US 2 from Spokane to near Seattle

Bit of construction in the Idaho mountains, No big deal. Other than that, being bored to tears from Spokane to the cascades. You may find it nice, but as a local, we find that drive pretty boring. Also lot's of construction on Snoqualmie pass weekdays, may hit a few delays.

Try to avoid Sunday afternoons west bound on Snoqualmie pass, as folks
heading home after the weekend, can make for some heavy traffic

Was through that way last month

We drove from Spokane to Washington on I-90 last summer. Yes, many miles of boring grassland, unless that's what you like. Don't know about hwy 2, but I-90 gets very windy at times. FWs have apparently been blown over and even semi trucks pull over when the wind is strong. We felt like we were driving on marbles and could only do 45-50 mph with our 29' TT and was white-knuckle driving. If it happens to be windy, I'd slow right down and maybe even stop for a while. Maybe the winds typically pick up mid-day and die down in the evenings in eastern Wa.?

A haboob rolled through the Spokane area while we were at a CG. It was rather unnerving to see the sky suddenly darken in the daytime. Fortunately didn't come near the CG.

US 2 is a good route across Washington. It does not go over Snoqualmie but goes over Stevens Pass.
If you have enough time come over US 2, swing a little north and stop at Grand Coulee Dam.
US 2 goes through a town called Leavenworth. It has a Bavarian motif.
US 2 connects with I-5 in Everett, WA.
Yes, you could pick up I-90 and go across Snoqualmie Pass and then turn Southwest on WA 18 that comes in near Federal Way. It does cut off some of the heavy congestion in Seattle.
Either route is very doable with your rig.

Joint Base Lewis /McChord.....

Make sure you know which gate to use and hours. Or go thru main gate when "truck" gate is closed. However main gate is a challenging obstacle course.

Your headline and write-up make it sound like you plan to take US2 all the way. If that is your objective do not take I-90 across the State as a couple of folks have suggested. Contrary to other's opinions, US2 is one of my favorite routes east to west across Washington. Goes through small towns and farm country. It's a beautiful drive, especially as you get closer to the mountains. I-90 does too, but then it's an Interstate and you won't experience the countryside.

US2 is 2 lane most of the way. Timing west of the Cascades is everything: avoid coming west from the Gold Bar to Everett on Sunday afternoon and during weekday rush hours (approx 2-6pm). Once you hit Everett and get on I-5 south you're on your own. Never know what you'll get: could be smooth or it could be a parking lot.

When we come west on 2, we cut south at Bonners Ferry on 95, intersect I90 then just west of Spokane we pick up 2 again. thru Airline Heights, ( the speed trap) saves a lot of two lane highway and down town Spokane. (2 goes thru the city) when you reach Wenatchee, just west of there is the intersection to 97 south, thru Blewit pass and the way to reach I-90 again, and west to the I-5 corridor.

us-2 from glacier west through idaho and most of washington is a very scenic drive. Not a lot of traffic. However, with the fires in washington you may hit some smoke. Luckily the rains have helped a lot.

Leavenworth is gearing up for Octoberfest, starts Oct 1 this year I think, so it's worth a stop, but finding a campground nearby may be a problem. Lots of folks will book a year in advance. It's later than the real oktoberfest, so they are able to bring in bands from the Munich oktoberfest and put on a good show.

Both 2 and 90 are pretty flat across central Washington, though there are a couple scenic spots (Banks Lake and Mosses Coulee). The drop to the Columbia river on 2 is more substantial, as is the drop from Stevens Pass. But both are scenic across the Cascades.

But if your goal is McCord, I90 with the WA18 cutoff will bypass a lot of the Seattle traffic. You still have Tacoma traffic. US2 puts you into the north part of the Metro area. If taking 2, take the Monroe to Woodenville cutoff, and join I405 there.

Thanks for all the suggestions. We'll plan to avoid Seattle during rush hours and will take the suggestion of WA 18. Nine years ago we traveled from north of Seattle to Yakima (thru Seattle early on a Sunday morning) and my cousin gave us directions (long lost) for a way to Yakima that gave us a beautiful drive. While our rig was being worked on in the factory we explored some of the wine county and had a great day.

realladyat57 wrote:
Thanks for all the suggestions. We'll plan to avoid Seattle during rush hours and will take the suggestion of WA 18. Nine years ago we traveled from north of Seattle to Yakima (thru Seattle early on a Sunday morning) and my cousin gave us directions (long lost) for a way to Yakima that gave us a beautiful drive. While our rig was being worked on in the factory we explored some of the wine county and had a great day.

That beautiful drive would likely be what I know as the "Valley Highway" which is the old highway (WA 821 exit 109)that I82 replaced. I runs south of Ellinsburg to Yakima I runs along the river and is a bit twisty, compared to the hilly I82.

ON EDIT: PS: If you are not in a hurry, and want to enjoy the view more than make time, after going to Yakima, take Highway 12 west from Yakima over White Pass. Then at Morton (West side of the pass) turn north on Highway 7 to Elbe, WA. From Elbe you can head east on HY 706 to the main entrance to Mt. Rainer. There is a nice RV park just outside the park on the south side of the road.
Once done at Mt. Rainer you can continue north on HY 7, it will bring you in on the backside of JBLM, skipping Seattle and Tacoma!!!