Blanchard Hill: Lily and Lizard Lake Trails
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Overall: 6
Aerobic: 5
Technical: 6
Steepness: 6
Flow: 6
Singletrack: 100%
Commonly called Blanchard Hill, Lily Lake or Lizard Lake trails, this is a collection of short trails around the top of the Bellingham Washington Chuckanut Mountain, including Lily Lake, Oyster Dome, British Army, Samish Overlook, Lost Lizard, Max's Shortcut and Incline.
Type
Loop
Length
Avg: 11mi
Ascent
Moderate
Elevation Change
TH:700'
Avg Ascent:3000'
Ascent Incline
9%
Duration
Avg: 2hr
Weather
Forecast
NOAA
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DNR
The northern Chuckanut Mt trails (at Larrabee State Park) are commonly referred to as Chuckanut, and tie into the Interurban trail, which leads to Bellingham.
This seaside Samish Bay DNR area is covered in second-growth conifers, with a few remaining old growth fir snags.
A nice CCW lollipop loop can be cobbled from this collection of trail segments, with a number of short spurs to explore along the way.
Most of the shortest spur trails are not shown on the map, but Talus leads to a bat cave and Rock leads to Oyster Dome.
Hiking: Oyster Dome is an area also referred to as the Amphitheater Bat Caves. The SR11 (Chuckanut Dr) TH is at MP10, and would not be very useful for biking due to the terrain.
Rock trail ascends from the Oyster Dome trail (aka Lily Lake-Lizzard lake trail) past some logging relics, to the steep summit, with views of the San Juans, Fildalgo, Whidbey and Vancouver islands, the snow-capped Olympic Mountains and the Skagit River flats.
Hang gliders use Blanchard Hill B-2000, so expect traffic and some congestion near Samish Overlook.
Directions: See Map. WA Discover Pass required to park at TH. View Larger Map. No Map?.
Loop Directions
vertical downhill
- TH: Directions are from the Lower Link TH. Alternate is to start from the end of B2000. Climb .8mi to B1000 then pick up Lily Lake Tr and climb to Max's Shortcut, passing the Samish Overlook Tr intersection at 2.2mi. Creek crossing and wetlands at 2.4mi. Bear right to stay on the trail, then cross a small bridge at 2.9mi.
- 3.7mi: Cross bridge then go right at Max's Shortcut. Descend to the British Army/Incline intersection and continue .1mi on British Army to Oyster. If you reach Lizard Lake, enjoy the view for a few minutes, then turn around and try to find the Oyster intersection again.
- 4.4mi: Oyster passes Lily Lake, then descends 1000' in 1mi over terrain too rough for most riders. Just past the large boulder, the descent moderates and becomes rideable again.
- 6.1mi: Pass the Oyster Lower trail intersection and continue on the main trail. Cross creeks at 5.9mi, 6.3mi and 6.5mi (and descend some steps) then reach Samish Overlook.
- 7mi: Reach Blanchard Hill B-2000, then taking Samish Overlook, ascending a small hill (passing Max's Shortcut at 8mi) then descending to Lily Lake.
- 8.5mi: Go (sharply) right onto Lilly Lake and to the TH.
Trail Index
This Ride
British Army Trail, Incline Trail, Lily Lake Trail, Lost Lizard Trail, Max's Shortcut Trail, North Butte Trail, Oyster Trail, Rock Trail, Samish Overlook Trail
Area
Galbraith Mountain
911 Trail, Bob's Trail, Brick Stick Trail, Cedar Dust Trail, Connector Trail, Dans Trail, Electric Avenue Trail, Evolution Trail, Flying Squirrel Trail, Jaws Trail, Kaiser Trail, Kung Fu Trail, Luge Trail, Meth Lab Trail, Mullet Trail, Naughty Nellie Trail, Scorpion Trail, Not Shawn's Trail, SST Trail, Sht Trail, Three Little Pigs Trail, Timing Trail, Tower Trail, Wonderland Trail, Whoopsie Woodle Trail
Trail Rankings
Ranking consistently applied to all of the listed trails.
- Overall Rating: Ride quality and challenge
- Aerobic: Ascent challenge
- Technical Difficulty: Terrain challenge
- Steepness: Average incline
- Flow: Uninterrupted riding
- Elevation Change: Total elevation gain
- Ride Difficulty: Terrain challenge
