Lake Padden Golf Course

About Lake Padden Golf Course

This is a walk in the woods. The course is threaded through second-growth forest with trees up to 150 feet tall, and a lot of the holes are tucked away from each other, so you often feel like you have the place to yourself. It's a traditional par 72 with three sets of tees: 6,524 yards from the Blues (71.4 rating, 130 slope) on the April 2025 scorecard, 6,107 from the Whites and 5,448 from the Black/Red. The course itself says it plays 5 to 10 percent longer than the number, so club up.

Bellingham voters approved a $1 million bond for a park and golf course at Lake Padden in November 1968 by a 60 percent margin. The lake had been south Bellingham's water supply until that year, and people had been talking about a public course since before 1920. The first nine was dedicated on July 29, 1971, on 175 acres, and the second nine opened in March 1972. It didn't pay its own way at first, and in 1981 the city handed it to a private manager.

There's a full practice area, lessons, a snack bar and rental clubs, and an 18-hole disc golf course shares the front nine. Leave the cooler and the dog at home, and kids under 10 aren't allowed on the course.

It's one of 8 courses Yoink watches in the Bellingham & Skagit Valley area, and the closest alternative is Shuksan Golf Club, about 6 miles away — handy when your first choice is booked solid.

Booking a tee time at Lake Padden Golf Course

Book online or through the golf shop at (360) 738-7400. Members of the course's PGC program can book 14 days ahead, and groups wanting four or more tee times can book earlier by calling. 2026 in-season rates for 18 holes are $48 on weekdays and $59 on weekends and holidays, plus a $6 water conservation fee and tax; a power cart is $20 per rider, a pull cart $7.

How to get a tee time at Lake Padden Golf Course