Founded in 2013, Recreation Northwest (RN) is a non-profit 501(c) 3 charitable organization, based in Bellingham, WA. We began with the existing Bellingham Traverse in 2002, a community based multi-sport relay. This was our foundation to launch into doing more than just races. Our multi-sport events were developed with a focus on stewardship for the parks, trails and open space we utilize while getting people out to be active and have fun. We built our organization on the trust and strong relationships we had. We continue to be admired for our ability to think innovatively and get things done.
Before transitioning to a non-profit organization we spent the first year doing a community needs assessment and confirmed our niche of Stewardship of community open space and Education for Race Directors and advocacy of the impact of the Recreation Economy. Our event portfolio has expanded to include five multi-sport races statewide and two educational forums: a Race Director Summit and Recreation EXPO. Our recreational stewardship has expanded beyond our events and into direct programmatic work.
We value our sense of place, treasure the people, the parks and the trails that make this an award-winning community. We are honored to be in a position to bring those passions and the people together. We look forward to building an even stronger culture of stewardship and enjoyment of our outdoor places and using our experience in Bellingham.
Recreation Northwest Event History
Northwest Traverse Multi-sport Series
Bellingham (2002*-2018**)
Olympia (2010-2014)
Winthrop (2014)
North Bend (2014)
Bellingham KIDS Traverse (2014-2016)
Race Director Roundtable (2013-2015)
Quest Adventure Races (2013-2017)
Bellingham Swim Run (2017)
Alliance Gatherings – Bellingham & Seattle (2016-2019) formerly known as Basecamp
Recreation Northwest EXPO (2014-2019)
Washington Outdoor Summit (2016-2018)
Breakfast of Champions (2017-2018)
Whatcom Parkscriptions Day (est. 2019)
Great Outdoors Awards (est. 2019)
*Bellingham Traverse (2002) and Olympia Traverse (2010) were founded by Todd Elsworth and Fourth Corner Productions, LLC. As a founder of the organization, Elsworth leased the rights to Recreation Northwest to host and grow it into the NW Traverse Series in our first year. Yes, same guy that is a founder and current Executive Director of this great organization.
** Bellingham Traverse was sold to Pacific Multisports in 2018. The race lives on.
