La Conner

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A scenic tourist town in the Skagit Valley north of Seattle, on the Swinomish Channel across from the Swinomish Indian Reservation. La Conner was first settled in 1867 when it was known by its post office name, Swinomish. In 1869 J. S. Conner bought Swinomish's trading post and changed the town's name to honor his wife, Louisa Ann Conner. 

At last count, in 2010, La Conner had a population of 891. The La Conner waterfront is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 click thumbnails to enlarge 

That is La Conner's Rainbow Bridge in the background, crossing over to Fidalgo Island. On Fidalgo Island you will find the Swinomish Reservation, Shelter Bay and the town of Anacortes.

Along the channel restaurants and beverage purveyors have decks overlooking the water. La Conner was a sleepy town on hard times in the 50s and 60s. And then a sort of renaissance occurred similar to what happened in eastern Washington to Leavenworth that transformed La Conner into what may be the #1 tourist town in Washington with brew pubs, lodging overlooking the channel, huge marinas, restaurants, galleries, museums and a sense of being at a very special place.
There are many places to dock along the main street of La Conner, so boaters can drop in for a quick lunch or to pick up supplies.

La Conner has some notable natives in addition to the native Swinomish. Another Roadside Attraction Author Tom Robbins lives in La Conner. 

Each year the arrival of spring finds La Conner the center of the Skagit Valley's tulip festival.

Looking across the channel to the Swinomish Reservation. Just to the north of La Conner a few miles, on Highway 20, across the Swinomish Channel Bridge is the Swinomish Casino, the location of the seafood buffet we remember as the best ever.

rainbowbridge.jpg (54902 bytes) Underneath La Conner's Rainbow Bridge, connecting La Conner to the Island of Fidalgo, gateway to Whidbey Island via Deception Pass and the most beautiful state park in Washington, Deception Pass State Park and one of the most scenic towns in Washington, Anacortes with its views of the Cascade Mountains and Mount Baker to the east, surrounded on three sides by the waters of Padilla Bay and the northern waters of Puget Sound leading to the beautiful San Juan Islands. 

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