Bellingham: Fairhaven

A short 20 minute drive to the South, down Interstate-5 will bring you to the beautiful and historic town of Bellingham, WA. The biggest city in the upper corner of the Pacific Northwest, Bellingham has many amazing restaurants and good eateries to dine at, and places to explore and shop! In hopes to not overwhelm you on your stay with us, we have done our best to narrow the list down to a handful of our favorite places and experiences to visit.

F A I R H A V E N

The historic Bellingham neighborhood of Fairhaven was settled in the mid-1800’s. Fairhaven is comprised of historic charm and modern flare, making this waterfront community a must stop on your list when in the area!

B O A R D W A L K + B O U L E V A R D P A R K
The iconic Boardwalk is a Bellingham staple, I’m not sure you can say you visited Bellingham if you did not stop here for a walk. A beautiful boardwalk guides you along and above Bellingham bay, from Fairhaven to Boulevard Park. In the summer you will catch locals jumping in the water from the walk above, you may spot people crabbing, fishing, or sailing, and others out for a kayak or paddle board. Year round, though, you will catch breathtaking sunsets! You can find a snack and beverage at either end of the Boardwalk as well, Woods coffee is located within Boulevard park at the North end of the trail. Warm up with their fresh ground coffee and pastries. On the South side, is Keenan’s at the Pier that overlooks the bay and Boardwalk! Open for breakfast, happy hour and dinner, the view just cannot be beat.

Visit: S Bay Trail, Bellingham, WA 98225

Scroll along to see pictures we have snapped from this beautiful park!

A V E N U E B R E A D
The Fairhaven location is one of four in the Bellingham/great Bellingham area, but it may be my favorite because of my love for Fairhaven. Their bread is baked fresh daily at Avenue Bakery, offering the best in region if you ask us! Avenue offers a wide variety of sandwiches and salads on their menu, from the classics to signature sandwiches, they have something that will tickle everyones heart and taste buds. Our favorite sandwiches are: the Gourmet Turkey on focaccia, BLT&T and we like to add a little “A” to it as well (avocado), the Garden Deluxe for all you veggie loves out there, it is truly delicious and hearty, and lastly you can never go wrong with a classic: the Avenue Club. The Cobb and Gourmet Salads are our two favorites as well! Dine in or take them for a picnic, their salads and sandwiches are scrumptious in house and taken to go.

Visit: 1135 11th St. Bellingham, WA 98225

Ö V N W O O D F I R ED P I Z Z A
Sink your taste buds into Övn’s neapolitan-inspired pizzas that are baked in an astonishing 2-minutes in their Naples handbuilt oven. Winning Washington’s best pizza in 2018 and Best in the PNW in 2019, you can rest assured you will be satisfied after a visit to Övn. Along with their great food, comes a great view of Bellingham Bay! Their menu offers delicious starters, salads, pizzas and wine. Our top recommendations to order at Övn are: Rosemary flatbread with Ricotta and the Kale Caesar salad to start. For pizzas you must try their Matterhorn potato pizza, Sebba fig and prosciutto pizza, and you can never go wrong with a classic pepperoni. If you’re craving something sweet before you go, their chocolate chip cookie is to die for!

Visit: 1148 10th St, Bellingham, WA 98225

Website: https://www.ovnwoodfiredpizza.com/

Tap through the pictures below to plan out your next meal at Övn! All pictures were selected from their Instagram page.

G A L L O W A Y ‘ S C O C K T A I L B A R
Just a block away from Övn is Galloway’s! An upscale, art-deco cocktail bar offering craft cocktails, gourmet appetizers and small bites and delightful sweet treats. Galloway’s is our favorite place to end the evening! They even offer a Night Cap happy hour starting at 10pm. If you are in the mood for something more simple, they also have an impressive beer and wine selection.

Visit: 1200 10th St. Suite 102, Bellingham, WA 98225

Website: https://gallowayscocktail.bar/wine-beer

Below are pictures of their beautiful cocktails, indoor and outdoor seating! All pictures are selected from their Instagram.

