Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is the county seat of Skagit County a city in the North Cascades region of Washington State. In 1998 Mount Vernon was rated the #1 "Best Small City in America" by the New Rating Guide to Life in America's Small Cities.
Get in
Map of Mount Vernon (Washington)
Mount Vernon is on western Washington's main north-south transportation route, Interstate 5, where the major east-west highway SR 536 intersects.
By car
The easiest and most common way to get to Mount Vernon is via Interstate 5 (or "I-5"), which passes through the city. I-5 gives access from Bellingham and Vancouver, British Columbia to the north, and from Seattle to the south. SR 536 gives access (via SR 20) from Anacortes and Whidbey Island to the west.
By train
- See also: Rail travel in the United States
1 Skagit station (Skagit Transportation Center), 105 E Kincaid St. The station has Amtrak vending machines and a waiting room. Station is not manned by Amtrak personnel. 
- Amtrak, ☏ +1 215-856-7924, toll-free: +1-800-872-7245. Operates trains across the United States.
- Amtrak Cascades operates between Vancouver, BC and Eugene via Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Everett, Edmonds, Seattle, Tukwila, Tacoma, Lacey (Olympia), Centralia, Kelso (Longview), Vancouver, WA, Portland, Oregon City, Salem, and Albany. There are two round trips daily along the portion between Vancouver and Seattle, four round trips daily along the portion between Seattle and Portland, and two round trips daily along the portion between Portland and Eugene. No train departures travel the whole length of the route. Additional service between Vancouver and Seattle, and between Portland to Eugene are provided on the Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach. Connections from the Empire Builder from Chicago can be made in Everett and from the Coast Starlight coming from Los Angeles can be made in Seattle.
By bus
Skagit Station is also the bus station for Skagit Transit, Island Transit & Greyhound on 105 E Kincaid St in the eastern edge of downtown Mt Vernon, behind the county jail and next to I-5 at Exit #226:
- 2 Skagit Transit public transportation in and around Mt Vernon, Burlington, Sedro Valley, Anacortes, and other areas in Skagit County.
- 40X connects Mount Vernon with March's Point Park & Ride. At March's Point P&R, riders can connect with Island Transit bus route 411W to Oak Harbor in Whidbey Island and Skagit Transit bus route 410 to the Anacortes-San Juan Ferry via Anacortes
- 80X connects Mount Vernon with Bellingham, Alger and Chuckanut P&R. Route operated by Skagit Transit and Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA)
- 90X connects Chuckanut P&R, Mount Vernon and S Mt Vernon P&R, with Everett, where transfers are possible with Sound Transit (510) for travel to downtown Seattle.
- 615 Mount Vernon, La Conner, and March's P&R in Anacortes.
- BellAir Airporter, (depot) 844 S Alder, Burlington (Just north of Fred Meyer. I-5, Exit #230. East on Rio Vista Ave. South on S Alder St. Board in front of office), ☏ +1-866-235-5247. Goes up to Marysville, Stanwood, Burlington/Mt Vernon, Bellingham & Blaine from Seattle and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on one route and west from Burlington to La Conner & the San Juan Ferry Terminal on another.
- 3 Greyhound, (bus stop) Skagit Station @ 105 Kincaid Suite #100 (No ticket desk. Tickets must be pre-printed or available as a QR code on mobile device prior to boarding.), ☏ +1 360 336-5111, toll-free: +1-800-231-2222. Travels primarily on Interstate 5 between Seattle, Everett, Mount Vernon, Bellingham and Vancouver BC. Passengers transfer to other buses in Seattle and Vancouver to get to additional destinations. Map marker indicates stop location. Some of the buses continue from Seattle towards Los Angeles via Tacoma, Olympia, Portland, Sacramento, and points in between on I-5.
Get around
Due to the size of the city, it is easy to travel by bike.
By public transit
- Skagit Transit, ☏ +1 360-757-4433, custserv@skagittransit.org. Operates bus service within Skagit County including within and between Anacortes, Burlington, La Conner, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley. The buses do not run at night. Also offers connecting service from other counties, including route 80X traveling south from Bellingham and route 90X traveling north from Everett. Routes 80X and 90X stop in Burlington and Mount Vernon.
- Island Transit, ☏ +1 360-678-7771. Scheduled bus services on Whidbey Island and Camano Island. Service on Whidbey Island includes to Clinton, Coupeville, Freeland, Greenbank, Langley, Oak Harbor with off island connections to Anacortes. Service on Camano Island includes off island connections to Everett and Mount Vernon. Free.
