Lake Padden Golf Course

Lake Padden Golf Course in Bellingham is the quintessential Bellingham muni round, sculpted out of a thick forest of cedar and Doug fir at the southeast end of Lake Padden, giving it a distinctively Pacific Northwest parkland character at municipal pricing. Roy Goss and Glen Proctor designed the 6,575-yard par-72 layout, which opened in 1971. The course plays to a 71.5 rating and 127 slope. The Pacific Northwest tree-lined corridors and mature-forest canopy are the defining feature, corridors so tight and so heavily shaded that sightlines shift dramatically between seasons. City of Bellingham operates the course as part of Lake Padden Park, which also includes hiking trails, a swimming beach, and the lake itself. This is the casual-plus-scenic muni at the north end of the Seattle-area driving-radius, 90 minutes from downtown Seattle but just across from the Canadian border (Vancouver is closer than Seattle for many of the course's regular players). For the Bellingham trip visitor, Lake Padden is the local-favorite public course.