Lynden, Washington
Lynden is a city of 16,234 people in Whatcom County, Washington, founded in 1874.
Why visit Lynden
Townapedia lists 5 museums and landmarks, 11 parks and trails, 42 places to eat, 5 places to stay and 1 attraction in and around town.
Highlights include Claire Thomas Theatre, Berthusen Barn and Privy, Jansen Art Centre and Homestead Golf & Country Club.
August is the warmest month, with average highs of 76°F; January lows average 32°F.
Weather in Lynden
Forecast from the National Weather Service. Full forecast
About Lynden
Lynden is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It is located 15 miles (24 km) north of Bellingham, the county seat and principal city of the Bellingham Metropolitan Area. It is the third largest city in Whatcom County. The city is approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) south of the Canada–U.S. border.
From the Wikipedia article Lynden, Washington (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Things to do1
Museums and landmarks5
Berthusen Barn and Privy
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places · 2.4 mi
Barn in Whatcom County, Washington, United States
Jansen Art Centre
Museum · 0.5 mi
321 Front Street, Lynden
Tu-We 11:00-19:00; Th 11:00-21:00; Fr-Sa 11:00-17:00; Su-Mo off
Parks, trails and playgrounds11
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Restaurants and cafes42
Chandara House
Restaurant · Thai · 0.5 mi
655 Front Street, Lynden
Mo-Fr 11:00-20:00; Sa unknown "please add this if known"
Edaleen Dairy
Ice cream · Ice Cream · 1.0 mi
1011 East Grover Street, Lynden
Mo-Th 08:00-21:00, Fr-Sa 08:00-22:00
Fairway Cafe
Restaurant · American, Breakfast · 0.8 mi
1726 Front Street, Lynden
Mo-We 06:00-20:30, Th-Fr 06:00-21:00, Sa 06:00-20:30
Lee Asian Bistro
Restaurant · Asian · 1.3 mi
8114 Guide Meridian Road, Lynden
Mo-Sa 11:00-14:30,16:00-20:00
Nami Asian Bistro
Restaurant · Japanese · 1.3 mi
8862 Bender Road, Lynden
Mo-Fr 11:00-14:30,16:30-21:00; Sa 15:00-21:30
Starbucks
Cafe · Coffee Shop · 1.5 mi
8082 Guide Meridian Road, Lynden
Mo-Sa 05:00-21:00, Su 06:00-21:00
Westside Pizza
Restaurant · Pizza · 0.5 mi
107 3rd Street, Lynden
Su-Th 11:00-22:00, Fr-Sa 11:00-24:00
Woods Coffee
Cafe · Coffee Shop · 0.8 mi
1758 Front Street, Lynden
Mo-Fr 05:30-20:00; Sa-Su 06:00-20:00
Woods Coffee
Cafe · Coffee Shop · 1.4 mi
8874 Bender Road, Lynden
Mo-Fr 05:30-18:00; Sa-Su 06:00-18:00
30 more on the map.
History
In 1870, Phoebe Judson and her husband Holden founded Lynden on the lands of the indigenous Nooksack people, near a settlement called Squahalish. Judson named the post office in 1893 after the Bavarian Hohenlinden as described in Thomas Campbell's poem "Hohenlinden", a town on a hillside by a river with a view of a mountain, because Lynden fit this description. According to her book A Pioneer's Search for an Ideal Home, Judson changed the spelling of "Linden" to be more visually appealing. Lynden was officially incorporated as a city on March 16, 1891. A statue of Judson at the intersection of Front and 6th Street was dedicated in 2017.
The city lies in a broad valley formed by the Nooksack River, which empties into nearby Bellingham Bay. The valley's forests were logged in the 1870s by the first wave of American settlers, and the clearing of log jams on the Nooksack River at the end of the decade opened more land to farming. The first road connecting to Whatcom (now Bellingham) was completed in 1875 and railroads reached Lynden a decade later. The region's raspberry, strawberry, and blueberry farms emerged after World War I alongside the dairy and poultry industries.
From the History section of Lynden, Washington on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to stay5
Churches and places of worship15
Shopping18
Gas and EV charging7
Schools, colleges and libraries16
Healthcare6
Map of Lynden
126 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Climate by month
Monthly table
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44°F | 32°F | 7.0 in | 3.1 in |
| Feb | 48°F | 33°F | 3.9 in | 2.7 in |
| Mar | 53°F | 36°F | 5.0 in | 1.0 in |
| Apr | 59°F | 39°F | 4.0 in | 0.1 in |
| May | 66°F | 45°F | 3.2 in | 0.0 in |
| Jun | 70°F | 49°F | 2.4 in | 0.0 in |
| Jul | 76°F | 51°F | 1.4 in | 0.0 in |
| Aug | 76°F | 50°F | 1.5 in | 0.0 in |
| Sep | 71°F | 46°F | 2.9 in | 0.0 in |
| Oct | 59°F | 42°F | 5.3 in | 0.0 in |
| Nov | 49°F | 36°F | 7.1 in | 1.3 in |
| Dec | 43°F | 32°F | 6.2 in | 2.6 in |
U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 for Clearbrook Hcn (6 mi away), NOAA NCEI.
