Things to Do in La Conner, Washington
The best things to do in La Conner, Washington, are seeing the Skagit Valley tulip fields in April, visiting the free Museum of Northwest Art, and walking the historic waterfront on the Swinomish Channel. La Conner is a town of 965 people in Skagit County, at the western edge of the valley.
Alonzo Low settled here in 1867, when the post office was called Swinomish. J.S. Conner bought the trading post in 1869 and renamed the town for his wife, Louisa Ann Conner; the “La” stands for her first two initials. The old center of town, known as the Hill, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
La Conner sits at the edge of the Skagit Valley, the largest tulip-growing region in the world. The festival runs through April, with ticketed display gardens, a tulip parade, a street fair and an art show. Bloom timing shifts with the weather; mid-April is often the peak.
★ Good to know Check the festival’s bloom status page before you drive, and buy garden tickets online.
Museum of Northwest Art
MoNA was founded in 1981 to collect and show art made in the Pacific Northwest, including the Northwest School painters who worked around La Conner. It sits at 121 South First Street and runs rotating exhibits alongside its permanent collection. Admission is free.
★ Good to know Galleries close briefly between exhibitions, and the museum stays open until 8 p.m. on second Saturdays for Art Under the Stars, the town’s gallery night.
Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum
This museum fills three floors of the Gaches Mansion, a Victorian house built in 1891 at 703 South Second Street. Exhibits rotate through quilts, felt and other fiber art from the region and abroad. It also hosts an International Quilt & Fiber Arts Festival each fall.
★ Good to know It closes for part of the winter; spring and summer hours begin in March.
Skagit County Historical Museum
The county’s history museum sits at the top of the Hill at 501 4th Street, with what may be the best view in town. Its Skagit Legacy exhibit covers life from the mountains to the sea, with Native American baskets, farm tools, dolls and quilts from a collection of more than 200,000 artifacts.
★ Good to know It’s open Thursday through Sunday, and parking is free.
Downtown and the Swinomish Channel
Downtown’s historic district faces the Swinomish Channel, with the Swinomish Reservation’s fishing port across the water. Seaport Books, in the historic Seaport Landing Building on the channel, stocks new books and local art and welcomes dogs. Galleries fill the old storefronts, a legacy of Northwest School painters like Guy Anderson who lived here.
★ Good to know Art Under the Stars runs 4 to 8 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month.
Pioneer Park and the Rainbow Bridge
Louisa Conner deeded the land for this park to the town in the early 1930s. It sits at 1200 South Third Street, at the east end of the orange steel Rainbow Bridge over the Swinomish Channel. There are wooded trails, picnic areas and an amphitheater.
★ Good to know Walk the park trails up to the bridge for the best view back over town and the channel.
Winter birds on Fir Island
From about November to March, tens of thousands of snow geese and thousands of trumpeter and tundra swans winter on the farmland south of town. The Skagit Wildlife Area’s Fir Island Farm Reserve and Wiley Slough have easy trails; Wiley Slough has a 1.3-mile loop with boardwalk sections.
★ Good to know Go early or late in the day, when birds are most active, and bring layers for the wind.
Also in town
Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, north of town, protects nearly 12,000 acres and one of the largest eelgrass beds in the contiguous United States.
When do the tulips bloom near La Conner?
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival runs through April, and peak bloom depends on the weather. Mid-April is often the peak. Check the festival’s bloom status page before you go.
Is the Museum of Northwest Art free?
Yes. MoNA has free admission and is open seven days a week, though galleries close briefly between exhibitions.
How did La Conner get its name?
J.S. Conner renamed the settlement in 1870 for his wife, Louisa Ann Conner. The “La” comes from her first and middle initials.
Where can you see snow geese near La Conner?
Head to the Skagit Wildlife Area’s Fir Island Farm Reserve and Wiley Slough, just south of town, from about November through March. For more nearby trips, see Coupeville on Whidbey Island and our small towns in Washington.
Where to find them
- Museum of Northwest Art 121 South First Street, La Conner, WA 98257 Website Directions
- Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum 703 South Second Street, La Conner, WA 98257 Website Directions
- Skagit County Historical Museum 501 4th Street, La Conner, WA 98257 Website Directions
- Pioneer Park 1200 South Third Street, La Conner, WA 98257 Website Directions
- Seaport Books Seaport Landing Building, La Conner, WA 98257 Website Directions
- Skagit Valley Tulip Festival Skagit Valley, WA Website Directions
Plan your trip: for events and current visitor info in La Conner, see the official visitor site →
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Where to stay in La Conner
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