Ahead are forested hills, and around lie closely neighboring farms and tracts of orchard. It is possible to see the entire valley, dotted with alder and fir, stretching away to the distant snow-covered mountains. The tour route passes along top edge of south bluff overlooking the valley and farmland along the valley floor, as the route passes along the north side of Squalicum Mountain. Squalicum Creek flows along the valley floor, this creek rises in Squalicum Lake in southwest Whatcom County and flows west and southwest into Bellingham Bay on the northern outskirts of the city of Bellingham. The name is a compound of two Native American words; squalla, the dog salmon, and cum, meaning place, the place of the dog salmon. An alternate name, no longer used, was Qualla Creek. Qualla is a Native American name for dog salmon.

The stretch of highway between Bellingham and Deming has been commercialized with retail and light industrial buildings.