Northwestern Washington: Places to Explore

Mount Vernon

This attractive riverfront town is the county seat of Skagit County and was founded in 1871. After a giant log jam on the lower Skagit was cleared, steamers began churning up the river, and Mount Vernon soon became the major commercial center of the Skagit Valley, a position it has never relinquished. More recently, Mount Vernon was named Best Small City in the U.S. by The New Rating Guide to Life in America's Small Cities.

The city is surrounded by dairy pastures, vegetable fields, and bulb farms, and is famous for its annual Tulip Festival in April, when thousands of people visit to admire the floral exuberance. Rising above downtown and the river, 972-foot-high Little Mountain is a city park with a view. It used to be an island until the mudflats were filled in by Skagit River silt. Glacial striations in rocks near the top of the mountain, dating from the last continental glaciation (10,000-20,000 years ago), were made when the mountain (and all of the Puget Sound region) was covered by some 3,500 feet of ice.

Mount Vernon at a Glance

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Elsewhere in Northwestern Washington

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