Although this beach and others around Larrabee get consistent use, you won't find uncomfortable masses here. Recreators tend to blend into the shoreline's quirky mix of hidden coves and prehistoric rock formations. It's a marvelous place to kick off your shoes, rub sand between your toes, secure your own private rock cove and let the late afternoon sun attempt to burn a hole through the back of your favorite novel. Scuba divers and snorkelers bob offshore, floating over a squirming feast of Puget Sound marine critters that call the rocky shores beneath Chuckanut Drive home. An added bonus is the Interurban Trail, a 5.5-mile former railroad route that connects Larrabee with the Fairhaven neighborhood in south Bellingham.
Fishermen work the shoreline.
Hikers embark on half-day journeys to staggering San Juan Island views atop Chuckanut Mountain or peaceful resting places on the shores of Fragrance or Lost lakes, both in the highlands above scenic Chuckanut Drive. Even rock climbers have adopted Larrabee as a second home, testing the diverse, challenging smooth rock faces that soar above the local railroad tracks - or even directly above the saltwater. Larrabee State Park, one of the state's least-developed and most diverse, also was the state's first. Public use of the land dates back to 1915, when two local families, the Larrabees and Gateses, donated about 20 acres of land to the state. The park was created in 1923.