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Home
Bellingham
City Page
Exit by Exit
Restaurants
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Interstate-5
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Interstate-5 exit by exit in Bellingham
Visitor
Information about Bellingham, WA,
Bellingham, Whatcom County, State
of Washington, USA
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Interstate-5
Exits to the north
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There is also a larger low resolution
version of the map at the
bottom of this page.
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Bellingham
is an interesting stop in your travels.
It is the last major city before the U.S./Canadian Border.
Visit our Bellingham
City Page
Bellingham’s
beginnings, in 1853, were in coal mines, timber, and commercial salmon
fishing. Today the mines are gone,
the lumber mills are gone and only a paper mill and a small salmon fishing
fleet remain.
Page
Organization
Interstate 5 cuts right through the middle of Bellingham so we have organized a view of
the city around the exits on the Interstate. The exits lead to Bellingham’s major tourist areas.
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To see the I-5 Exits north of Exit 258 click below.
Exits North of
Bellingham
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Bellingham’s North End
Exit 258 Bakerview Rd / Bellingham Airport
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Bakerview
Road is an East/West road
that cuts across the Northern Limit of Bellingham. At its West end is the Bellingham International
Airport.
The area around the exit is becoming one of Bellingham’s
newest shopping areas. Bakerview
from here west for about 2 miles is all new shopping areas.
If you go East from Exit 258 for about a mile you will cross Northwest Avenue
which is North from Exit 257 (below).
If you continue East for about another mile you get to the North
Entrance of the Bellis Fair regional shopping mall and surrounding shopping
centers, this makes the Bakerview Exit the Southbound entrance to the
Mall.
If you continue two
blocks further the road intersects with Meridian North of Exit 256
(below). Click on the exit to see
recommended businesses. Tourist Information
The tourist’s first stop should be the
Bellingham / Whatcom County Convention
and Visitors Bureau off Exit
253 at the corner of Potter and Lincoln Streets. It is truly a great resource with a
friendly staff.
The
Fisherman’s Memorial (shown above) is located in Tom Glenn Park on
Bellingham’s waterfront. The park is
a great place to take your children to fly kites. The easiest exit to the waterfront is I-5
Exit 253
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North Bellingham area
Exit
257 Northwest Avenue
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Northwest road heads north into Whatcom County
from Exit 257. Although mainly
residential there are also some berry farms and other agricultural uses
along the road.
South of the exit on Northwest
Avenue you enter the Birchwood shopping area
in northern Bellingham.
The Birchwood area homes were built in the 1950’s thru the 1970’s and in
general the commercial area were built in the 1970’s. There is no lodging in this area.
The southern end of Northwest
Avenue used to be US-99 before Interstate-5
was constructed. If you continue
South from the exit you will eventually end up in the waterfront area or in
downtown Bellingham.
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North Bellingham area
Exit 256 Meridian St. /
Sumas / Lynden/Lynden Border Crossing
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Bellis Fair Shopping
Mall
This exit takes you to Meridian Street to the south and to the
north the Guide Meridian Road, WA-539 (State Highway SR-539) which goes
north to the Lynden and Sumas Canadian Border Crossings
Meridian Street area around the exit is a major shopping area,
built in the 1980’s and 90’s, in northern Bellingham. Bellis Fair regional mall is here in the
northwest corner of the exit. There
are several new motels and restaurants located in the area along with
various shopping centers located all around the Mall.
If you travel north from the exit for approximately 1 mile you
will come to the intersection with Bakerview Road. Turn left (west) on the Bakerview and you
will find the north entrance to Bellis Fair and additional shopping
opportunities in the shopping centers along the Bakerview from Meridian to
Interstate-5 at the airport.
If you go South (left
if Northbound on I-5) you will end up at the waterfront or in downtown
Bellingham. If you go North on
Meridian you can go all the way to the Canadian Border approximately 15
miles to the north.
The Lynden Border Crossing is open from 8 AM to Midnight. You also reach the cities of Everson
(turn right on the Pole Road),
Lynden (turn right on Main St.), Sumas
(turn right on E.Badger Road),
on this road by turning right at the signed roads. The Sumas Border Crossing is open 24 Hours. The Trans-Canada highway is about 2 miles
North of the border at Sumas.
This sign on Interstate-5 lets you know you have arrived at Bellingham’s regional
shopping mall located at the Meridian Exit 256 of Interstate-5.
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North Bellingham area
Exit 255 Sunset Drive
/Mt. Baker Scenic Byway
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To Sunset Square shopping center,
Mt. Baker Ski Area, and the Mt. Baker / Snoqualmie National Forest
Mt. Baker Highway – A Scenic Byway
– See old growth forests –
Visit our Scenic Byway page.
Sunset Drive begins in a shopping area in Northeast
Bellingham. Sunset
Square mall is here along with a post office, fuel, a car wash, and other shopping.
If you continue East past
the commercial area you head up the Mt. Baker Highway ending up at the
Mt. Baker Ski Area. Along the way
there are numerous national forest campgrounds, trails, and the villages of
Maple Falls and Glacier. You can spend many vacations worth of
time visiting the activities available on the Mt. Baker Scenic Byway.
Big Rock
Garden Park
One of the many
sculptures and other art in the City’s Big Rock
Garden Park. A peaceful stop in your travels
especially if you like viewing art and walking through the woods.
It
is located west of Lake Whatcom on Alabama Hill on Sylvan Street three
blocks north of Alabama Street
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Lake Whatcom
Twelve mile long Lake
Whatcom lies east of Bellingham in a valley between Stewart and Lookout Mountains. Lookout
Mountain is the mountain that lies
east of Interstate-5 as you approach Bellingham
from the south along Lake Samish about 20 mi. north of Mount Vernon. Lake
Whatcom lies just over the mountain
to the east of Lake
Samish.
