Near Mt. Vernon, on the other side of the spring Tulip Festival, is La Connor, WA, a sweetheart riverside town with lots to offer. There’s a main shopping street with all kinds of shops and restaurants right on the waterfront. I focused on three La Connor museums during my visit – the Museum of Northwest Art, the Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum, and The Skagit County Historical Museum.
Parking in La Connor
First, a word about parking in La Connor. There’s free street parking all along 1st Street, the main shopping street, but it’s usually pretty packed. If you can find a spot along here, great. But if you can’t, there’s a large public parking lot at the north end of town – search for “Swinomish Yacht Club.” At the south end, there’s a smaller lot near the Kiwanis Playground. Parking on any street behind 1st Street is residential, and you might incur the ire of the locals, and get yourself towed.
I parked in the south playground lot, which situated me perfectly for what I wanted to do. And while you do pay for parking in this lot, it is only $5 for the day, which I think is very reasonable. I’m not sure if it’s the same on the other end of town. It’s also worth noting that there is a bus stop on 2nd street, with a walking path down the hill to 1st.
Food & Shopping
I started my day in La Connor with breakfast at Calico Cupboard Old Town Cafe, which I recommend. If it’s warm enough, there is seating on a back patio right by the water. (If it’s not quite warm enough, they can bring you a blanket!)
The waterway through town is the Swinomish Channel, a connector from Padilla Bay and the San Juan Islands in the north, to Skagit Bay and Puget Sound to the south. As such, it’s a favorite haven for boaters and you might see proper sailboats and small ferries as you eat or shop. Just south of town is the arched Rainbow Bridge, a popular photo spot. It’s only about a 15-minute walk from the south end of town if you want to explore it and the adjoining Pioneer Park.
You can find all manner of restaurants along here from cafes and pubs to high-end dining, all with plenty of seafood on the menus. I kept myself to snacks at The Scone Lady (who is actually a man) and the popular Tower Ice Cream.
Shopping is everything from cheap souvenirs to boutique clothes, Indian imports, and art galleries. I particularly enjoyed Seaport Books. For a smaller bookstore, they have a really well-curated selection.
Museum of Northwest Art
Among the shops and galleries is the Museum of Northwest Art. It’s free to visit, though donations are accepted. Nothing in here really intrigued me. Most of the collection seemed to be from a friend of Dale Chihuly, the glass artist, but with nothing like his grace of form. There are a few glass objects from students, but not much else that caught my eye.
Still, it’s a free museum, and the gift shop is really cute. I think I like the artsy things there for sale more than what was in the museum itself. The museum keeps hours similar to most of the stores on this street, from 10-5, though it doesn’t open until noon on Sundays and Mondays.
Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum
After walking up and down the shopping street, I visited the Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum. It’s on the south end of 2nd Street and housed in a beautiful Queen Anne home. Walking in the front door, there’s the original house parlor on your right and a gift shop with admission for sale on the left. If you are a quilter, this shop would be heaven, with all sorts of interesting supplies. In the back is a library with crafting and quilting books to look at. On this floor are beautiful examples of antique quilts.
The rest of the museum is upstairs. They don’t have an elevator, so you’ll need to be able to navigate stairs to see the whole collection. During my visit, the second-floor exhibit was modern quilt art pieces by Maria Shell. I saw her work once in Vermont! On the third floor in the interesting attic spaces, was framed fiber art by Salley Mavor for the children’s book My Bed. Each little vignette is chock-full of details and little bits of beading and stitching. Each one is a work of art! They tried to sell the book in the gift shop, but they couldn’t keep it in stock. As soon as they’d get some in, they would sell out immediately.
It looks like they update all three floors every couple of months – the exhibits I saw are gone now. The current exhibits are “Unfolding” by the Art Cloth Network and “Life in the Mountain West” fiber sculptures inspired by the Western states, plus a macrame art piece on the bottom floor. The museum and gift shop is open 11-5 Wednesday through Sunday. They’re closed Monday and Tuesday. Admission is $7, or $5 for students or retired military. Kids 12 and under are free.
Skagit County Historical Museum
My last stop requires getting in the car. While my playground parking lot was perfect for breakfast, 1st Street shopping, and the Quilt Museum, I relocated for the history museum. Otherwise, it’s up a pretty long and steep hill. But it’s free parking at the top.
The Skagit County Historical Museum is the history museum for the area, including Mt. Vernon & Burlington, from the San Juan Islands all the way out to the Cascades. In reality, this museum seems to be the repository for nearly anything the locals deem historically important, so it’s a bit of a mishmash.
In general, when you walk in, there’s a large gift shop of local goods which is totally worth checking out. To the right is a section about local commerce & business. In it are tractors and other farming tools, fishing nets and traps. old horse buggies and cars, plus a full-size storefront of an old general store. There are also some Native American artifacts here, which they ask you not to photograph.
To the left of the gift shop is more daily-life stuff, like furniture, clothes, and some cool dollhouses. One wall is dedicated to the area’s Latinx families, and one in particular who owned an area restaurant. A room to the back has a history of wedding traditions through the decades through a display of donated wedding dresses and suits. But don’t miss the sliding glass door and outdoor balcony at the back of this room for a great view! It doesn’t face downtown as much as the fields and mountains in the opposite direction.
To visit the Skagit County Historical Museum costs $5 for adults. $4 for seniors 6-12, or $10 per family. It’s open Thursday-Sunday, 11-4.
Where To Stay in La Connor
Ok – I do not have any actual tips for where to stay in La Connor, but it’s good to know that it’s somewhat of a local honeymoon or anniversary destination. As such, there are plenty of hotels, lodges, bed & breakfasts, plus Airbnb and Vrbo properties.
The La Connor Channel Lodge looks really nice right on the water and had some sort of ferry to the San Juan Islands going when I walked by. About half the price is the Heron Inn B&B up the hill a bit. I can’t recommend anything in particular except to say there are a lot of cute places to stay! And staying in La Connor puts you in close proximity to Deception Pass State Park and Anacortes with all the ferries to the San Juan Islands.
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