Northwestern Washington Travel Guide

In the northwestern lowlands between the Snohomish River and the Canadian border you're never far from saltwater or mountains. Three rivers lazily wind through valleys covered in meadows and woods: the Stillaguamish, the Skagit, and the Nooksack. Rocky hills, which once were islands, have been joined to the mainland by the alluvial deposits of the streams, making for a rather flat landscape in places. Such former islands rise as hills above Burlington, La Conner, and Mount Vernon. A few rocky islands still rise offshore, though their proximity to the land almost makes them peninsulas: Fidalgo Island is separated from the mainland by a slough; Guemes and Lummi Island by a narrow passage. Despite its name, Samish Island is a peninsula.