Search trip reports
Mt. Baker from top of Church Mountain on July 11, 2021.jpg

Trip Report    

Day Hike - Church Mountain

Three people participated in this fun hike to the top of Church Mountain. The weather cooperated well and we had great trail conditions.

Eric Henry Eric Henry
May 30, 2023
  • Road recommended for high clearance only

  • The drive up to the Church Mountain Trailhead is mostly easy from Bellingham, simply driving up Hwy 542 to Each Church Mountain Road. This road, however, is rough and in one place crosses Fossil Creek, which requires high clearance. We had no trouble in a Subaru Forester.

    The trail switchbacks for a few miles up a steep hill before breaking out into a subalpine meadow. The trail was in good shape and mostly clear, with a couple spots where we had to step high over a  tree. The meadow was almost completely clear of snow. A few small patched lingered, along with some mud, but the trail was obvious even in these areas.

    Some easy class 3 moves are required to access the ridge summit, but the terrain is not particularly exposed. Some parties brought their dogs all the way up.

Our party of three met up at Sunset Square in Bellingham just before 7:30 on Sunday morning. We all climbed into my car with our gear and headed to the Church Mountain Trailhead: East out Mt. Baker Highway (AKA Hwy 542) to East Church Mountain Road, then up that road to the trailhead.

East CMR is a rough, 1- lane gravel road with pullouts. It's mostly passable, but a high-clearance vehicle is required for getting across Fossil Creek, where it runs across the road. The Subaru Forester had no trouble with this.

We started hiking under clear blue sky with a temperature in the mid 60s and climbing. Now and then a cool breeze blew by, giving us a little refreshment. Regular stream crossings allowed us to dunk hats or bandannas to cool ourselves as we hiked. Conversation was almost continuous.

The trail switchbacks for a few miles up a steep hill before breaking out into a subalpine meadow. The trail was in good shape and mostly clear, with a couple spots where we had to step high over a  tree. The meadow was almost completely clear of snow. A few small patched lingered, along with some mud, but the trail was obvious even in these areas.

Near the top of the  ridge, the trail climbs up through rocks. In some areas it's narrow and exposed; in others it's steep, and there is some class 3 work. All of us were comfortable with this section, and still remained careful as we made our way over it.

Our pace up the trail was steady but unhurried. We arrived at the top of Church Mountain at around 11:00, a bit over two hours after setting out. Here we rested, chatted and ate while admiring the view, along with a few other hiking parties. We had an excellent view of Mt. Baker, and only a little haze off the the east toward Shuksan and the north toward Canada, and we could see all the way to Samish Bay to the west.

The hike back down took less than two hours, and we were back at the car by 1:30 PM. On the way back to Bellingham, we made a brief stop at Graham's in Glacier for ice cream bars.

Overall it was a fine, leisurely, friendly hike through old forest and high meadows to outstanding views on a clear day. Hard to ask for more!