Your Guide to Buying a Home in Glacier, WA

Buying a Home in Glacier, Washington

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Glacier is located in Whatcom County

Glacier is a gateway community for the Mount Baker area and is the last outpost on the Mount Baker Highway before entering the national forest. The community caters to summer hikers and river rafters, and winter skiers and snowboarders.  While Glacier offers food and lodging, there is no gas available, so you will need to return to Maple Falls for fuel.

Location
Nestled in a beautiful valley, Glacier is just inside the Mount Baker National Recreation Area, and north of the Mount Baker Wilderness Area.  The community is about 24 miles west of the Mount Baker Ski Area, and about 65 miles east of Bellingham.

Getting to Glacier
The only route to Glacier is WA 542, otherwise known as the Mount Baker Highway.  Turn east from the town of Bellingham on I-5.  The section of WA 542 from Glacier to Artist Point, where it terminates 24 miles past Glacier, was designated a National Forest Scenic Byway in 1989. 

History
Gold mining followed by coal mining, logging and some remote agricultural activity fostered the development of a community here. By the turn of the century, outdoor enthusiasts were already coming to the area, and so began the town’s happy relationship with tourism. The town prospered enough to make it worth the while of the Bellingham Bay and British Columbia Railroad to reach here in 1904. In 1906, the town site became part of the National Forest, but prior-established homesteaders were given deeds to their lands and mining claims were honored. In 1915, the town had three hotels, a mercantile store, town hall, pool hall, barber shop, livery stable and a few quietly operated brothels. When the Mount Baker Highway was opened in 1923, the once-remote area was made accessible to the motoring public.

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