Peaceful Valley, Silver Lake, and Cardamom Cookies

When the sun calls you outside in the Pacific Northwest, you answer. After days of being cooped inside, it's a welcome pleasure to venture out on a daycation. With so much to choose from it is fun to explore and find new hidden gems. Today's call was a drive north from Skagit Valley to Whatcom County. Just an hour north of Anacortes, Bellingham and Whatcom County has a diverse offering of beaches to mountains. Today it was the foothills that beckoned us for our drive. First stop, something to curb our hunger and sweet tooth, a favorite espresso stop...Wake n' Bakery in Glacier, WA for coffee and their most delicious cardamom cookies. This popular coffee shop is must-stop place for skiers coming back from the Mt Baker Ski Resort.
​Hunger abated, sweet tooth satisfied, it was time for our next stop, a park hidden amongst the foothills of the cascade mountains–Silver Lake Park.

​Just north of Maple Falls, off HWY 542, is a gem of a park and campgrounds, shrouded by mountains and sitting on the edge of a lake. Silver Lake Park is close to the border of Canada and hidden amongst the trees where you can relax and commune with mother nature. Trails, bridges, wildlife, playground, picnic tables, cabins, and boating on a quiet lake, all you need to enjoy the great outdoors and relax in fresh mountain air.

When you leave the park, instead of turning left and returning the way you came, turn right out of the park and follow Silver Lake Road as it travels through Peaceful Valley. Logging and farmlands scatter through the landscape as the road leads you back to Hwy 547 where you can turn right and continue your journey north, or left to Hwy 542 and return to Bellingham.
To end a lovely day driving through the countryside we had dinner at Fiamma Pizza in Bellingham and no trip to Bellingham is complete without stopping at Trader Joe.
Peaceful Valley, Silver Lake, and Cardamom Cookies…A great answer to the call of a sunny day in the Pacific Northwest.