- Bus route 411C operates daily between Mount Vernon and Camano Island.
See
- Tulip Festival. April 1-30. Every year during the month of April, to the delight of local businesses and irritation of local residents, the city celebrates the bloom of the colorful tulips. Thousands of Washingtonians and international visitors flock to see the endless fields of tulips just outside the city limits that paint the Skagit Valley more brilliantly than a Dutch impressionist could. During the peak of the festival, First Street is closed downtown and local artists set up stalls. Partly as a result of this, at the height of the festival traffic downtown gets congested. It is therefore advisable to use Best Road instead to reach the tulip fields.
- Skagit Valley Highland Games & Celtic Festival, Edgewater Park, 600 Behrens Millett Rd (I-5 Kincaid Street Exit #226, 3rd Street, then Baker Street), ☏ +1-360-416-4934, skye@sos.net. 9AM–7PM. Usually celebrated during mid-July. A shuttle runs from the "County" parking lot at the Kincaid Street exit off I-5.
- 1 Lincoln Theater, 712 South First St, ☏ +1-360-336-8955. F Sa 5:30, 8PM; Su 5:30PM; M Tu 7:30PM. A 1920s-era movie theater with art-deco decor. It is now a combination performance theater and movie theater. Movies $8, discounts for members, students, seniors.
Do
- 1 Skagit River Walk Park, 735 Mt Vernon Terminal Railroad. Walk along the western edge of town, bordering upon the Skagit River.
Buy
- 1 Cedardale Orchards (Red "Cider" barn off I-5), 18216 Conway Frontage Rd (from I-5 N, exit 224 "Old Hwy 99 S", then turn left to cross I-5, then turn left onto frontage road. From Mt Vernon, take Old Hwy 99 S, and go forward onto frontage road when Hwy 99 curves left to cross I-5), ☏ +1 360-416-6513, cedardaleorchards@hotmail.com. Daily 10AM–5PM. This red barn with the white roof, with large signs offering "Cider", is easily visible just west of I-5 immediately south of Mount Vernon. Inside the red barn are coolers stocked with apple cider in 1 gallon, 1/2 gallon, and 1 quart sizes. Made with eastern Washington apples, the cider is delicious. On the weekends, mini cider doughnuts and hot cider are prepared on the premises. During the week, the store is unstaffed and collects payment on the honour system. Apple cider, 1 gallon, $8. Mini cider doughnuts $5.
Eat
- 1 Max Dale's Steak and Chop House, 2030 Riverside Dr, ☏ +1 360 424-7171. Upscale. Reservations accepted.
- 2 Big Scoop Sundae Palace, 327 E College Way. lunch and dinner daily, starting at 11AM. An old-fashioned ice cream parlor plus a retro-style restaurant with a wide variety of burgers, fries, and other 1950s diner food.
- 3 Il Granaio, 100 W Montgomery, STE 110 (Old Town Grainery Building, one block north of the Greyhound bus station), ☏ +1 360 419-0674. Daily. Italian-style pasta and meat dishes. No pizza. Open for dinner every evening, plus lunch on weekdays. Consider the high-value four-course special menu, served from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. $20–35.
- 4 BigFoot Java, 1633 Riverside Dr (At College Way and Riverside Drive), ☏ +1 360 428-3081. 24 hrs. A 24-hour drive-through espresso stand that offers a large variety of flavors of coffee, espresso, Italian sodas, and other specialty drinks, in addition to pastries, bottled beverages, and cigarettes. Close to the freeway with amazing customer service! Try a Mythical White Mocha or a Nutty Yeti Latte!
- 5 Cruser Coffee, 1304 Memorial Highway (Right beside the Mexico Cafe), ☏ +1 360 707-8177. Open 7 days a week. A locally owned drive thru espresso stand located in west side Mount Vernon, with a large variety of coffee, espresso, breakfast foods and Italian sodas.
Drink
- 1 Farmstrong Brewing (Farmstrong), 110 Stewart Rd, ☏ +1 360-837-8852. Noon to close. A local micro brewery open to the public that brews and serves a multitude of beers for all palates.
Sleep
- 1 Best Western CottonTree Inn, 2300 Market St, ☏ +1 360 428-5678, fax: +1 360 428-1844.
Go next
| Routes through Mount Vernon |
| Vancouver ← Burlington ← | N  S |
→ Arlington → Seattle |
| Abbotsford ← Sedro-Woolley ← | N  S |
→ Arlington → Seattle |
Vancouver ←  ← Bellingham ← |
N  S |
→ Everett → Seattle |