Lake
Whatcom
is easiest found by taking Exit 253
– Lakeway Ave. and going east on Lakeway Drive
to Electric Ave. Turn left on Electric (a left turn lane
provided) and go about 1.5 mi. to Blodel Donovan Park on Lake Whatcom.
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Downtown
Bellingham
Exit 254 Iowa Street / City
Center
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Bellingham’s Central Area
Bellingham’s
central area can be easily reached from two exits on Interstate 5, Iowa Street and
Lakeway Drive. Both exits will get you to the Historic
Downtown Bellingham area from different directions.
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Auto Row and State
Street to Chuckanut Drive and Downtown Bellingham.
The Iowa Street exit takes you to the Northeast corner of the
downtown area. To the East (right if
Northbound) from Exit 254 gets you to Bellingham’s
Auto Row. To the West in two blocks,
at the light, is James Street
to the North and State Street
at a 45° turn to the South. James is
an interesting retail street with a Trader Joes, a restaurant, and several
shops. If you keep  going North it will take
you past Sunnyland Elementary School, in a small residential district, to
the Sunset Drive Exit on I-5 (listed above).
If you turn West at the exit then South on State Street it will lead you to
downtown Bellingham. Go to Holly Street, turn right, go two
blocks you are at Holly and Cornwall
streets, the City
Center.
If you keep going South on State Street it will finally come to
the Fairhaven Historic District (see Exit 250 below) and if you still keep
going you will find yourself on world famous Chuckanut Drive headed to
Burlington on WA-11.
The Museum is located in the old City Hall building. The building is located atop a bluff
overlooking Bellingham’s
waterfront. It offers some
interesting local history as well as other displays of interest and a
children’s museum.
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Downtown
Bellingham
Exit
253 Lakeway
Drive / City Center
To Downtown Bellingham
and the Visitors Center
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Lakeway Drive – the Main City Center Exit – To the East you
will find a shopping center, a Hotel, a motel, restaurants, two city parks,
Lake Whatcom, and the residential community of Sudden Valley on Lake
Whatcom.
If you turn West you will find Lakeway Dr. takes a diagonal
right in about 3 blocks and becomes Holly Street. When you come to Cornwall Ave. on Holly St. you are at Bellingham’s
City Center.
If you continue through
downtown Bellingham to “F” Street, turn left for one block, turn right on
Roeder Avenue you will find yourself in the waterfront district.
 Farmer’s Market
On Saturdays from late spring to early fall you can find the
Bellingham Farmers Market operating at the corner of Railroad Avenue and Chestnut Streets.
Local farmers and artisans have booths in the market.
Tom Glenn Park
Kite Flying at Tom Glenn Park on Bellingham’s waterfront. The Fisherman’s memorial shown at the top
of this page is also located in the Park.
You can find this
park by taking Exit 253 – Lakeway Drive and turning west and going through
downtown Bellingham. On the west end of Bellingham
you will do down a gentle hill to “Old Town”
and when you reach the bottom of the hill you will find “F” street at the
light.
Turn left at the
light, cross the railroad tracks and turn right on Roeder Avenue. In a block or so you will find the Port of Bellingham offices and their
Squalicum Waterfront Mall with its tourist facilities.
Continue
straight past their parking lots and then take the next left. Keep left and go to the end of the
road. You will find Tom Glenn park
at the SW end of this area on the waterfront.
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Bellingham’s
South Side
Exit
252 Samish
Way / College Way / WWU
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Western Washington
University, Sehome shopping center, and motel row are the main elements of
this area.
Most Bellingham residents don’t really consider the area
around this exit the South Side.
This area is southeast Bellingham and certainly one of the gateways
to the area most locals call “The South Side” to the westsouth of here.
 Bellingham’s South Side
is an interesting mix of businesses, schools, the Fairhaven Historic Area,
and residential areas. Western Washington
University on Sehome Hill is shown
from across Bellingham
Bay in the photo at
the left. Exit 252 is behind Sehome
hill in the photo.
The University’s main entrance is off of Exit 252 – College
Way (the back side of Sehome Hill off of I-5). The University is famous for its
collection of outdoor sculpture in addition to its beautiful buildings and
facilities that house an enlightened educational community. Sehome high school will be found about
2/3’s of the way to WWU on the left.
You must turn West off the exit and turn left in about a block
past the overpass (the second light west of the overpass).
Just past the high school on the right is the entrance to
Sehome park, on Sehome hill, with its beautiful lookouts over the
city. The Sehome shopping center is
located right at the exit. It has a
grocery store and many interesting shops.
Bellingham’s
original “motel row” is on Samish
Way, which is the main street to the
West. It turns North ˝ block West of
the overpass. There is a wide variety
of motels, on this original entrance to Bellingham on Highway 99, from new to
older and well kept. Certainly if
you are looking for a bargain, I’d check here first but don’t forget there
are modern name brand motels here too.
Sehome
Village Shopping
Center is also at this exit.
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Bellingham’s
South Side
Exit 250 Fairhaven Historical District / Alaska Ferry / Old Fairhaven Parkway
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 Old
Fairhaven Parkway
is the name of the road that leads west from Exit 250 to the
Historic
Fairhaven District.
This is the last exit to Bellingham Southbound or the first
Northbound. The photo above shows
the Amtrak station / Greyhound Bus Terminal in the Historical Fairhaven
District. To the left is the fence
around the Alaska Ferry Vehicle holding area and up Harris Street at the right of the
photo you can see up the hill to downtown Fairhaven
Exits South of Bellingham
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