Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
VISITOR INFORMATION
Contact the
La Conner Chamber of Commerce,
413 Morris St. (P.O. Box 1610), La Conner, WA 98257 (
&
888/642-9284
or
360/466-4778; www.laconnerchamber.com).
FESTIVALS
For a few short weeks each year, from late March to mid-April,
the countryside around La Conner is awash with color as hundreds of acres of
Skagit Valley tulip and daffodil fields burst into bloom in a floral display that
rivals that of the Netherlands. These flowers are grown for their bulbs, which
each fall are shipped to gardeners all over the world. The
Skagit Valley Tulip
Festival
(
&
360/428-5959;
www.tulipfestival.org), held each year during
bloom time, is La Conner's biggest annual festival and includes dozens of events.
Contact the festival office or stop by the La Conner Chamber of Commerce (see
above), for a scenic tour map of the flower fields. On festival weekends area
roads are clogged with cars, so you should consider opting to ride the Tulip Tran-
sit buses that loop through the flower fields. Contact the festival office to find
out about these buses.
Whether you're here in tulip time or not, you might want to stop by some of
the area's farms, gardens, and nurseries.
Roozengaarde Flowers & Bulbs,
15867
Beaver Marsh Rd. (
&
800/732-3266
or 360/424-8531; www.tulips.com), is the
largest grower of tulips, daffodils, and irises in the country and has a gift shop. At
Christianson's Nursery & Greenhouse,
15806 Best Rd. (
&
360/466-3821
),
you'll find more than 600 varieties of roses and lots of other plants as well. Nearby
you can tour the beautiful English country gardens of
La Conner Flats,
15920
Best Rd. (
&
360/466-3190
), where high tea is served by reservation. Both of
these nurseries are northeast of town off McLean Road (the main road to Mount
Vernon). At the visitor center in La Conner, you can pick up the
Skagit Valley
Farm Trails
map, which will help you find other area farms.
EXPLORING LA CONNER & ITS ENVIRONS
The Museum of Northwest Art
, 121 S. First St. (
&
360/466-4446;
www.
museumofnwart.org), occupies a large contemporary building in downtown La
Conner. The museum, which mounts a variety of exhibits throughout the year,
features works by Northwest artists, including Morris Graves, Mark Tobey, and
Guy Anderson, all of whom once worked in La Conner. This museum would be
right at home in downtown Seattle, so it comes as a very pleasant surprise to find
it in this tiny town. It's open daily from 10am to 5pm; admission is $4 for adults
and $2 for students and children 12 and over, free for children under 12. You can
also see art around the streets of downtown La Conner where more than a dozen
sculptures (all for sale) are set up each year in the spring.
High atop a hill in the center of town, you can learn about the history of this
area at the
Skagit County Historical Museum,
501 S. Fourth St. (
&
360/466-
3365;
www.skagitcounty.net/museum). It's open Tuesday through Sunday from
11am to 5pm; admission is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors and children ages 6 to
12, free for children 5 and under. A few blocks away, you'll find the
La Conner
Quilt Museum,
703 S. Second St. (
&
360/466-4288;
www.laconnerquilts.
com), which is housed in the historic Gaches Mansion. On the first floor of this
museum, you'll find rooms furnished with antiques, while on the second floor
there are quilt displays. The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from
11am to 4pm and Sunday from noon to 4pm; admission is $4. Two blocks down
the street from the Gaches Mansion is the much more humble
Magnus Ander-
son Cabin,
built in 1869 by the area's first white settler. Beside the cabin is the
La Conner Town Hall,
which is housed in a triangular bank building that was
