Newhalem (''Lushootseed'': dxʷʔiyb) is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

on the

Skagit River The Skagit River ( ) is a river in southwestern British Columbia in Canada and northwestern Washington (state), Washington in the United States, approximately 150 mi (240 km) long. The river and its tributaries drain an area of 1.7&nbs ...

in the western foothills of the

North Cascades The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and ...

, in

Whatcom County Whatcom County (, ) is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Lower Mainland (the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts) of the Canadian province of British Columbia to t ...

, northwestern

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, United States.

Description

Newhalem is a

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

owned by Seattle City Light and populated entirely by employees of the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project, or of local county, state or federal agencies. The town is not open to permanent residents who do not work for these agencies. The Ross Lake National Recreation Area surrounds Newhalem on all sides, and the

North Cascades National Park North Cascades National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in Washington (state), Washington. At more than , it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the No ...

boundary is approximately one mile to the north and south of the town. Newhalem does not have an assigned US Postal Service zip code and thus, for postal purposes, is considered part of Rockport (98283). The name Newhalem has its roots in a local indigenous language as meaning 'Goat Snare', as the natives used to trap

mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a cloven-footed mammal that is endemic to the remote and rugged mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to truly alpine species, it is a s ...

s in the area. In pre-colonial times, the site was inhabited by members of the Upper Skagits. There was a school in Newhalem a long time ago but it was demolished because the population had severely dropped. Now the students have about a -hour bus to

Concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

Climate

Newhalem has plentiful rainfall year-round, but with significantly less rainfall in the summer months than in winter. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Newhalem has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(''Cfb'').

Newhalem in literature and film

The writer Tobias Wolff lived in Newhalem as a boy in the late 1950s, after his mother moved from west

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

to marry a mechanic who lived in one of the company houses. In his memoir, '' This Boy's Life'', he calls this isolated settlement "Chinook," and describes how the nearest high school was a long bus ride away, in a slightly larger hamlet called

. In the 1993 film version of '' This Boy's Life'', starring

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

and

Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...

, the two places are combined and called "Concrete." Portions of the 1983 Hollywood movie ''

WarGames ''WarGames'' is a 1983 American techno-thriller film directed by John Badham, written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes, and starring Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood and Ally Sheedy. Broderick plays David Lightman, a ...

'', starring

Matthew Broderick Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. He starred in ''WarGames'' (1983) as a teen government hacker, and ''Ladyhawke (film), Ladyhawke'' (1985), a medieval fantasy alongside Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. He play ...

, were filmed in Newhalem WarGames (1983)
/ref> (most notably the scenes of the "

Cheyenne Mountain Complex The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a United States Space Force installation and defensive bunker located in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, next to the city of Colorado Springs, at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, which host ...

", filmed in an abandoned gravel pit northwest of the town).

Newhalem summer softball tournament

On every third weekend of July since 1977 there is a softball tournament held between competitors hailing from across the Skagit Valley.

Highway 20

Newhalem is the final place on Highway 20 to purchase supplies before crossing Rainy Pass and entering Eastern Washington.

References

{{authority control Seattle City Light Company towns in Washington (state) Unincorporated communities in Washington (state) Unincorporated communities in Whatcom County, Washington North Cascades of Washington (state)