Top Rope and Sport Climbing Areas in Bellingham, WA
When moving to Bellingham, WA I was a little surprised at the lack of roped climbing areas available despite being a town surrounded by mountains. A quick search on mountain project kicked back several results as far as outdoor climbing options, but trying to find ones to top rope or sport climb cut that number down significantly. Couple that with the fact that there’s no indoor climbing gym with lead/sport routes and the town starts to seem like Bellingham was built for bouldering. Luckily, there are still a few good areas in town and more nearby to explore if you enjoy roping up on your climbing adventures if you know where to look and I’ll let you in on the beta I know for each of them here because I can’t be the only one who’s a bit over blowing out my knees on crash pads.
Climbing Areas in Bellingham
Sehome Hill Arboretum
This is a very easy access crag right next to Western Washington University that lives within the Arboretum is joint project between the city and WWU. Access is dead simple, just park and walk a short distance up the road and there will be a dirt trail on your left side taking you to the small cliffs that can be seen on the walk up. The routes here are short and have permanent anchor bolts at the top that can be accessed by easy scrambling up some slippy dirt. There are also sport routes here available as well, although, with the cliffs being so low, by the time you’re protected enough to feel like you’re not going to deck you’re at the top of the climb. The difficulty of climbs here are a bit scattered, but no matter what the technical rating is, I believe it’ll mostly come down to how tough your skin is. The sandstone rock here has small sharp pebbles embedded in the rock face that start to feel like broken glass on your skin after the first send or two, making even the easier routes a bit difficult. Still, there’s a fun chimney route here that I like to go play around on and a great place to learn the ropes with a lower consequence than our next crag.
Larrabee State Park Boat Launch Wall
Larrabee State Park was Washington’s first state park and is also home to one of the tallest climbing routes currently accessible in Bellingham, the Boat Launch Wall. Standing at 115’ tall, this Sandstone slab is great for anyone wanting to climb a larger, less than vertical wall, without going too far out of town. There is a fairly easy hiking trail to the top of the crag that can be accessed from the Amphitheater parking lot. This trail branches off the main path leading to the beach area. Access to the anchors from the boat launch side is restricted. There is a sport route option for this climb but the bolts are pretty sus and the route is currently considered unsafe to lead, so toprope it is! You’ll need a 70m rope to climb this area, a 60m will leave you around 20’ off the ground still. Also check the tides, as the belay area is completely submerged and the crag inaccessible during high tide. While I have not personally climbed here yet (I only have a 60m rope right now), I’ve seen others climb and have scoped out the anchors and this seems to be a fun area that’s just minutes from of the city center.
The Burnout
Another Chuckanut climb that has amazing views is called The Burnout. Located on the cliffs above the Larrabee crag, this crag is aptly named seeing as to access this climb you’ll need to drive to the top of Chuckanut Mountain and follow a 2mi hike out to the bluffs. It’s a bit grueling with all your gear, but the payout is incredible. You get a full, unobstructed view of Chuckanut Bay, bald eagles flying around nearby, and great cliffs that have multiple sport routes to try out. It does get a bit warm in the sunny summertime weather, and I’ll go into further detail on this zone, but if you’re looking for a sunny spot to get a good day’s worth of climbing in, this is hard to beat for crags close to Bellingham. I almost missed out on this spot because the area is so well hidden in Mountain Project. In fact, I could only find it through the OnX Backcountry app that kicks you over to MP. Luckily, you won’t have to do that, just click here to go to the Mountain Project Page. This area is a good spot to spend a day out exploring and is where I did my first outdoor lead climb as well. You really can’t go wrong with this spot!
Julia’s Outcrop
If you haven’t caught on by now I’ll let you in on the secret, most of the climbing in Bellingham lives in the Larrabee/Chuckanut Mountain zone. This location is no different. Julia’s Outcrop is a hidden area off of Chuckanut drive more on the South side of the mountain. I have yet to check out this location, but from what I have seen, it’s home to some great overhang sport routes close to town, some of which get shielded from the rain because of the overhanging cliffs. Here’s the Mountain Project page with more info on this hidden gem!
Squire Ridge
As you’re driving into Bellingham going North on I-5 and just start to make your way up the pass, if you look out to your right there is a set of cliffs off in the distance. This is Squire Ridge. Being more bushwhacking than hiking, this is not an area I’m entirely familiar with and is still being developed with good potential for routes. If you’re up for the adventure and want to get after it, here’s the Mountain Project page that has the latest updates for this crag.
Climbing Areas Close to Bellingham
baker crags
Now we’re going to venture a bit further out of town towards Mt. Baker with an area known as the Baker Crags. This section of cliffs is just off highway 542 on your way out to Artist Point and the Mt. Baker Ski area. The rock here can vary from volcanic cobblestone to sandstone and other conglomerate from the looks of it. If you’re looking for easy access single-pitch sport routes fairly close to town, this is a good option. Just watch the weather here as it can be more unpredictable in the mountains and you don’t want to make the drive out to be met with slick rocks and poor conditions.
Skagit Valley & North Cascades National Park
The zone to the south of Bellingham on Highway 20 opens up many more roped climbing opportunities from trad climbing to multipitch sport routes. If you’re looking for some more serious climbs, you can’t go wrong here from the looks of it. I’ve haven’t made it down this way yet as we’re still climbing single pitch sport routes, but I’d recommend still taking a look at what all this zone has to offer!
mt. erie
Since we’re already a bit out of town, it would be a shame to leave out Mt. Erie in Anacortes. About the same distance as the Baker Crags but in the opposite direction. Mt. Erie sits on an island to the South West of Bellingham and is home to over 400 different sport routes. Seriously, it has so many options. Access is a bit confusing, so I’m planning to write a recap and mini guide on what we did our first time climbing there, and some advice on anyone wanting to go check out this area for themselves. The main draw to Mt. Erie is that it’s in the rain shadow of Mt. Olympus so that means it stays fairly dry even in the rainier winter months when all the crags near Bellingham turn slick as snot.
That covers all the beta I have on the roped routes in and around the Bellingham area. There aren’t many official spots in town left, some of the best have been closed down to protect the environment and wildlife. The good news is that the climbing we do have is pretty fun to explore and has always been worth the journey in my personal experience. If you want to see list of all the Bellingham climbing areas you can check them out here and I’ll continue to link here to more detailed beta and stories from these sub-areas as I explore them as well.
Thanks for being here, I’ll see you on the next adventure! 👋
