La Conner Offers Smaller Crowds and Full Harvest Season Charm in Autumn

La Conner, the small waterfront town that was Skagit County's first seat of government, draws most of its visitors in spring, when nearby fields bloom with daffodils and tulips, and in summer, when breezes off the Swinomish Channel cool First Street. Residents, however, say autumn is the season they love most, according to Herald writer Gale Fiege, who lives in the town about 45 minutes north of Everett.

The town's attractions include the Museum of Northwest Art, the Skagit County Historical Museum, and the Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum in the restored 1890s Gaches Mansion. It also has a new La Conner Swinomish Library, a channel-side boardwalk, Pioneer Park and a single campus serving kindergarten through 12th grade. Across the orange Rainbow Bridge lies the Swinomish Tribal Reservation and its three Coast Salish "cedar hat" pavilions, built to welcome tribal Canoe Journey participants.

Fall appeals, Fiege writes, because crowds thin out, the harvest continues and September weather is usually pleasant. Visitors leaving I-5 at Conway can head west on Fir Island Road past Snow Goose Produce, known for fresh produce, fish and its "immodest" ice cream cones. Across the river on Best Road are The Rex, which reopened this summer with sandwiches and gelato, and Pleasant Ridge Farm and its apples. Christianson's Nursery, a destination in its own right, also hosts a Sunday farmers' market through September.

At the entrance to town on Chilberg Road, the Hedlin family farm stand offers pumpkins, dahlia bouquets, sweet corn and greenhouse tomatoes. The family is working the land in its fifth generation. Kai Ottesen, of the fourth generation, called early fall a charmed time. "We will see an incalculable bounty and diversity — an amazing confluence really — of farm products," he said.

The arts calendar is full as well. Art's Alive, the town's fine arts invitational show and festival, is centered at Maple Hall Oct. 24-27. It was started more than 40 years ago by the late photographer Art Hupy, who also founded the Museum of Northwest Art. La Conner has had an artistic bent since the 1950s, when painter Guy Anderson of the "Northwest School" moved there from Edmonds. Novelist Tom Robbins, author of "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues," lived there for many years and died this year. The town also hosts the biannual Skagit River Poetry Festival in October.

Two summer exhibitions at the Museum of Northwest Art, "Through the Light: The Sublime in Contemporary Northwest Art" and "At the Seam," end Sept. 28. The quilt and fiber arts museum is showing works by Terrie Mangat, Bridget Daly and Julian Jamaal Jones. At the history museum, the current exhibition, "Everyone's a Critic," features more than 100 works by county residents of all ages. Visitors are voting for favorites, with winners to be announced Nov. 15. Director Jo Wolfe said La Conner stays beautiful well into October, with fewer crowds and easy parking. "It's my favorite time of year," she said.

Nearby, the library's exterior features a Coast Salish welcoming figure by Swinomish master carver Kevin Paul and his son-in-law, Camas Logue. Interpretive signs near the hat pavilions outline the tribe's history. The tribe also operates Swinomish Casino and the Swinomish Golf Links, and visitors can hike about two miles on Kiket Island, which is a state park and the tribe's Kukutali Heritage Preserve. A state Discover Pass is needed for parking there.

For food, Fiege points to The Tav, formally the La Conner Pub & Eatery, for pan-fried oysters and fish and chips, and Retro Diner for breakfast. Nell Thorn, Oyster & Thistle, and Coa Mexican Eatery and Tequileria are favored for special occasions. Fiege counts at least six places to stay overnight nearby and recommends a walk along the boardwalk at golden hour before sunset, with the Rainbow Bridge in the background.