our data includes the walks to Chuckanut Falls and over Chuckanut Mountain itself.

South of the city, Lake Padden Park wraps 745 acres around a lake that was once Bellingham's drinking water, with a loop trail along the shore. There is a fenced off leash area near the ballfields at the east entrance, and designated off leash trails between it and the Galbraith entry on East Samish. North of downtown, Little Squalicum Park on Marine Drive is the other place where the city lets dogs off the lead on all its trails.

Good to Know

Bellingham has a citywide leash law: in city parks a dog must be on a lead at all times unless it is in a signed off leash area, you must carry one lead per dog even there, and you must carry bags and pick up, as the city's animal regulations set out. Off leash areas still require voice control and bar dogs in heat. At Sehome Hill dogs stay leashed on the paved trails and on the Jersey Street and Arboretum walkways, and the arboretum's rules warn of fines up to $250. At Arroyo Park the city asks you to keep your dog on a lead and out of Chuckanut Creek during the salmon spawning season, and at Whatcom Falls dogs are not allowed in the bike track area, the playground or on the basketball court. The beach below Little Squalicum is not run by the parks department, and the city's trail guide says dogs must be leashed on Squalicum Beach, which belongs to the Port of Bellingham. Boulevard Park, Taylor Dock and the South Bay Trail are leash only. Paws For A Beer is for those aged 21 and over, so check its membership page before you go, and Skylark's and Otherlands keep dogs to their outdoor seating. At Hotel Bellwether the dog fee is $50 a night for a small or medium dog and $100 a night for a dog over about 50 lb, and the hotel's own page says its dog rooms are on the first and second floors. Tell the hotel you are bringing a dog when you book.