Teddy Bear Cove
Looking for a short family-friendly hike near Bellingham with a rewarding payoff? Teddy Bear Cove is a hidden gem off Chuckanut Drive that combines a peaceful forest trail, beach access, and tide pool fun—all in less than a mile.
We visited on a sunny winter afternoon with our 4-year-old after a morning trip to Bellingham, and ended up soaking in the views and winter sunshine for nearly an hour.
For families like ours, we’re always seeking trails with an “end reward”—a beach, a view, or something to explore. Teddy Bear Cove nails it. The trail is just 0.5 miles round trip with around 150 feet of elevation gain, leading to two small coves and a scenic bluff.
The beach is especially unique: instead of sand, it’s made up of crushed clam shells, giving it a bright white glow. During low tide, it turns into a perfect tide-pooling spot with stunning views of the Olympic Mountains and surrounding islands.
Teddy Bear Cove Hike- Step by step Guide
The guide is broken down into 4 steps – Trailhead to beach, At the beach, Back to the trailhead and Bioluminescence viewing.
1. Trailhead to Beach [15 mins]
The Teddy Bear Cove trailhead is on the west side of Chuckanut drive. So driving from north to south, the trailhead will be to your right. Towards the northern end of the parking lot, you will see a board announcing you are at Teddy Bear Cove and a clear trail that leads you down (pink path in the map pic above).
The trail from the parking lot to the beach is ~0.2 miles (0.4 miles RT). Most of it descends quickly through a PNW coastal forest and you will come out at railroad tracks.
Cross the tracks carefully as this line is active and you will see trains passing by. Upon crossing, you will see a small bluff. The two coves are on each side of the bluff.
If you’re coming from North Chuckanut Mountain Trailhead (in case you can’t find parking at Teddy Bear Cove trailhead), then you will walk additional ~0.7 miles through the Interurban trail (see blue highlighted path in the map pic above).
2. At the Teddy Bear Cove Beach [30 mins to 1 hour]
Beach – The two beach coves are small but delightful. The beach is a mix of sand and crushed clam shells that will keep kids busy building castles and decorating with all the broken shells. The driftwood provides ample seating along the beach. We usually bring along a lightweight, portable sand toy set and a compact beach blanket to such destinations, so the kids can play without us lugging around heavy gear.
Tidepooling – At high tides, the cove almost disappears in the water. While at low tides, this place can make a good tide pooling destination. Walk along the beach, bathe in the sun and wave to the trains passing by.
The bluff – Don’t forget to visit the small bluff overhead where you will find Garry Oak and Madrone trees. To get there, you can take the staircase at the entrance to the cove. Take the narrow winding path to walk through the bluff, sit by the edge to enjoy spectacular views of Samish Bay or take a hammock to tie among the thicket of trees on the bluff. Sunset views from the bluff would be breathtaking.
4. Back to Trailhead [30 mins]
The hike back up through forested trail to the parking lot will take a little longer as it is all uphill with many switchbacks.
We needed some bribes for our toddler but we managed with a couple of breaks.
We did not plan to go to Teddy Cove, but just stumbled upon it as a first stop on our daytrip from Seattle to explore Chuckanut drive. The fact that it was unplanned and not very crowded on a Saturday afternoon made time spent here very intimate and memorable.
5. Bioluminiscence at Teddy Bear Cove
Late summer months (late July, August and early September) are an opportunity to witness the natural phenomenon of bioluminescent waters lighting up at Teddy Bear Cove’s beach. It is one among the many places around puget sound to see bioluminescence.
Bioluminescence is the glow you see in the water when the tiny plankton in the water is agitated. By agitated, it basically means you stir or move the water. So look for some wave action near the beach, or throw some stones, walk knee deep in the water as long as you feel safe or use a stick to swirl the water around.
It leaves a bright blue-green-ish sparkling trail in the water. You have to see it to believe what a beautiful natural phenomena it is.
The darker the skies, the better the chance of viewing. New moon nights are the best as there is less ambient light. Because there is a trail to walk down to the beach, try to get to the beach before sundown so that you have some familiarity with the path. This will help when you are climbing back up in the dark.
Look for signs of bioluminescence about an hour after sundown. If you are not visiting on a new moon night, then try to time your visit such that you are at the beach after sunset but before the moonrise. The lesser the light, the better.
