Today, we're taking a journey off the beaten path and exploring Ferndale, Washington. Tucked away just north of Bellingham, Ferndale is a charming town with a rich history and plenty of surprises to discover. In this episode, I'll share some of Ferndale's best-kept secrets for travelers.
Welcome to Pacific Northwest Travel with Jaunty Everywhere. I'm your host, Cheri, and I'm here to help you plan your perfect Pacific Northwest vacation. Each week, we'll be highlighting a different destination in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, northern California, or British Columbia to give you the inside scoop on the best places to go, things to see, and adventures to be had.
But first, let's start the show with this week's hidden gem. If you're traveling northbound on I-5 toward Bellingham, I don't want you to miss this opportunity. It's called Chuckanut Drive. If you believe in taking the scenic route, you'll definitely want to build a little extra time to get off the freeway.
Hop off of Interstate 5 at the Burlington exit and follow Highway 11, which is also called Chuckanut Drive, right into Bellingham. Along the way, you'll have a view of Samish and Bellingham bays and, on a clear day, all the islands that are dotted off the coast.
There are pullouts and viewpoints, Larabee State Park, and at the end, you'll land in the historic Fairhaven district. It's about 20 miles from the Burlington exit off of I-5 to the Fairhaven district.
We'll have a post up on the website very soon with a mile-by-mile tour of this gorgeous drive.
And by the way, you can find all the links and details that we mention in this episode on our website at jauntyeverywhere.com/podcast. That's jauntyeverywhere.com/podcast.
Now let's go to Ferndale, Washington.
Where is Ferndale?
It's in the northwest corner of Washington in Whatcom County. It's about 10 miles north of Bellingham. And if you go another seven-ish miles up I-5, you'll hit the Canadian border crossing in Blaine, Washington.
The Lummi and Nooksack tribes were the original inhabitants of the Ferndale area. The first Europeans settled in this area in the 1870s, attracted to the rich farmland. By 1872, Ferndale was an official town, bursting with agriculture, logging, and dairy farms. It's ideal dairy country and has become known as the dairy center of the Northwest.
We'll be talking cheese in a minute.
When the railroad extended through Ferndale, it brought more growth to the region. But even today, Ferndale is a quiet little town in a postcard-perfect setting. And as you'll see, the farming, natural setting, and history make this a perfect location for a nature-focused, relaxed family getaway.
At the top of the list and my family's very favorite Ferndale attraction is Pioneer Park. It's 17 acres of green space and the Ferndale Pioneer Village. The village is a restored pioneer town with twelve original cedar slab log cabins and a big history museum. You can wander around the village, poking your head into the village church, the post office, the schoolhouse, and many pioneer homes.
In summer, there are guided tours through the cabins. The Pioneer Village also hosts a few special events each year that you might want to check out. For instance, around Christmas, they host an old-fashioned Christmas celebration and a lighted Christmas stroll. And in July, there's the Old Settlers community celebration.
Also of note is the visitor center, which is inside the Pioneer Pavilion right in the foyer. They have pretty limited hours. They're open Monday through Friday from 10 to 4, but if you need some information or brochures, that's where you want to stop coming in.
At a very close second is Hovander Homestead Park. The homestead dates back to the late 1800s and highlights life on a working farm. You can wander all over the 350 acres, taking in the barns, historic outbuildings, and the restored Victorian Hovander farmhouse. As of now, they are not offering tours of the farmhouse, but in the past, they have, and I hope someday soon that they will again.
From May to October, the park hosts a variety of farm animals, and Hovander becomes a working farm again. The park is home to a large Master Gardener demonstration garden, which is wonderful to walk through, and there are plenty of pretty picnic areas and shady spots.
Tennant Lake Interpretive Center is a short drive from Hovander Homestead. All of this that I'm talking about is very close in to downtown Ferndale. Tennant Lake is a very popular birding area. There's a 1.4-mile loop trail which is home to blue heron, bald eagles, and many migratory birds.
Besides the trails through the nature preserve, you can enjoy the fragrance garden. This is a special, fully accessible garden. The raised beds are about hip height, depending on the height of your hip, and wheelchair accessible. There's a braille identification system, and visitors are encouraged to touch and smell the plants.
