Darrington is connected to nearby areas by State Route 530, which runs along the two rivers towards the city of Arlington, located 30 miles (48 km) to the west, and Rockport.

During the Great Depression, Darrington hosted a Civilian Conservation Corps camp that improved roads, trails, and firefighting infrastructure in the nearby Mount Baker National Forest.

Several waves of Appalachian emigrants arrived in the area from North Carolina, forming a culture that is seen in the town's annual bluegrass festival and rodeo.

Its economy has transitioned away from logging and towards tourism, particularly outdoor activities such as hiking, mountain climbing, and fishing, due to its proximity to the Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest.

[5] The Sauk-Suiattle maintained a village site and burial ground near modern-day Darrington, while the Skagit used the plain between the Stillaguamish and Sauk rivers as a portage for overland transport of canoes.

[8] The North Stillaguamish Valley was nicknamed "Starve Out" by early settlers, who arrived alone and underprepared for the area's conditions, leading to several difficult winters.

The tribe later hired surveyors to record their claims to the eastern side of the Sauk River, lands that currently comprise their Indian reservation.

[10] The discovery of gold and other valuable minerals in the Monte Cristo area in 1889 lured prospectors into the North Cascades and stimulated the development of the surrounding valleys.

[11][12] It was only used for three years before being replaced by the Everett and Monte Cristo Railway to the south; until that time, the Sauk Prairie at the modern site of Darrington was an overnight camping spot for prospectors.

[11] Nearby areas were explored by prospectors who made over a hundred claims to tracts of land in the highlands around the valley, including Gold Hill.

[18][19] By the end of the decade, the town had gained a schoolhouse, a general store, a hotel, and a postmaster, Fred Olds, whose horse inspired the naming of Whitehorse Mountain.

[5][20] Darrington's residents lobbied the Seattle and International Railway for the construction of a branch line from Arlington to the town as early as 1895,[21] offering a 15-year contract to ship 75 percent of the area's extracted ores.

[23] Most of the original prospectors had left the Darrington area during the Klondike gold rush of the late 1890s, while those who remained established a single smelter in the mountains.

In June 1910, a mob of white men rioted and drove the Japanese out of town after little resistance, paying for their train fare to Everett after allowing them to retrieve their belongings.

[29] The injunction was denied,[30] but the townspeople relented and allowed 20 Japanese laborers to return to the mill a week later following Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu's visit to Seattle.

They circulated a petition to incorporate Darrington as a fourth-class city in order to continue alcohol sales, but the attempt was thwarted after protests by U.S. Lumber and several civic leaders.

[5][34] Falling lumber prices during the Great Depression led several small sawmills in the Darrington area to suspend operations for a full year and laying off most of the town's workforce in late 1930.

[36] The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) work program established Camp Darrington on May 20, 1933, to provide employment for up to 200 men from northern Snohomish County.

[38][39] Among its projects was the Mountain Loop Highway, which provided connections between ranger stations in Darrington and Granite Falls and also opened up the Cascades backcountry to logging and recreation.

[56] The area's timber industry was also adversely affected by tighter logging restrictions on federal lands during the 1980s and 1990s meant to protect the mountain habitats of threatened and endangered species, including the northern spotted owl.

[57] In response, Summit transitioned to processing private forests and lands managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, maintaining its position as the town's largest employer.

[70] The town government, running on a small budget of $1.6 million, accepted several grants from the state to upgrade its water system and repair streets during the recession.

[80][81] The tourism industry in Darrington also received a state-funded advertising campaign, keeping revenue and visitation for local events at pre-slide levels.

[90][91] Soil in the Darrington area is primarily composed of glacial sands and gravels that have deposits of various mineral ores, including gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, antimony, arsenic, mercury, and iron.

[92] Darrington has a general climate similar to most of the Puget Sound lowlands and the Cascades foothills, with dry summers and mild, rainy winters moderated by a marine influence from the Pacific Ocean.

Similarly, in the same year's gubernatorial election, 59 percent of Darrington voters preferred Republican Bill Bryant over incumbent Democrat Jay Inslee, who was re-elected.

[143] The Timberbowl Rodeo is named for a former festival that was held annually in late June from 1946 to 1967, and featured various logging events and competitions in addition to a town parade.

Prominent Bluegrass groups, including Bill Monroe, the Gibson Brothers, and Rural Delivery, have performed at Darrington's Whitehorse Mountain Amphitheater.

[161] The Snohomish County government owns and operates Whitehorse Community Park, which includes several baseball and softball fields on 80 acres (32 ha) north of the town that opened in 2007.

[201][202] The town government has considered installing a sewage system several times in the 1990s and 2000s, but those plans have stalled due to the $6.5 million cost (as estimated in 2000) and the land needed for a treatment plant.