Sehome Hill Arboretum, Natural arboretum in Bellingham, United States.
Sehome Hill Arboretum is a botanical garden set on a forested hill in Bellingham, Washington, dominated by Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, and Western Redcedar. The site is a second-growth forest with a network of walking trails that wind through different plant communities native to the Pacific Northwest.
Coal claims were staked on Sehome Hill in the 1850s after Henry Hewitt and William Brown, working for Henry Roeder's lumber mill, found coal; the Bellingham Bay Coal Company began mining in 1855. Logging continued into 1906. The land became a park around 1922 and an arboretum in 1974, when most of it was closed to automobiles.
The arboretum sits just next to the Western Washington University campus, making it a daily part of student life. Many people use the trails for quiet walks or outdoor study sessions tied to local forest ecology.
The main entrance is off Bill McDonald Parkway, and the trails are open to pedestrians only. Sturdy shoes are a good idea since some paths are steep or can get slippery when it rains.
The tunnel was cut by hand into rock in 1923 and originally carried car traffic; its tall, thin profile was sized for Model T Fords of the day. Cars are now barred, and the tunnel forms part of a walking trail. Coal tunnels are also said to lace the hill, though their entrances are no longer known.
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