A nice day for a hike. The trails here are well maintain with maps along the way so you won't get lost. Although there are some short cuts that are not on the maps since they were made the main trails are marked. There are lots of ups and down along these trails. The Ferns are in abundance. I chose to name the falls even though I am not aware of any name  for it but it is on Rufus Creek. The best Privy I have ever seen at a trailhead. Room for about 20 cars. These trails are shared with Mountain Bikers so be safe. Checkout the video of this hike by clicking on the video link below or checkout my other hiking videos of Washington State as well as others on my Vimeo Channel at https://vimeo.com/user81914660

As always get out and see this beautiful state and enjoy your hiking!

Take Care,

Mike

It had been a long time since I'd hiked these trails that I helped build, but I wanted to finally see my friend's memorial plaque. It's next to the big bridge on the back side of Rufus Creek trail. Plus, I needed to go for a long walk in the woods.

I got to the empty trailhead around 7:15. There were maybe half a dozen cars when I finished close to noon. I'm sure it is busier on the weekend. This is a mixed use area. You will likely see bikers on their way to Cougar Ridge or Galbraith Mt. The few I saw were very courteous.

Considering how wet it has been, the trail is in great shape. Some of the trails have some muddy spots, but all of them are very small and easy to avoid. By the way, the trails are exceptionally well signed with large, easy to follow maps at each major junction.

The forest is very lush right now. The sword ferns are perky, and the devil's club is overhead. I saw plenty of mushrooms, bleeding hearts, and other small flowers. The bees are buzzing around the thimbleberry blossoms.

There is currently water in the waterfalls which is not always the case, especially in summer. I would suggest taking a short trip up the waterfall trail if you visit soon. It's well worth the ten minute detour.

Drove up from Seattle and arrived around 11:00 and easily found parking space.  The day turned out to be lovely, dry and pleasantly cool.  Trail was smooth, some steeper spots, but generally a gentle, steady uphill through the forest.  Tree colors were lovely.  Passed by the waterfall and continued up to the small bench where you see a peek a boo look at Mt. Baker.  Mixed a couple trails, including Rufus. Overall a great hike for us

A friend and I have hiked this 2x over the last couple weeks. The first time we were limited on time because her kids had soccer games. That time we did the Rufus Trail, Waterfall Trail, and the Leila June Trial. They were easy enough, but I wish they were marked slightly better in some places. There was a very small trickle at the waterfall viewing area- we've had a dry summer so no big deal. The second time we went we wanted to get all the way up to the Lake Whatcom Lookout. We did make it up- it was more incline than I thought there would be, but we were fine with it. But there's nothing to see at the overlook. It was overcast the second time we went, but even on a clear day you wouldn't have been able to se the lake as the trees would have obscured the view. I don't think we would have been able to see Mt Baker either from the Outlook. It was an enjoyable hike though, and there were very few other hikers and bikers on the trail. My dog loved it. Am I sorry we went? No. It was a fun time, just don't expect to see anything from the top. 

This was a really gorgeous hike maizie and I took on a a fairly warm day. We were both able to stay cool while hiking this gorgeous spot. There’s lots of nice tree coverage and gorgeous foliage to appreciate while on this trail. Definitely very dog friendly, it’s not too difficult but it’s still a hike and not a totally flat walk. Maizie had a great time inspecting all of the ferns and enjoying the sounds of the birds. This is a spot we’ll be coming back to for sure!