COVID-19 and WMBC
COVID-19 UPDATE | July 9
Parking Requests for Galbraith:
North Side:
If you absolutely MUST drive to the hill, we are asking folks to park at Kulshan Middle School (1250 Kenoyer Drive) and ride the 5-10 minutes to the trailhead. We put some barricades up with signs and maps along Birch St, the bottom of Back Door, stairs off Birch Falls and Alvarado asking folks to park in the large, unused parking lot. we should all try to give our neighbors their respective space in this weird time on our planet. We understand this may not work for every single person, but should work for 95% of us, so let’s show what our community is capable of and be grateful that our trails are open!
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South Side / Samish Way:
At City Parks request, we are going to block off half of the parking lot as a not-so-subtle reminder that we all should be attempting to ride to the trails or stay closer to home. You may have seen this in our City Parks as well. We understand that the South Side is more appealing for families and riders who live on that end of the mountain, but we are asking folks who live North to ride to the trails and do a bigger ride to ride the South. It's a great excuse to get bigger rides or runs in and work on your fitness. If you must drive to the South Side, please plan your timing appropriately and try not to be there during the busier times on the weekends or after work.
Thanks all....our goal is to keep the trails open!
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Eric Brown
Executive Director, Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition
COVID-19 UPDATE | April 9th
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North and South Side Access Trail Changes:
There seems to be a fair bit of new people on Galbraith and a significant uptick in down traffic on the Ridge. As a result, we're looking at ways of best guiding people to minimize interactions with opposing traffic.
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We have decided to temporarily change a couple of our 2-way access trails and make them directional. This will mean people will have to plan their routes a bit better, but we think it will mitigate a lot of those close contacts that are nearly-impossible to avoid on these trails.
Please read below and check out the maps. We intend on printing these up and get a ton of signage up in the next day or so. Uphill traffic is red and descending traffic is yellow.
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Northside / Ridge Access:
We are planning to split the Ridge from the bottom making all up-traffic turn left immediately on Miranda to the Ridge and left at the power lines and continue going up Ante Up or the old road grade (staying completely off of the Ridge from that point). From the viewpoint / Ed's Bench, you will go up the Ridge trail from there.
Descending traffic will go down the road from the kiosk to the viewpoint and then stay left on the Ridge. From there, you will then take a left down the steep trail under the power lines and through the little jump zone and connect to the ridge at the bottom....leaving only about 100 feet of possible passing opposing traffic. It's wide enough there and sight lines are big enough that you can pretty easily avoid people though.
Southside Access:
For entering the trails, we would ask people to go up past the entrance to Last Call and go into Dog Patch for ingress. Exiting traffic could come out Gate and Switch to Last Call.
There will still be some passing at the Ridge viewpoint and on 1000 Road, of course, but at a much safer distance.
We'll monitor this and see if this is effective or not. It's understood that not everyone will be happy about this, but our end-goal is to keep the mountain open.
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Thanks for sharing all!
COVID-19 UPDATE | July 9
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Bellingham Parks are allowing people to use trails and open spaces like Padden, Whatcom Falls, 100 Acre woods, Cornwall, etc. Pump Track, Dirt Jumps, sport courts, playgrounds and other facilities are open and bathrooms are still open (and being sanitized daily at minimum).
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Port of Bellingham - Waterfront bike park is open.
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State Parks gates are locked and facilities are closed. Trail access is still currently allowed at Larrabee.
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Whatcom County Parks are still allowing trail access. Bathrooms are currently open (and being sanitized daily at minimum).
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DNR Managed lands have begun to open. Some facilities may not be open.
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Galbraith is still open, but we are asking people to not drive to the trailheads. Per the stay at home directives, if you have to drive somewhere to recreate, should you be going there? Limit your groups, keep your distance and follow COVID-19 Protocols.
USFS - Federal trails are still technically open, but bathrooms, day-use areas, parking and facilities are closed. That said, unless you live in Glacier or have easy access to USFS land off of 20, then you would need to drive out to these lands and should be following the stay at home directives.
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COVID-19 UPDATE | July 9
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The City of Bellingham Parks and the Port of Bellingham have opened the Whatcom Falls Pump Track, Civic Dirt Jumps and Waterfront Bike Park
What is Open?
At this point, our parks, open spaces and trails are still open - that includes Chuckanut, Stewart, Lookout, Blanchard and Galbraith. Again, consider the time you are out on trails and recreating solo or only with the people in your household. If you meet up with a friend or two, keep your distance while outside. We will be installing signage at Kiosks and trailheads by Thursday of this week.
PARKING:
We are asking folks to run, ride or hike to the trails - if possible. If you are parking in front of someone's house, you could be asymptomatic and unknowingly exposing neighbors. If you must drive, how about parking at Kulshan Middle School or Lake Padden and riding a little extra distance?
More about the City's closure response here.
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UPDATE: Organized Events, Trail Days and Youth Classes
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With the serious situation surrounding the COVID-19 virus, the WMBC has decided to postpone all organized events, trail days and youth classes until further notice. We’ll continue to follow the recommendations of our local, state and federal agencies on prevention and do what we can to help flatten the curve of viral transmission.
We will start offering sign ups for some limited trail build days with set amount of participants.
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Many of you have already been out practicing social distancing on the trails. During these next several weeks, we’ll all need to get outside for our own mental and physical health, we are incredibly lucky to have easy access to parks and trails. If you head out for a ride, run, or hike, follow the guidelines by staying at least 6 feet apart and keep your groups to under 10 people (ideally less). Instead of the obligatory high five when you see a friend on the trail (and, trust us, you will), remember to give them an elbow bump or my personal favorite, the Kid n Play foot tap. Also, consider the implications of an injury and how it might affect an already stressed medical system...it's a good time to pass on that feature you've been meaning to hit! If you're feeling sick or exhibiting any symptoms, follow the guidance of the CDC & local health professionals, stay home and contact your health provider.
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We also encourage you to support our local businesses any way you safely can do so. For instance, consider buying gift cards that you can utilize at a later date. Most of our local breweries and restaurants (who are also key supporters of the WMBC) are open for to-go orders. This is going to be a rough time for our business friends and we’re all in this together and want them to be here after this all blows over!
Stay healthy and we’ll see you soon!
Eric