Dry pavement and mild temperatures were a treat even though we were heading north at “O-dark-thirty”. We took exit 231 and followed SR11 to Chuckanut Manor where the search for the trailhead began. There are several pullouts between that point and the hairpin turn and the Oyster Restaurant. None of those options are correct if you are looking for the start of the PNT and the southern start of the Oyster Dome hike. The poorly marked trailhead is about .7 to .8 miles south of the hairpin turn and the parking is outside the white line on the west side of the road. This is not obvious if you are the first cars there in the morning but very obvious in the afternoon with dozens of other cars around. A good map of the area may be found at: http://www.pnt.org/images/map-blanchard.gif. We did a counter clockwise loop or lollipop trip via the Samish Overlook; Max’s Shortcut; a sidetrip to North Butte; a sidetrip to Oyster Dome; a sidetrip to the Bat Caves; and back to the cars. Between the junctions to North Butte and Oyster Dome, there is lots of beaver activitiy – gnawed trees, dams – very interesting. There were also lots of viewpoints along the way. We had good visibility with many of the San Juan Islands popping into and out of view as clouds moved through. There is some minor mud, very minor snow, and several slippery rock steps along the trail but it was a very pleasant winter trip.

This was my first trip to the Oyster Dome. It was great although the trails are quite muddy. The trip started on road B-2000 on a trail that parallels road B-1000 for about a mile, sometimes only a few yards from the road. This part of the trail was in good shape except for a few mud holes. At an unsigned junction about 2 miles from the trail head, I took a side trail to Max's Short Cut and then up to Lily Lake. At Lily Lake and on the trail to Oyster Dome, I was surprised by beaver dams (2 of them). In one case the dam formed a lake that covered parts of the trail. The water over the trail is deeper than it looks so it is best to use the detours around the water holes. The trail to the Dome is signed, but you have to look for the sign after a crossing of the creek dammed by the beavers. Had the top of Oyster Dome to myself for about 4 minutes then the hordes arrived. Nothing like a sunny day to bring out the hikers. The view is sublime even though I could no see the Olympics due to clouds. The San Juan Islands and Fidelgo Sound were magnificent in the sunshine. I returned via the Blanchard Hill Trail which was very muddy from Horse and Llama use. Note: Flies and other such critters were coming out so this may be a good time to hike this area before mosquito season starts in earnest.

If you want excellent views, a fascinating trail network, beaver ponds with live beavers, and choices between gently rolling trails, moderate root scrambles, rock climbs and caves, try Oyster Dome and the Bat Caves. Accessible from either Chuckanut Drive or Blanchard Mountain Road, one can hike part of the Pacific Northwest Trail, and then link to the Oyster Dome Trail. Huff-puffing upwards, our trail ascends through towering cedar, flowering currant, Oregon grape, sword fern, gray rock, and refreshing streams and waterfalls. A well-marked side trail leads to the Bat Caves. We ate our lunch on a huge boulder to the calls of spelunkers below and rock climbers above. Fear not, we saw no bats. We headed for the top of Oyster Dome before rains moved in, leaving the caves for another day. Breaking out of the dark woods onto the open cliff top, bright afternoon sun greeted us, turning muddy murk into golden glory. The fantastic view included the Olympics, Skagit Valley, Whidbey Island, Anacortes, oyster beds, Samish Island, the San Juans, Lummi Island and snow clad Canadian peaks. With all that sparkling water to gaze upon, and toasting ourselves in afternoon sun, we did not want to leave. On advice, we followed Lily Lake and “Mac's Short Cut” trails for a fine loop that brought us back around to Blanchard Road and our car. Along the way, we discovered a beaver dam and pond where energetic beavers have exuberantly chewed a stand of stout alders. Croaking bullfrogs added to the peaceful scene and aromatic skunk cabbages bloomed bright yellow all around. Thanks to all the wonderful folks who built this great trail system. A total of 4.5 hours and about four to five miles were well worth the effort. The few we met on this hike had happy faces.

Well it was a gorgeous day and we were camping over at Larrabee St. Park and decided to do some hiking in the area. Oyster Dome had great views, but there were too many people, so we continued onto Lily Lake(a swamp), and then headed around the ""Loop"" trail and ended up going up to the North Butte. We climbed up the rocks and caught some incredible views of Mt. Baker. Jacqui and her new toy, a Canon DC, had a wonderful time taking pictures!!!

Oyster Dome - Trail Report The Dome is a flat open slab of rock at the top of Blanchard Mtn. with views to the west of the San Juan Islands, Anacortes and the Olympic mountains. To get to the Dome you climb a sometimes steep trail up to the 2050 ft. summit. This trail starts at an elevation of only 150 ft. on hiway 11 a few miles south of Bellingham where the North Cascades spread all the way west to Puget Sound. Since this summit is so low it's an excellent early season hike. Often snow free by the end of March. My group of 10 Mountaineers were enthusiastic as we started up at 9:30. Temperature was in the mid 50's with a 4 or 5 thousand foot overcast that we hoped would burn off by noon and there was no wind. There are several trail junctions (mostly with signs) a couple of streams to cross (easy) and a bunch of big muddy sections (but the mud was all dried up!) before the summit . The tread of this trail is mostly good to execellent but it has poor sections which are steep, rocky/rooty , straight up where switchbacks are needed, etc. Arriving at the Dome we had it to ourselves for an extended lunch and nap session! No one else on the trail all morning. The clouds did thin and break up and we needed sunscreen. The view expanded to about 20 miles by the time we started descending. Next up were the Bat Caves, also known as Talus Caves 350 feet below the Dome at the base of a vertical rock wall straight down from the Dome. No bats but big caves formed from giant rock fall off of the cliffs. The caves were the trip highlight for some of my group. For wildlife we only saw ravens soaring below the cliffs, but the flowers were better than I expected for low elevation deep forest: honeysuckle, columbine, false solomons seal, bleeding heart, wild rose, stream violet, and indian pipe. After stopping at all the view points again on the way down we returned to our cars at almost sea level by 3:30. Oyster Dome trail is on DNR land and is built and maintained by volunteers of the Pacific Northwest Trail Assoc. Not on any Green Trails map but featured in the Hiking Whatcom County guidebook. The trailhead is very hard to spot, just a tiny sign on a tree opposite a wide spot in the hiway. The PNT web site www.pnt.org has good maps that you can print but the trailhead information is skimpy. About 8 miles and 1900 ft. elevation gain. Robert Michelson 6-15-02