Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon downtown

Mount Vernon is a city in the Northwest Washington region of Washington State, the county seat of Skagit County. It is in the heart of Skagit Valley and home to the yearly Tulip Festival.

Get in

By car

Interstate 5 (I-5), western Washington's main north-south transportation route, passes through the city. I-5 gives access from Bellingham and Vancouver, British Columbia to the north, and from Seattle to the south.

State Route 536 (WA-536) gives access (via WA-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, ☏ +1 215-856-7924, toll-free: +1-800-872-7245. The station has Amtrak vending machines and a waiting room. Station is not manned by Amtrak personnel. (updated Oct 2023)

• 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:

• Skagit Transit. Public transportation in and around Mount Vernon, Burlington, Sedro-Woolley, Anacortes, La Conner and other areas in Skagit County. (updated Nov 2024) Bus routes include:

• 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
• 70x to Concrete, Washington via Sedro-Woolley
• 80X connects Mount Vernon with Bellingham, Alger and Chuckanut P&R in Burlington. 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 Station, where transfers are possible with Sound Transit to Downtown Seattle (510, or 512 & Link Line 1); and to Bellevue (532).
• 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. (updated Sep 2022)
• 2 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 BC 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. 
• Island Transit, ☏ +1 360-678-7771. Scheduled bus services on Whidbey Island and Camano Island. From Monday to Friday, bus route 411C operates a few trips per day between Skagit Station and Terry's Corner on Camano Island. For going to Whidbey Island take Skagit Transit #40X to March's P&R near Anacortes and transfer to Island Transit #411W to Oak Harbor. Free. (updated Jun 2023)

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. (updated Sep 2022)
• 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. (updated Jun 2023)
  • Bus route 411C operates daily between Mount Vernon and Camano Island.

See

• 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. (updated Jun 2023)

Events

• Tulip Festival. April 1-30. Every year during the month of April, 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. 

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. (updated Apr 2024)

Eat

• 1 Max Dale's Steak and Chop House, 2030 Riverside Dr, ☏ +1 360 424-7171. Upscale. Reservations accepted. (updated Oct 2021)
• 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. (updated Oct 2021)
• 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. (updated Oct 2021)
• 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. (updated Oct 2019)

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. (updated May 2017)

Sleep

• 1 Skagit Valley Inn And Convention Center, 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