King Mountain

With beautiful views and hiking trails, King Mountain is definitely one of the local favorites. I had new trekking poles and this was the perfect place to try them out. I was wondering if I would find the poles useful and still be able to hang on to a leash, have a pack on my back and somehow manage NOT to drop my camera off the cliff each time I stopped to take another picture. Turns out, I can. I must confess, though, because King Mountain is slated as a possible future park rather than a "real" park and is not posted as a "dogs on leash only" area, most of the time Torrie was running free.Shocked to hear that he was referred to as geriatric recently by the vet (is he really that old - already?), Torrie still loves exploring and acts like a pup when he's running down a trail. He's a fun dog to take a hike with and can certainly still run circles around me.

More King Mountain pics.

Sunset, still coming too early this time of year, as viewed over distant Bellingham Bay from the top of King Mountain was none-too-colorful at the end of this day's hike.

Getting there and other notes: To get to the top of King Mountain, from Meridian Street take Kellogg Road east and follow it up the hill past the King Mountain Church and on through a small neighborhood until you reach James Street Road. Turn left on James Street Road and follow it until it turns into Gooding Road. Climb Gooding Road until you reach the top where the road dead ends at the Verizon cell towers. The entrance is just to the right of the Verizon fence. If the gate is open, visitors drive in until they reach a small parking lot. When the gate is closed, visitors park in the gravel area outside the Verizon fence. The trails are assessible just past the parking lot. Because it is only a possible future park, the trails are not regularly maintained but do seem to be get enough use to keep them fairly easy to navigate.

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Happy trails!