Between Pioneer Village, Hovander Homestead, and Tennant Lake, that's a lot of nature and history to take in. But if your kids notice the lack of playground equipment, the City of Ferndale Star Park has an impressive play area.
Before I move on to food and drink, I want to mention one more favorite in Ferndale: Griffintown's Cozy Corner Books. It's a wonderful used bookstore that you can get lost in. It's exactly what a used bookstore should be, and I recommend all book lovers stop by.
If you like cheese, Ferndale is a cheese mecca. As mentioned, it's dairy country, and there are some cheese-centric places that you can visit.
Twin Sisters Creamery is the first stop on our cheese tour, a locally owned family business that makes four perfect raw milk cheeses. I am a big fan of the Whatcom Blue and the Peppercorn. Stop by the tasting room and sample the cheese, and if you're lucky, you can watch the magic happen in the creamery through the viewing window.
Ferndale Farmstead is another renowned creamery in Ferndale. They specialize in the Italian tradition of cheesemaking, for example, fresh mozzarella, provolone, and Asiago. They do not have a tasting room as far as I'm aware, but Ferndale Farmstead cheeses are widely distributed in the area at well-stocked cheese counters. For a special activity, Ferndale Farmstead does offer a private farm tour and tasting. The link for this will be in the show notes, of course.
The Cheese Shop at Appel Farms has been part of the Ferndale community for over 30 years. You can stop into the farm's cheese shop and pick up all the cheese you want and cheese-related gifts or have a light lunch. They have a small menu. They also offer private tours.
Cheese adjacent is Edaleen Dairy, a local dairy with five stores in the northwest Washington area, and one of those stores is in Ferndale. Besides local dairy products, they have a full-service ice cream parlor with 40+ flavors.
And here's something unique – Yeah Baby Boards is a charcuterie board-making catering company. Those amazing artistic charcuterie boards that you see on Instagram and Pinterest? You can have one custom-made for an event or a special occasion at Yeah Baby Boards.
For food and drink, Ferndale offers a wide selection of takeout places. You have Thai, Mexican, hamburger joints, pretty much anything that you want. And I suggest that you pick up whatever your family's craving and take it to one of the beautiful parks that I've already mentioned.
I'm going to point you toward just a few unique Ferndale food options.
Leader Block Trattoria is an Italian restaurant that's definitely worth a stop. They bill themselves as northern Italy meets Pacific Northwest. It's in the historic district and a special, charming place to have a special dinner.
If you want a party, try Main Street Bar and Grill. You'll get great pub food, often with live music or karaoke. To find out who's playing, take a look at their Instagram page, which they keep up to date.
For a sweet tooth, you can't go wrong with Barb's Pies and Pastries. She has donuts, cinnamon rolls, hand pies, and more.
Two breweries of note are District Brewing, which serves burgers and a really big selection of chicken wings. It's family-friendly, and each space in the tasting room has a theme, which is super fun.
And Fringe Brewing, which is also family-friendly, is in a big open-air tasting room with huge outdoor seating. They don't serve food, but Fringe hosts food trucks in the late afternoon through dinnertime. You can find the schedule on their website.
As a reminder, you can find all the links and details that I mentioned in this episode on our website at jauntyeverywhere.com/podcast.
My travel tip of the week is to pack a tiny first aid kit on all your travels.
I have this annoying habit of getting a migraine every time I fly.
It took a few trips before I realized that it was a pattern, or Jody may have figured it out first since he's the one that always ends up hunting down some extra strength headache medicine in unfamiliar territory.
Now I just keep a small bottle of migraine tablets along with a few other first aid essentials tucked in a Ziploc bag. There are those Ziploc bags I'm always raving about.
We have a comprehensive post about travel first aid on the website. I'll link to it in the show notes. You can adapt the list to your trip and idiosyncrasies. Not everyone needs a full wilderness survival kit for a weekend getaway to the beach, but having a few basic supplies like bandaids, antibiotic ointment, and a pain reliever can save you a lot of time and frustration.
Next week, we're going to the Columbia Gorge to explore the breweries and brewpubs around Hood River. If you travel with kids, don't rule this episode out. These days, many craft breweries offer fun and relaxed dining for the whole family.
Have a great week.
Bye.
