 | | Mount Baker Wilderness provides access to Mount Baker which has shown steamy signs of life as recently as 1975.The volcanic mountain stands at 10,778 feet, making it the fourth highest summit in the state and the dominant feature in the southern portion of this Wilderness. Fourteen glaciers blanket the immediate region of the mountain. Add to that the frozen sheets on nearby peaks and the total perpetual ice in the area surpasses 10,000 acres. Precipitation on the heights of Mount Baker sometimes reaches 150 inches per year, with up to 18 feet of snow accumulating. Many of the ridges stand above fir- and cedar-forested drainages, dividing the sky and opening often into large heather-filled meadows that showcase riots of summer alpine wildflowers, huckleberries, and blueberries. Devil's club, salmonberry, skunk cabbage, and ferns brighten the banks of creeks and rivers. Black bears and black-tailed deer share the area, while mountain goats clamber about in the rocky high country. Just south of Mount Baker, outside the Wilderness, elk congregate in numbers rarely seen in this part of the state. The Wilderness shares its eastern border with North Cascades National Park, and lovely Mount Shuksan looms just over the boundary inside the park. Rock climbers flood onto Mount Baker in spring and summer before fall opens numerous large crevasses. Hundreds of climbers may be seen on the mountain in a single day. The Heliotrope Ridge Trail winds 2.7 miles to the Coleman Glacier, the most popular climbing route on the mountain. A well-developed and very busy trail system provides access to the lower country. |
| |  | | | Facilities: Mount Baker Wilderness provides camping. Reservations: Reservations are not needed or accepted for Mount Baker Wilderness. Best Time To Visit: Mount Baker Wilderness is open year-round. Fees: No fees are charged. Accessibility: This wilderness is not handicap accessible. Rules: Do not litter. Directions: To reach Mount Baker Wilderness from Bellingham, start out going northeast on J Street toward Ellsworth Street for 0.1 miles. Turn left onto Girand Street for less than 0.1 miles. Turn right onto Broadway for 0.3 miles. Turn slight left onto Sunset Drive for 1.8 miles. Sunset Drive becomes WA-542 for 32.3 miles. Turn left onto Vaughn Avenue for less than 0.1 miles. From Glacier, travel about 10-15 miles east to reach the western boundary of the wilderness. | | |
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| | | | Address | | Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Supervisor's Office | | 21905 64th Avenue West | | Mountlake Terrace, Washington 98043 |
| | | Phone | | General: (425) 775-9702 | | Toll Free:1(800) 627-0062 | |
| | | | | Website | | Email |
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