Fastest route through Seattle??

paulj wrote:
The best bet for a ferry bypass would be the Port Townsend ferry, which takes reservations

I'm sorry; I never had children. Therefore, no first born to sell to afford a ferry ticket for an RV. But it does sound lovely.

Very timely post. I came here just now to ask the exact same question and all I had to do was put "Seattle" in the search box, and up it came. :)

romore wrote:
Sheesh man, the border to Yreka in one day??? That is a suicide run, not a vacation.

Yeah, not on the enjoyable side to be sure. I used to drive to Cali. a lot in a car in the past when I used to go to the races at Laguna Seca in Monteery. A good run was San Francisco in 17 hours and used to enjoy driving like that.

We prefer to go max at 4-5 hours now that we RV, but have friends that like blasting to destinations fast. Will have to compromise and will likely overnight just south of Portland somewhere on the first night. The return trip would be a slow return though along the coast north of San Francisco to Canada with lots of sightseeing.

Last week (Thur afternoon) I drove Lynnwood (north of Seattle) to Federal Way (almost Tacoma) and back.

Going south traffic was fast to 145, then stop/go to downtown, then fast the rest of the way. The return was around 7pm, and was fast all the way (dropping signs down to 50 mph through downtown). But south bound looked to be as backed up as earlier in the afternoon.

WSDOT has lots of traffic sensors and a good traffic map. They also archive maps going back a couple of years. So you can check historic conditions for almost any time of the day and day of the week.

They also have current travel time estimates, alerts, and traffic twitter.

Google maps also displays this kind of data, probably drawn from the WSDOT site.

The best bet for a ferry bypass would be the Port Townsend ferry, which takes reservations. A pleasant drive would be evening down Whidbey Island to the state park next to the ferry dock. Then an early morning ferry ride, followed by the drive down along Hood Canal. But like the BC Sea-to-sky drive (pre Olympics), a coastal drive can be a bit tiresome due to curves, and not necessarily save time compared to freeway (even with half an hour of stop/go).

Weekdays you would need to get through Everett, Seattle, Tacoma and almost to Olympia before five AM. Or after midnight.
Weekends are not that much better any more. Straight down I-5 early.
You will run into traffic in Vancouver through Portland during the day. Might be easier there to take I-205 around the east side and come in down just north of Wilsonville.
Watch your speed! Vehicles over 10,000 are suppose to follow truck speed limit.

2oldman wrote:
Check traffic reports before you go. Same for any big city.

myredracer wrote:
I can remember being able to drive clear through any time of the day without even slowing.

I've been there since 1969 and I can't remember ever seeing that.

That's because I'm talking pre '69 (admitting age :(), mind you that was on Saturdays and Sundays - not weekday rush hour. Used to go to Wa. and Or. a lot in the 60s when I was much younger and into bike racing. Still have my old bike (restored it a few years ago) but it's rather painful just riding it around a flat CG now... :( (Again showing age.)

I am not saying he is old but that had to be MANY years ago.:B

Check traffic reports before you go. Same for any big city.

myredracer wrote:
I can remember being able to drive clear through any time of the day without even slowing.

I've been there since 1969 and I can't remember ever seeing that.

Either route (I-5 or 405) is a breeze at 3 or 4 am any day of the week. Even 5 is fine but you want to be south of Seattle before 6, for sure.

Generally I5 is as fast and sometimes faster than I405. No matter what avoid Seattle between 5 and 10 AM and 2 to 8 PM. BTW I5 is also shorter.

Sheesh man, the border to Yreka in one day??? That is a suicide run, not a vacation. Slow down and enjoy the journey.
There is no easy way around Seattle, I-5 or 405 and they both stink. Everett to Olympia is one big traffic jam. The best time is well before the rush as you suggest, mid day usually is reasonably smooth as long as there is no construction or pile ups. Whatever you do avoid shift change at Boeing. Oh, and take 205 through Portland to save your sanity.