T A Y L O R S H E L L F I S H
Take the scenic route of Chuckanut Drive to explore and dine on the freshest shellfish! Enjoy local beer and wine, freshly shucked oysters, and BBQ shellfish. Taylor Shellfish has a seasonal menu that changes daily based on their availability. Taylor Shellfish has a beautiful waterfront picnic area that is first come first serve and can fill up fast on the weekends, but it is always worth the wait! Scaping views of Samish Bay and the San Juan Islands. This is stop you’ll want to make!

Visit: 2182 Chuckanut Dr. Bow, WA 98232

Scroll through the pictures below to see the incredible view from Taylor Shellfish and their tasty seafood and salads!

S A N J U A N C R U I S E S
View Bellingham Bay by boat with Sun Juan Cruises! This seasonal company runs from May through September. They operate several whale watching tours, bird watching, evening dinner cruises, and wine tasting sunset cruises, if you’re lucky you’ll see whales then too! The captains running the ship will narrate your cruise and point the spectacular animals from below to you. You may see resident or transient Orca whales, humpback whales, minke whales, and on rare occasion you may see gray and fin whales.

Visit: 355 Harris Ave #104, Bellingham, WA 98225 (Bellingham’s ferry terminal)

Tap through the pictures below to see snaps from our time spent on the Salish Express dinner cruises

E S T E L L E
Open for dinner on weekdays starting at 5pm, and open for lunch and dinner on the weekends, starting at 12pm, Estelle has something on the menu to satisfy everyone’s cravings. Tapas inspired restaurant, they offer both small and large plates. What they may be known for most though, is their beautiful craft cocktails and ambiance. A picture perfect bistro, they hit five-star fro atmosphere, food, and drinks.

Visit: 1147 11th St. Bellingham, WA 98225

Scroll through the pictures to see our lunch at Estelle

S H O P P I N G : V I L L A G E B O O K S, P A P E R D R E A M S,
1 1 TH S T. G O O D S, A L O T O F F L O W E R S, etc.
Fairhaven offers a vast variety of boutique stores that range from books, local gifts, candy, and one of kind home decor items and jewelry, quality clothes and consignment, to flowers, pottery, toys and bicycles.

Village Books is a three story bookstore with a cafe on the third floor that over looks the Village Green. Village Books regularly hosts author meet and greets + signing, always has a book, or two, or three to recommend and endless options to fancy whatever genre you love to indulge.

Visit: 1200 11th St. Bellingham, WA 98225

Paper Dreams is connected to and owned by Village Books. Here you will find an amazing card selection, an old school candy bar, locally sourced gifts and home items. Paper Dreams is the perfect spot to buy yourself a one-of-a-kind PNW souvenir that you can cherish and use for years to come!

Visit: 1206 11th St. Bellingham, WA 98225

Eleventh St. Goods is a beautiful woman-owned clothing and jewelry boutique that sells quality, investment type pieces. “Eleventh St Goods is the culmination of all my experience, magnified by my love of this community, curated into a store that brings together fashion, sustainability, local artisanship and woman and minority owned businesses,” says owner Nicole.

Visit: 1143 11th St. Bellingham, WA 98225

A Lot of Flowers offers fresh cut floral arrangements, gifts, and unique products for your home and garden. You can build your own bouquet, work with a designer to create a beautifully unique bouquet or pick from their premade arrangements!

Visit: 1011 Harris Ave. Bellingham, WA 98225

Scroll through the pictures below to see images of the shops mentioned!

L A R R A B E E S T A T E P A R K
Beach, BBQ, hike, relax or explore. Larrabee State park has much to offer! Larrabee on the western seaside of Chuckanut Mountain within Samish Bay and set about halfway to Taylor Shellfish, so you could accomplish both in one outing! There is a park playground, amphitheatre to play and perform on, over 2 miles of hiking trails, picnic tables, rocky coastline to climb and venture over, and a beach to relax and explore tide pools when the waters out. This is always a summer time favorite for us!

Visit Larrabee: 245 Chuckanut Dr. Bellingham, WA 98229