Gorge Inn

Gorge Inn is a 1925 company cookhouse and mess hall on Main Street in Newhalem, built to feed workers constructing the Skagit River dams. It now holds exhibits on Upper Skagit Valley history and the people connected with the Skagit Project. Come for a compact look at the human story behind the dams; despite the name, this is an exhibit stop rather than a place to book a room or a regular meal. Public hours and walk-in access are not listed, so check before making a special trip inside.

After feeding City Light crews, the Inn also served tourists visiting the project. J.D. Ross led the first Skagit Tour in 1928, and the building became part of that visitor experience. When dining moved to Diablo in 1973, the Inn closed and sat boarded for almost four decades. A 2012–13 renovation retained historic features and made room for exhibits.

The displays focus on people who lived and worked in the Upper Skagit Valley before and during construction of the hydroelectric project. One section covers J.D. Ross and his role in shaping Seattle City Light and the Skagit development. It gives the engineering story a human setting: the workers who ate here, the visitors who came through town, and the community around the dams.