Strategic Planning. Team Building. Camaraderie with a dash of Fun.

Sometimes the best board retreats are the ones where everyone gets away from the hustle and bustle of their daily grind and has a chance to unwind a bit and let their brain find its creative side. New ideas percolate. People have a chance to organize their thoughts without interruption. Positive team-building and camaraderie show up in the most unexpected ways.

If this is the kind of board retreat you envision, and you know you want to get your team away for some much-needed quality planning time, La Conner might just be the perfect location for you.  Folks who attend board retreats in La Conner inevitably are surprised by what we have to offer. “Who knew?” is a comment we hear very often, and one that makes us smile.

Here’s why La Conner has become one of the Northwest’s favorite destinations for board retreats, as well as a favorite weekend getaway in Washington State:

Quick Planning Facts:

  • You can choose a variety of options, from hotel rooms, Bed and Breakfasts or private suites (all within walking distance of our town center), depending on whether you want everyone to stay together or your group likes to stay in different types of lodging. Our total overnight capacity is 122 rooms.
  • La Conner has a wide variety of meeting rooms; we can host as few as 10, and as many as 300.
  • Maple Hall, La Conner’s centrally-located meeting venue, is a beautiful modern facility that offers small meeting rooms and/or break-out rooms that will hold 20, 35 or 60, plus a large auditorium with 24×24 stage that can accommodate up to 275 people theater style and 300 for a reception. Maple Hall also includes a handsome lobby, a well-quipped commercial kitchen and an outdoor BBQ patio with stunning views of the Swinomish Channel and the famous Rainbow Bridge.
  • Beyond Maple Hall, several local lodging establishments also have meeting spaces that often host board retreats.

Has Your Group Lost Their Focus? Take Them Outside!

We know what it’s like to have your group holed up in a meeting room for hours on end – they start to lose focus and they sometimes get testy with one another. Take your group outside! The scenery is stunning in La Conner – from our blue water and the Rainbow Bridge, to the Cascade Mountains that sit majestically to the east. Regardless of whether it’s a group walk through our historic home neighborhoods, or a team-building game in our town square, your group will be refreshed and re-energized with a little fresh air and a change of scenery.

And when your day is done, here’s what your group can look forward to:

  • Group activities are available through various local vendors, including boat tours, wine tastings, beer tastings, our annual Polo match and Shakespeare festival, glass-blowing, bird-watching tours, guided bike rides, historic tours, and Las Vegas-style gambling at the Swinomish Casino.
  • La Conner is well-known throughout the Northwest for its arts community and has many galleries showcasing collections that range from fine art to fiber art and jewelry, and from wood, glass and bronze, to photography and cultural art.
  • La Conner is also a delightful place to shop; our variety of specialty stores cater to out-of-town visitors. Our shopkeepers pride themselves on finding interesting and unique items that would never be found in the Mall.
  • Dining options in La Conner are wonderful – many restaurants focus on using the freshest local ingredients by season and several of our chefs are available to cater events. La Conner restaurants have been highlighted in local and regional publications including Sunset magazine and mentioned on National Public Radio.

Ready to see what La Conner has to offer you and your board? Start by talking to Marci Plank, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce, who will help guide you in finding the right resources to help you plan and execute a high-quality retreat in La Conner.