Don’t forget to carry flashlights or any other light source for your climb back up at Teddy bear Cove.
People do go paddling at Teddy Bear Cove. Paddling into the bay means you can get away from the ambient light and probably get a better chance of viewing. But carrying your paddling gear up and down the Teddy Bear Cove trail is not the easiest thing to do especially in the dark.
If you are a novice like me, then its best to stick to the beach or go paddling with someone experienced or with a tour. For me, it is always safety first.
Teddy Bear Cove Directions and Parking
The drive from Seattle to Teddy Bear Cove is 90 miles / ~1.5 hours. From I-5, you take exit 250 to to get to Teddy Bear Cove, which is located towards the northern end of Chuckanut drive.
Seattle to Teddy Bear Cove Driving Directions Map
Driving from north to south on Chuckanut drive, you will see a narrow strip on the west side of the road, which has one lane for parking and one lane for cars to pass by.
There are ~20-25 parking spots at the Teddy Bear Cove trailhead. Parking here is free, no parking pass required.
If this lot is full, then finding parking maybe tricky as most of this stretch of Chuckanut drive is a narrow two-lane road with not much scope for roadside parking.
Your next best option would be to find parking at North Chuckanut Mountain trailhead and walk your way to the trailhead which would be ~0.6 miles (or 1.2 miles RT).
Tips For Visiting Teddy Bear Cove
- Estimated Activity Time – With the roundtrip hike and time spent at the beach, you can estimate ~2 hours for this activity. Add to that your drive time. From Seattle, you can expect ~1.5 hour one-way to drive to the trailhead, so a total of 3 hours of round trip driving.
- Restrooms – None at the trailhead or at the beach. You can find restrooms at North Chuckanut Mountain trailhead.
- Cellular network – Available.
- Food – If you are looking for dinner options closer to Chuckanut Drive, then Taylor Shellfish, Oyster Bar, and Chuckanut Manor are some of the options in the vicinity. Bow and Edison are other towns along the way to find restaurants. There will be a wider variety of options available near Fairhave, Bellingham, Burlington and Mt.Vernon as you get closer to I-5.
- Stay – Bellingham will have hotel options in all price range. Camping at Larrabee State Park on Chuckanut Drive would be another fun option to explore this area, which has so much to offer.
Kid And Family Trip Report
- Infants (upto 1 year) – This is not a stroller friendly trail. But easy for parents to carry their infants in a carrier.
- Toddlers (1-3 years) – This trail is doable for early walkers, but would have to watch for any roots or rocks along the way for the very little ones.
- Pre-school (3-5 years) and above – Can do this trail independently.
- Families – The trail itself is short and easy. But if you have older parents with arthritic knees, then climbing back up may feel challenging given the elevation gain. The path is not treacherous or tricky, you just need to be prepared for the uphill climb back.
Teddy Bear Cove Trip Planning
- Day trip – Teddy Bear Cove is an awesome hike + beach spot for a family friendly activity on a day trip from Seattle. For more activites on your day trip, consider stopping along Chuckanut drive for more scenic spots and hikes, or consider other Bellingham attractions such as Whatcom Falls.
- Weekend trip – On a weekend getaway from Seattle or Olympia, I would do Chukanut Drive and its spots for one day. And other Bellingham attractions for another day. Would make for a nice local getaway.
- Pit-stop on a longer road trip – If you are on a longer road trip from Seattle to Vancouver BC, then Teddy Bear Cove is a good pit stop to break the drive. Or you can take a short detour through Chuckanut drive to break your I-5 drive.
- Best time to visit – Year round – Summer, fall, winter and spring.
Final Thoughts
Teddy Bear Cove is a quiet and a relaxing beach destination. We love dirving up north all times of the year, but especially in the winter. I am not quite sure why, but it probably gives us a feeling of getting away from the city and going closer to the PNW landscape without venturing out too far.
If you want to further your joy of easy hiking with kids, then
- Explore these easy small hikes under 1 mile around Seattle.
- Washington Park, Anacortes – The Sunset Beach at Washington Park is another gorgeous spot for beach time. And then you can hike around at Washington Park Overlook for more gorgeous views.
- Stanley Park in Vancouver B.C. – Although this requires crossing the US-Canada border, there is nothing easier and more scenic than walking the seawall to go the the Second or Third Beach at Stanley Park.
