Trekking for Treasure on Rock Trail – Larabee State Park, Bellingham WA

by Graeme A

On June 20th, my wife, our 3 kids, and my mother took a stroll down the Rock Trail in Larabee State Park just south of Bellingham, It was a great hike with some beautiful photos. The whole hike was about 2.4 miles round trip with 1200ft of elevation change. With kids and breaks it took us about 3 hours. There are a lot of stairs near the beginning but they are well maintained, easily manageable for most ages and well worth the sights along the trail.

My wife and 2 older children were given this hike to do as part of a program called “Trek for Treasure” sponsored by the local hospital. Their mission was to use some pictures to find a treasure box with a clue to solve later.

Taking a left to the Rock trail. The trail to the right is used by mountain bikes to head down the trail.

The first part of the trail includes a lot of stairs. They are well constructed and easy to manage.

When we reached the bottom of stairs, we shortly come to a magnificent cliff.

A couple of junior adventurers stand at the base of this great rock tower.

Water seeps out of the rocky seam, providing moisture for a few ferns.

As we continued down the trail, we came to cliff that looks like sandstone. In an area of the world known for granite, it was very cool to see these formations towering above us.

We continue heading down, stopping to see the sights. As we rounded the corner we came across the following shadow on the ground.

The contrast is incredible. As I was looking at this, I couldn’t help but think of the New Zealand All Blacks

The trees provided shade for what was otherwise a fairly warm day.

Here we sit on one of the many rocks, check the treasure map and get ready to continue on.

Stunning towers of rocks provide background to the trees.

On one of our breaks, I had to take a selfie with my son. I had a backpack on with our youngest adventure, so I was no stranger at this point to have a child on my back.

Having walked among the rocks, we came out from the trees to take a stroll by this lake.

As with any lake, it is important to do a bit of “fishing”.

Honestly … I kind of wish I had brought a fishing rod as it would have been a great way to pass the time even if the fish are all in deeper water.

We stopped at the lake for about 30 minutes where we found the required treasure chest and clue that the Mother and children adventures needed. Heading back the way we came we stopped to look at the roots of this fallen tree.

All this hiking made the littlest adventurer tired!

The other direction give a fresh perspective to the rocks. We stopped to enjoy the plants growing on all the rocks.

As expected, what goes down must come up. With gravity working against us, it was significantly more challenging going back up. However, the quality of the stairs meant that progress was steady. In no time we had returned to the top.

Everyone feels great after a great day outdoors.