The Jim Kaemingk Sr. Trail is a roughly three-mile paved path that follows Fishtrap Creek through Lynden, connecting City Park on one end with Bender Fields on the other. It’s the backbone of Lynden’s walking and biking network — flat, accessible and stroller-friendly, with neighborhood parks like Greenfield branching off along the way. A 2024 western extension lengthened it, and the route includes the Mayors suspension bridge over the creek, a small landmark on a stroll. There’s trailhead parking at the parks it links. For everyday exercise or a low-key family ride, this is the path most of Lynden uses.

What you’ll find

The trail is a paved, mostly flat corridor running alongside Fishtrap Creek, which makes it easy walking, jogging, stroller-pushing or casual cycling. It connects City Park and Bender Fields, so you can park at one end and make a point-to-point outing, and neighborhood parks like Greenfield tie in along the route for a playground break. A 2024 extension pushed the western end farther, and the Mayors suspension bridge gives the walk a small destination and a nice creek crossing. Trailhead parking is available at the connected parks, though there aren’t restrooms along the path itself, so plan around the park facilities at either end.

Good for

This suits walkers, runners, families with strollers and casual cyclists more than anyone after rugged hiking — it’s an urban greenway, not a backcountry trail. Because it links the town’s two flagship parks and threads past smaller ones, it’s ideal for combining a walk with a playground or sports stop. Dog walkers use it too (leashed). It’s a great everyday-fitness route and an easy way to see a quieter, creekside side of Lynden on foot.

When to go

Being paved and flat, the trail is usable year-round, including wet months when natural-surface trails turn muddy. Spring and summer are the most pleasant along the creek, and weekday mornings or evenings are the quietest. Around the parks at each end it gets busier on summer weekends. There’s no lighting to count on after dark in stretches, so daylight outings are the safe plan.

A local broker’s take

If I’m selling someone on daily life in Lynden, the Jim Kaemingk Trail is one of my strongest cards — three paved miles along a creek that let you walk or bike between parks without touching a road. Trail-adjacent homes here are genuinely more livable, and that 2024 extension only added to the network. Lynden is a commuter trade-off from Bellingham, no way around it, but for buyers who value being able to step out the door onto a path, this matters. Ask me which neighborhoods back right up to the trail corridor.

Good to know

How long is the Jim Kaemingk Sr. Trail?

It’s roughly three miles of paved path along Fishtrap Creek, connecting City Park and Bender Fields, with a western extension added in 2024.

Is the Jim Kaemingk Trail paved and accessible?

Yes, it’s a paved, mostly flat corridor that works for walking, strollers, jogging and casual cycling, and it’s usable year-round.

Where can I park for the Jim Kaemingk Trail?

There’s trailhead parking at the connected parks, including City Park and Bender Fields, which are the two main anchors of the route.