People and cost of living
American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024, U.S. Census Bureau. Estimates have margins of error, larger for small towns.
Disaster history
Whatcom County has had 16 federal disaster declarations since 2000, most often for floods.
- 2026-04-07: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides (Flood)
- 2025-12-12: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides (Flood)
- 2022-01-05: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides (Flood)
- 2020-04-23: Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides (Flood)
- 2020-03-22: Covid-19 Pandemic (Biological)
- 2020-03-13: Covid-19 (Biological)
OpenFEMA disaster declarations summaries.
Getting there and nearby towns
Bellingham International Airport (BLI) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 11 miles away.
- Everson 5 mi southeast, about 9 min by car
- Nooksack 6 mi east, about 10 min by car
- Custer 8 mi west, about 14 min by car
- Ferndale 9 mi southwest, about 14 min by car
- Bellingham 13 mi south, about 22 min by car
- Birch Bay 13 mi west, about 21 min by car
- Anacortes 33 mi south, about 52 min by car
- Burlington 34 mi south, about 55 min by car
- Camano 55 mi south, about 1 h 30 min by car
- Arlington 56 mi south, about 1 h 30 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB, the NEMICO news database.
Reviews, tips and questions
Loading what members have shared...
Sources and licences
- NCES EDGE (Public domain): public schools
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (Public domain): climate by month
- OpenFEMA (Public domain): disaster declarations
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- U.S. Census Bureau (Public domain): population, income, housing, education, commute
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- LyndenWindMillByJuliusReque, Julius Reque of Traveling12feet, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Lynden's deflt Square about a year after fire (3740387301), Robert Ashworth from Bellingham, WA., USA, CC BY 2.0
- Preserved floorboards in old Lynden Department Store building restoration (25857096983), Robert Ashworth from Bellingham, WA., USA, CC BY 2.0
- Lynden, Washington (6209703034), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- Old City Hall, Lynden Washington (6209704090), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- Chalk art Lynden style? (26393678601), Robert Ashworth from Bellingham, WA., USA, CC BY 2.0
- I rode around Lynden a bit and saw stuff like farm equipment (26433964086), Robert Ashworth from Bellingham, WA., USA, CC BY 2.0
- Front Street in Lynden, WA. (26367811822), Robert Ashworth from Bellingham, WA., USA, CC BY 2.0
- Berthusen Barn, Jon Roanhaus, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Before restoration (26393870341), Robert Ashworth from Bellingham, WA., USA, CC BY 2.0
- Waples Mercantile building brought back from the fire (26187224430), Robert Ashworth from Bellingham, WA., USA, CC BY 2.0
- Old timbers viewed all over the building like here in Avenue Bread; another branch from a Bellingham based business (26433982116), Robert Ashworth from Bellingham, WA., USA, CC BY 2.0
- They've done a great job restoring the building leaving many of the battered walls in place complete with chipped paint for decor (26367642532), Robert Ashworth from Bellingham, WA., USA, CC BY 2.0
- Once a Car Showroom (6209188281), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- JD 1020 Pink 2 (4912329180), Jeffry N. Curtis | Squalicum Images from Bellingham, WA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Thunderbird (6209185275), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- Chevrolet (6201457463), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- 1960 Thunderbird (6209185663), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- '59 Skyliner (6209186179), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- On a '59 Ford Skyliner (6209702050), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- 1954 Mercury (6209185083), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- 1958 Fleetside Chevrolet (6201967588), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- 1959 Chevrolet Fleetside (6201454757), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- Studebaker Champ (6201454195), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- '54 Mercury (6209184537), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- 1962 Studebaker Lark (6209698110), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- 1954 Mercury Monterey (6209698622), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- On a '62 Lark (6209184053), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- 1938 Ford One Ton (6201970376), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- Factory 5 Daytona (6209181925), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- 1947 Dodge (6201456865), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- 1981 Austin Jiffy (6201455823), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- Mainline or Customline? (6209182451), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- 1981 Austin Jiffy Pickup (6570906703), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- 1981 Austin Jiffy Pickup (6570906521), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- Ford (6201456323), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- 1927 Lincoln (6209702546), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- International (6201453945), JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States, CC BY 2.0
- Spring Brush at Ferndale - panoramio, Larry LaRose, CC BY-SA 3.0
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