Concrete and the Skagit Eagle Festival

If you are looking for a great day trip in Skagit County on a crisp January weekend, you should really check out the Annual Skagit Eagle Festival in Concrete, Washington.  This festival boasts the largest convergence of bald eagles in the contiguous United States, so you can’t help but see them!

“Cement City”

Concrete is located about 50 minutes up the North Cascades Highway (Highway 20 East from Mount Vernon).  This town has many former names, most notably “Cement City”, coined when the Washington Portland Cement Company established business there in 1905.  In 1908, the settlement known as Cement City merged with the town of Baker across the river, home of Superior Cement Company, and incorporated as Concrete in 1909.
The Concrete Theatre

Many aspects of Concrete are both historic and interesting.  The Concrete Theatre was built in 1923 and hosted a variety of shows from vaudeville to boxing matches, in addition to silent and eventually ‘talkie’ films!  The interior was typical of the period and had art deco fixtures like the light pictured here.  There were several in the theater.  You can see a few of them now in the lobby of Mount Vernon’s Lincoln Theatre.  We actually have two of them at our home, and obtained them from a source over on Whidbey Island.

Baker Dam

he Baker Dam, built in 1925, is just above town and a bit hard to find if you haven’t been there before, but it does provide a great view of what was once the largest hydroelectric dam in the world!

The thick arch design spreads across the Baker River, just above river from where it converges with the Skagit River.  At 283 feet high, the dam provides means for the hydroelectric plant to generate 79 megawatts of power.

Where Eagles Dare…
Eagles are prevalent all throughout Skagit County in January, but the concentration is definitely up river around Concrete.  Birders from around the world travel here to capture images of dozens of eagles together in one tree, or majestic portraits of their beautiful white and brown feathers and golden beaks.

Thanks to our friend, Nancy Crowell, for the great eagle photos below.  Take a look at her website, CrowellPhotography.com!

Click HERE to see what else is happening in Concrete!

Start at the Information Station, then go from there – anything from photography tours to deep forest tours, from hayrides to learning in the Interpretive Center!

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