Fodor's Expert Review Bloedel Donovan Park

The only public access in Bellingham to rippling, 14-mile-long Lake Whatcom is at its north end, in this park about a 10-minute drive east of downtown. Locals swim in the sheltered, if rather brisk, waters of a cove. Keep an eye out for beavers, river otters, ducks, great blue herons, and yellow pond lilies at Scudder Pond, which is another 100 feet west (reached by trail from the parking area at Northshore and Alabama).