Before the construction of the Bellingham Bay and Eastern Railroad, water transportation was the main way to access the north shores of Lake Whatcom. In the late 1800's and the early 1900's, there were as many as seven boats operating making round trips from Silver Beach to Blue Canyon City, both early settlements on Lake Whatcom. In 1901 the railroad was completed along the north shore. The main motivation for the railroad was a more cost effective method to transfer coal from Blue Canyon Mine to Bellingham Bay. The Township of Park became the junction of the Bellingham Bay main railroad line to Wickersham which connected with the Northern Pacific railroad line to Sumas. The Skagit branch of the Bellingham Bay and Eastern Railroad ran south from Park to Lake Whatcom Logging Company's Camp Two. At one time,the Bellingham Bay and Eastern Railroad transported as much as 3,000 tons of coal a month from the Blue Canyon Mine to San Francisco.
Very few remnants of the railroad exist along this trail, but very near this cache is a railroad tie left behind when the rest of the tracks were removed. A lone indicator of what was once a thriving rail company and a reminder of the rich history of this fine trail.